http://www.bugatti-trust.co.uk/trains-boats-planes/bugatti-planes.shtml

may also be of interest.

Although it’s American, it has to be the Herc. Youngish lad, Shrewsbury Flower Show, early 70’s?, the parachute display was over, we were leaving the show and then the RAF Herc came over, hidden behind one of the hills, and suddenly appeared, very low, suddenly noisy and fast, with the lovely black smoke they belch out. It’s what the Americans do best, big brute power.

Forgive me please, I used to be in Greenpeace and I do feel guilty about the black smoke.

There’s also some quite big bits of a U2 in a non-aviation museum in Trinidad, a seaside town a couple of hundred km from Havana. When I went to Havana they didn’t seem to care what photos I took of the Sea Fury as long as I kept off the grass. Having little ability to plan I wandered along in Havana, looked down a side street and saw a Sea Fury. Reminded me of when I saw a Mig 21 in the middle of the road in the Czek Republic, 1993.

The airport at Havana has a lovely old IL62 converted to a cafe/bar. The beer’s quite cheap and it’s much more civilised than the airport itself. Horrible paint job on it, but if you ask really nicely they’ll let you sit in the cockpit. Cheap beer, sitting in a jet cockpit, making jet noises, watching 1950’s Chevies and Buicks going past out of the cockpit window…….aaahh.

I wasn’t there but I believe a friend of mine, former F3 and SR2 Sportscar racer Martin O’Connell, did paint testing at Mallory Park for Jaguar some years ago – ie driving round getting the paint photographed. Seems a complete waste of talent, time and fossil fuel to me.

Sorry that’s a bit off thread for an aviation forum..

Well, Rolls Royce Cars is owned by BMW, and they are producing self parodying ironic masterpieces. Sahme the idiots who but them can’t see this.

As an accountant, I know that the reason a lot of UK companies go overseas is that the pension funds are dragging them into the bargain basement of the stock exchange.

If I post this link to the Napier Bentley showing how car starts should be made will somebody tell me what the dayglo single seater Formula Junior (?) is called.

Also, can anybody tell me if Napier ever knew the meaning of the words “under powered”?

http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/images/photos/gallery/100/gallery/NapierBently.jpg.

I’m fairly sure that when the project was announced it got coverage on the BBC 9.00 news, and also in Flight International. If I haven’t got too confused with other things, I think one of their columnists (“Roger Bacon”) had a rather cynical view and asked if it was to be made from unattanium.