Perhaps I could ask a question about the efficiency of a contra prop.

Looked at crudely, the first prop attacks the air and accelerates it – that’s why the aircraft moves forward. It also gives it a rotation. Is it therefore harder work for the second airscrew because the first ones messed up the air a bit, and it’s a fast moving vortex, or is it like the aero bits on formula race cars where the first aero device straightens the air up to make it easier for the second one.

And in either case, as the air is moving faster, does the design of the second prop have to be different to the first?

There’s a private collection at Birlingham, near Pershore. Hunter, Meteor, Sea Hawk, JP and a Vampire IIRC, can’t remeber a Canberra though…

Did that chap ever have a Scimitar in his yard?

I hope this won’t be regarded as a zombie restart, but the November opening of the Michael Beetham conservation centre was highly enjoyable this morning. Unfortunately they won’t allow photos to be posted for understandable reasons but to see the work going on close to was excellent, and the people there were so friendly and helpful.

Battle, Hampden, Safety Launch, Farman, Sopwith Dolphin, Vampire, Me163, and a German WW1 I’m too ignorant to know what it is. Never having seen a Battle before I’m staggered at how big it is.

It’s open 10.15 to 1.00 until Friday 28th November, and don’t forget to gift aid your donation,. (And I have no connection.)

I disagree. He’s a very clever but very lazy man.

Moggy

Clarkson is clever enough to surround himself with people who provide loads of support – for example I think a lot of his best jokes are written by a man called Richard Porter – but he lets himself down too often. In one of his books he praised the Merlin for being flexible enough to increase in capacity from 27 to 37 litres. (Can’t tell a Merlin from a Griffon). On another occasion he was interviewed on the LeMans pa which went out on the internet and referred to Michael Schumacher in unfavourable, innaccurate and too libelous to repeat terms.

I stopped watching Top Gear years ago when I realised they know little about cars and how to drive them and one of my friends stopped watching after his parents were in a nasty car crash. Crashes stop being funny if you’re personally involved. (Though I guess Hamster still thinks they’re hilarious, you would have thought he would have learnt.)

I remember seeing the film on TV around 1970. There was a season of Neville Shute stuff including an awful adaptation of On The Beach where several historic racing cars got trashed.

If I’m right, the Reindeer suffered from metal fatigue and to stop it killing people the film’s hero retracted the undercarriage at London Airport while the plane was on the ground.

Was this done with a model or was this the death of a Reindeer/Halton?

Well oddly enough that’s what I thought too. I didn’t have the nerve to say so as I didn’t know when they were wfu’d. I wonder if anybody at Woburn (Duke of Bedford for example?) might remember. http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
😀

Very vague memories of a Dragonfly at Woburn Abbey c1965? I remember being upset because it was in such a dreadful state even though I was only 10. There was another aircraft in better condition, I think.