Nothing wrong with Spits, right?? 😀
These are the only two currently ‘on display’ I’ve got about 60 more (not all Spits 😉 ) hidden in various boxes due to lack of space (also a B-52 and a B-36 on top of a wardrobe for lack of a better place).
As mentioned before: a Spitfire cannot feather its propeller as it doesn’t have a feathering pump. The reason for feathering a prop is improved performance when flying a multi-engined aircraft with one engine out. Especially when this happens right after takeoff, you will then want the best climb rate you can get and getting rid of a windmilling prop is very important!
On a single engined aircraft a feathering option is never incorporated as once the engine fails you will be going down anyway, feathering will only add the option of putting the aircraft in a field that’s 5 miles away, instead of putting it in a field which is 3 miles away. Not much gain for carrying the extra weight around all the time! The odd one out as James mentioned is the Seafire which was recently restored. With six blades windmilling that aircraft will quickly try to imitate a brick once it gets quiet up front, and since the ex-Shack engine already had the mechanics fitted they decided to incorporate the function. Wise decision probably but I’m hoping the pilot doesn’t need to use it!
As James also pointed out many turboprops are started with the blades feathered. The reason behind this is that ideally you want the prop to move to a feathered state on its own once you remove hydraulics/pneumatics/electrics or whatever drives the prop. This is the safest system as feathering pumps, which are only used when badly needed, can also fail! The crash of the Dutch Dakota in 1996(?) was an example of this. Starting with a prop in its feathered state can only be done on a free-turbine engine though as on a direct drive turboprop or a piston engine the drag of the prop in that state is too much to get the engine started!
I have two photos which are pretty similar to the ones posted by Skypilot, I could scan them one of these days.
Interestingly the website of the museum describes the aircraft as an ‘ex-322 Sqn aircraft which was sold to India, and subsequently restored for the museum’. I guess there’s room for improvement there :rolleyes:
I seem to remember that a notice next to the fuselage with Tom Reilly had it marked as a Kestrel
Apparently this is the fuselage of Kestrel no.4 which found its way to Tom Reilly’s place. I did suspect it to be a Kestrel based on the fact that the intakes seem to lack the blow-in doors, this has now been confirmed. Anybody with some more details on it?
Found these while going through my old photos. Seems there are two examples at Hermeskeil (no better photo of the second aircraft I’m afraid). The third one is the aircraft at Brussels which James already posted a photo of.
Looks like this is the only photo I’ve ever taken that shows G-VTOL. Shame on me for not doing it right!!
I seem to remember that a notice next to the fuselage with Tom Reilly had it marked as a Kestrel, but since the local knowledge of anything British with wings didn’t seem to be too extensive (I may just have had a lousy tourguide of course 😉 ) I never quite bought that. They might of course still be right!
Indeed that’s the one. I will go and see if I’ve got a photo of it.
More photos: first two from East Fortune, third one is a puzzle, this fuselage (couldn’t spot the wings) is with Tom Reilly in Kissimmee Florida (or at least, it was there in 2002 when I took this photo). Who knows anything about this one???
This one was parked in a corner at Flugausstellung Hermeskeil, any thoughts on type/registration?
The Brooklands Museum has the two-seat company demonstrator G-VTOL, as well as P.1127 no.6 XP984.
Nice photos Ronnie!
Groeten van een andere ex-HTSer! 😉
Daz, I think your input is needed on this thread!! 😀
I have only flown Cessna’s for the past year, after a lot of PA28s. I find it a very straightforward aircraft which has a tendency to float on touchdown. As Steve mentioned: be careful when carrying 3 pax. When I flew a fully laden Ce172 this past summer the climb performance didn’t impress me! (It also failed to impress a couple of geese which were outclimbing me 😉 ). Be sure to try out the glide performance with an instructor next to you, I found that to be better than the average PA28, but remember that that is a feature that you DO NOT want to use regularly!!
Don’t want that in my bed, want it in my hangar! (The aircraft that is 😉 )
But who else thinks that however appealing it looks, there is something different about it. It’s something to do with the shape that isn’t quite right….
May look like Sarah or Tara at first sight, but who is she when you have a good look????
Get the Hughes Spruce goose out of moth balls and take that instead of an Ark
Sorry Phil, I think I’ll have to nominate that one as another ‘fancy lifeboat’!
And in any case there would be no fuel to fly them with
Did anyone here ever read ‘On the beach’ by Nevil Shute? :rolleyes:
Still thinking about my nominations by the way (and a Concorde, however appealing wouldn’t fit, Mossie sized maximum remember??) 😉