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Wulfie

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July 30, 2018 at 10:37 am in reply to: Lockheed Hudson upper turrets WWII #795788

Wulfie
Participant

The Boulton Paul Type C turret was designed as a nose turret. The electrical switches and equipment were fitted to a large curved structural member, which gave its domed appearance, also useful for maintaining the gunner’s line of sight as the guns could be depressed by 30 degrees. This was why it was chosen for the Hudson, because the Company’s standard dorsal turret, the Type A Defiant turret, only allowed 10 degrees of depression on the guns, so the Hudson, and early marks of Halifax would have a measure of underside defence. Retractable ventral turrets were ordered from both BP and Frazer-Nash but none ever proved satisfactory. Boulton Paul turrets were preferred for installation on American aircraft (Hudson, Liberator, Baltimore etc) because they were self contained, requiring only an electrical supply from the parent aircraft. Frazer-Nash turrets were all hydraulic, requiring pumps attached to the engines and long hydraulic lines running to the turret position.

June 27, 2018 at 3:06 pm in reply to: The 'new' RAFM Hendon , where have the aircraft gone #776400

Wulfie
Participant

Another triumph of style over content.
I speak as curator of Wolverhampton’s Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre which revels in displaying content over style, in 2,000 sq.ft we have five complete aircraft and eight cockpits as well as displays devoted to road, rail and canal transport. We also have interactive displays, but they are not computer screens but actual artefacts you can pick up, put on, and climb inside. Five of our cockpits are free to enter.

March 8, 2018 at 9:32 am in reply to: Reid and Siegrist #826247

Wulfie
Participant

I see no mention in this thread about the Company’s connection with the Defiant. Reid & Sigrist was the major contractor for Defiant repairs, overhauls, and conversions, literally hundreds of them passed through Desford, but I’ve never seen any photographs. Does anyone have any ?

I was told once that after the War, many Defiants were buried alongside the airfield, which was exciting, especially as the Caterpillar facility was right next to the burial site. The story was confirmed a little later by another man who saw them being buried, but he also confirmed that when the price of scrap metal went up again a few years later, they were all dug up again. I suspect this was the case in many of those ‘buried aircraft’ stories.

October 30, 2017 at 11:43 am in reply to: Control grip identification #815714

Wulfie
Participant

I haven’t ever deciphered a way of putting photos on here

July 30, 2017 at 8:33 pm in reply to: Seen On Ebay 2017 #786078

Wulfie
Participant

Hunter control grip.

o.uk/itm/Hawker-Hunter-control-column-joystick-grip-with-electrical-harness-/263110378255?hash=item3d4299c30f:g:t4kAAOSw44xZehVr

May 4, 2017 at 9:50 pm in reply to: Bristol Brabazon Bits #832617

Wulfie
Participant

At the Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre we have a small actuator, which has a label on it saying it’s Brabazon. Whether it is or not, we don’t know.

May 22, 2016 at 9:53 pm in reply to: Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre – new exhibits #864936

Wulfie
Participant

With the arrival Of Slingsby Cadet TX.3, WT877, the Heritage Centre now has 3 complete aircraft and 8 cockpits on display. The Spectrum microlight, is now for the first time fully erected, and complete, except for an exhaust manifold. If anyone knows of one, perhaps damaged or blown, but suitable for static display, we would be very grateful.

April 18, 2016 at 11:05 pm in reply to: Latest RAF Museum disposals list #885202

Wulfie
Participant

The Demoiselle has nothing to do with Those Magnificent Men. It was built of steel tubing by an RAF sergeant at Gatow. We, that is the Staffordshire Aircraft Restoration Team, borrowed it in 2010 as part of our celebrations of the centenary of the 1910 Flying Meeting at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton. It appeared, un-assembled, (as it had no flying wires) at our Wings & Wheels Fly-in that year at Halfpenny Green, and then in June at a Dunstall Park race meeting, where we also flew a Whittaker microlight, an aircraft of similar configuration to the Demoiselle, if rather more efficient construction, and the first aircraft to fly at Dunstall Park for many years. We then refurbished it, made flying wires and created a mock-up engine to display the Demoiselle at the 2010 Steam & Vintage Fair in West Park Wolverhampton. It then went on display for a while at the Boulton Paul Aircraft Heritage Project before being returned to Stafford. We still have the flying wires and the mock-up engine, and wouldn’t mind getting the aircraft back to display at the Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre, which is only a quarter mile from Dunstall Park.

March 25, 2016 at 9:40 am in reply to: Ternhill being sold for housing #902639

Wulfie
Participant

And they’ve also just announced that the only surviving local ATC gliding school will be at Tern Hill

March 3, 2016 at 10:13 am in reply to: Provost T1 WW388 (7616M) #918172

Wulfie
Participant

George, WW388 is owned by Vaughan Meers and John Hoole, and is stored at Hooligan’s place. I know them both, and see Vaughan every week. I don’t believe they wish to sell, but PM me with any suggestion you have.

February 7, 2016 at 11:50 pm in reply to: Bridgnorth Wings & Wheels #849807

Wulfie
Participant

Owing to the local papers describing it erroneously as an ‘Air Show’ and the local people quite naturally reacting in horror, this event has had to be cancelled. It was never going to be an Air Show, not even a Fly-in, it was more on the scale of a large village fete, with a Harrier.

February 2, 2016 at 4:22 pm in reply to: Bridgnorth Wings & Wheels #854029

Wulfie
Participant

It’s a farm, there are any number of fields for overflow parking, I’m about to find out just how many on Thursday. Small side-bar I’ve just found out there was an RAF bombing range at Chetton during the War, administered by Halfpenny Green and Wheaton Aston. Their Ansons and Oxfords would drop practice bombs and there were 2 buildings on the ground from where the flash, and smoke would be plotted. It was an adjacent farm, not the one we’re on, so you needn’t worry about stepping on unexploded ordnance.

January 19, 2016 at 11:07 pm in reply to: Halfpenny Green Wings & Wheels cancelled #862416

Wulfie
Participant

A new venue has been found for Easter. Watch this space.

January 17, 2016 at 7:04 pm in reply to: Halfpenny Green Wings & Wheels cancelled #863947

Wulfie
Participant

No Hampson-Silk had no part in the running of the Airport after he sold out to Mar Properties 7 years ago, that’s why the Air Scouts had to start paying rent. The Airport Manager is Alistair MacKinnon, and the Commercial Manager is Billy Quinn. I was told today that MCR have indicated their intention to build houses on part of the airfield, I don’t know how accurate this is. The local authority have always stopped building on green field sites, but if the former RAF buildings were deemed a brown-field site…………………….

January 17, 2016 at 6:45 am in reply to: Halfpenny Green Wings & Wheels cancelled #864564

Wulfie
Participant

No, MCR bought it from Mar Properties, an Irish property company, who wanted to build an ‘aviation village’ i.e. an industrial estate with aviation connections. They never had the money, as the purchase coincided with the Irish property crash. All that happened was that the Air Scouts had to start paying rent, after 40 years rent free, and our attempt to take over the RAF Fire Service Museum building was scuppered by huge rent rises.
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