Personally I had always assumed that this was only down to the fairly uncomplex hydraulics used, which gave rise to uneven retraction because of limited hydraulic pressure and the demand placed on the system…
I may be wrong, but it makes sense to me :confused:

My personal opinion – from a 4×4 owning perspective..

As an owner of a vehicle which includes the option of having the power delivered to all 4 wheels(should I choose to) I feel the need to comment on this thread.

Why is it that so many people climb on their high horses and shout about a vehicle type based around the number of driven wheels? I have seen debates about a lot of different vehicle types over the years, but the attention drawn to four wheel drive vehicles has, in my humble opinion, got out of hand. It has been driven (excuse the pun) by media attention and bad reporting over recent years. Maybe that is why there are so many mis-informed non 4×4 owners out there who bay for blood at the first hint of yet another “story” targeting owners such as me.

May I explain why I own one perhaps?

I wanted a vehicle that had a larger than average load capacity for one…
I wanted a diesel powered vehicle to eliminate problems I had previously experienced

with the poor ignition performance of petrol engines in damp / cold weather…
I wanted the advantages of four wheel drive in poor road conditions, but not wanting four wheel drive full time for economy obviously (yes quite a lot have selectable four wheel drive you know)
I wanted something built a bit more bulletproof than the average family sized car, that would take any abuse without costing me a fortune in spare parts that were over-priced.
Finally, I wanted to be a ‘wise’ motorist and do my bit to be ‘green’ by using alternative fuels such as vegetable oil which costsme far less to run on than pump fuel…

So I chose my vehicle – which if you really need to know is a little heard of Ssangyong Musso 2.9 ltr with Mercedes power under the bonnet.

Sensible or stupid? Economical or Gas Guzzler? Chelsea Tractor or Useful and

adaptable?

Well I get an average 30mpg running on vegetable oil at half the price of pump fuel, with zero emissions too, and I use my vehicle nowadays all year round with some excursions off road purely for fun legally.
Oh and I can (and have done so twice now) happily move house using the huge load capacity of this vehicle without resorting to additional expense of a hired removal van etc…

So I’m happy with my choice, I drive sensibly, and it gets me wherever I choose to go without hesitation, including the odd airshow where it has proved useful whilst working off road on a damp airfield whilst actually working behind the scenes at events helping the public enjoy their day out.

God help me if I were to choose a 6×4 ex-army Pinzgauer – that’s 2 more wheels to debate about!!!

The debate could go on for ever, sadly….

Sadsack,

Fifty-three of the seventy Spitfires & Seafires that have flown since the Battle of Britain film of 1968, broadly fit in to your group.

Mark.

This is by far and away my favourite:-

Forgive my ignorance regarding this photo – but can you please enlighten me on the history behind that particular Spit? 😮

Now that is a much better video Iain…… still gives the goosebumps watching it over and over again…..

Now here we are – Friday morning – will she fly again?

The whole coverage on the net yesterday was brilliant, creating all sorts of web crashes / slow speeds… For once I wasn’t complaining….lol 😀 😀 😀

You amaze me Rob….. your obvious previously unseen talent has got the praise it deserves…. Well done – and on a personal note – being a Hunter man, that latest offering is really spot on… The attention to detail makes it almost jump of the screen!!

Oh please do my favourite Hunter 😀 😀 😀

Just watched that video clip – and the pilot cheerfully waves at his audience from the lower glazed cockpit (blue sliding window gives it away when you review the footage) – mystery why they fitted that upper glazing then. Does the Engineer really need that good a view?
Still a fantastic piece of engineering – I love it, and it just goes to show that not all Russian kit was a copy of our Western stuff……..:)

Would have loved to share the moment – 15th May 1941 at 7.35 p.m when the Gloster E28/39 took to the air – taking us one revolutionary step into the future of aviation..

Hi Rob,
Firstly my condolences to you….

I have just looked through your pictures on your weblink – and they are a nice selection from some good angles too – very impressive Sir…..

With regard to your point about the disabled toilets provided – may I make comment as one of those who helped set up the event as part of the volunteer team.

There were indeed several disabled toilets provided on site – with full wheelchair access (they resemble the conventional portaloo cubicles but much bigger, are at ground level, and they were white if I recall.) I know that they were positioned around the site by the contractor from whom they were hired on the Friday / Saturday…. and I found at least 2 up in the main stalls area when I was busy escorting traders to their pitches etc. I can only assume that a mistake may have been made in the lack of positioning within the immeadiate area of the disabled carpark – and I will pass that on as feedback in my emails to the relevant people.
Speaking as one of those who help out to get the show up and running – I can assure you that every effort is made to do things right – and learn from any shortcomings… Some may recall the apparent chaos surrounding leaving last year’s event. Well that was caused by a few things – but it was not a lack of communication as some thought at the time, and lessons were learned. This year saw the introduction of traffic lights controlling exits and everything went smoothly as I witnessed myself…
So please rest assured that when things like this are mentioned, they are heard by those that need to, and next year it will be different…..