Oh no ,whats happened with VR.930,nothing serious I hope ??

Model looks very nice think I’ll be ordering one to go with the other five Sky Guardian Furies in my cabinet lol!!!

Steve

Nothing new sadly 🙁

Hi ,

Sadly this kind of accident seems to happen every so often ,IIRC it was only a few years ago when there was the incident involving Bearcats and Corsairs at Oskosh where pilots were injured or lost lives.

In my opinion these aircraft are far to valuable historically to keep being damaged or destroyed in such a manner,and obviously the pilots lives are irreplaceable but still it happens where lives and historic aircraft are thrown away far to cheaply by pilot errors.

Don’t get me wrong,I love watching the pairs routines at Flying Legends,but do they really need to fly so close in formation ? and why were those Mustangs operating so close together that they collided ?
Its not the aircrafts fault !!

No doubt this will be controversial and earn another slagging off for me ,but it is only my opinion.I don’t want to see any kind of accidents with warbirds as the end result is more restrictions,more red tape and even higher insurance premiums.

Steve

My Apologies

Not sure where you’re getting this impression from? Since the engine was rebuilt in 2004 and the fuel issue sorted the engine has (touch wood) performed almost faultlessly. Indeed so far this season there has only been one engine-related unserviceability which occurred in Northern Ireland last month and was traced to water ingress into the ignition system during what was an exceptionally wet weekend. IIRC this is the first missed display through any unserviceability remotely connected to an engine problem since the Centaurus was rebuilt – quite some achievement when you consider that these are incredibly complex pieces of machinery at the zenith of piston engine technology and are also old with spares at a premium.

Which is why you shouldn’t always believe what you read – especially if it’s
not from the horses’ mouth! 😎

My apologies Lee,

I stand corrected and certainly bow to your first hand knowledge of the operational reliability of VR.930.
In no way was I intentionally doubting the reliability of the aircraft or indeed the magnificent Centaurus,but I was under the impression that it was providing the guys at yeovilton with more headaches than perhaps it should.

As a fan of the Sea Fury since I first saw TF.956 flown by Lt Cdr Pete Sheppard in the mid 70’s I’ve become very aware of the problems faced with Fuel,oil and seviceable spare parts.

It is always a priviledge for me to see VR.930 in action, I thought she looked and sounded magnificent at this years Flying Legends.
I’m sure I won’t be alone in wishing the Flight well,and hoping that she and the T.20 may be successfully operated by the flight for many years to come,together with the other aircraft of course.

Steve

My other thoughts on Legends(Saturday)

After offering my opinion on the chairs /windbreaks discussion ,I thought I’d add my thoughts and thanks for the show proper.

Well the show kicked off with the Heritage flight ,which gave a reasonable show,but reminded me why i only went to Mildenhall once!! the formation of the P-38,P-51’S and the F.15 was impressive (i’d never considered the size differences between the F.15 and the real fighters!!)

Miss Velma ,looked great ,but the P.40B is an incredible piece of history to add to The Fighter Collection stable,I can’t wait to see it perform properly.
Of course the rest of the participants are always a big attraction ,but for me the RNHF Sea Fury looked and sounded absolutely glorious,the new livery looks so good after being used to the Korean war markings of VR.930 and TF.956 for so long.
What can be said about Stephen Grey’s ‘Joker’ routine ,it is without doubt the most amazing solo warbird display and worth the admission fee on its own in my opinion(wish we could see that routine from the cockpit on minicam on a Legends DVD ).

What about the commentators ? I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary ,they made it it interesting,accurate without being boring ,and put in some amusing tales to make it complete.

So,all in all a great day out yet again, massive thanks to each and everyone that helps to make it happen every year.

Steve

I’m a selfish b***ard too !!

Pete ,

Those places by the fence are hard won by enthusiasts who got their butts out of bed and onto the airfield in time to claim a place by the fence.
I got there at 09.30 yesterday and the fence space was fully occupied so i sat on the tankbank for the first time since legends began.
I thought I would be early enough to sit by the fence,but the guy I was chatting too on the bank had been there since 08.00 and travelled from Southampton.
I had to drive about 90 miles to duxford,I’m not exactly sure how far away Braintree is but i’d guess about 50 miles so not a problem for you to get there earlier assuming you have your own car.

You’ll just have to get your butt out of bed next year the same as I will !!!

Steve

BBMF out and about

Snetterton circuit, Sunday afternoon (10th June)the Lancaster and a Spitfire XIX overfly the circuit on a heading that would take them east of Norwich.The afternoon was overcast and dull and the aircraft seemed to be flying quite low by their standards ,not that i’m complaining of course !!
Was a real treat to see them away from an airshow .

Steve

Coles crane

Hi ,

It may be a later version ,or modified for civilian use.My late Father was in the MT section at Martlesham Heath during his national service days and often drove both Coles and the Lorain Cranes ,He much preferred the Coles saying that it was far superior in every way and especially for precision work because it was much smoother in operation.
He drove the Thorneycroft/Coles version and said it was just like the one in the Airfix RAF Recovery set kit with a shorter jib and open cab.
Hope this is of interest,

Steve