'Quirky' Historical pictures.

[Phil Perry]

[fly_tornado]

Brexit set to reinvigorate the english aviation industry, so we might see the comet fly again

 

 

[Birdseye]

Perhaps even some Empire flying boats?

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Brexit set to reinvigorate the english aviation industry, so we might see the comet fly again

Indded Sir !. . .Only, this time, using circular windows. . .so no more corner stress cracks eh ?

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Perhaps even some Empire flying boats?

Ooooh yes. . . would love to tour the Pacific Islands aboard one of those. . .rather like that company which used to fly out from Sydney in the 50s / 60s The book about that airline was called 'Bird of the Islands' . . .can't remember the Author's name though. . .fascinating illustrated tale about a 'One Horse' airline. . .

 

 

[Deskpilot]

How about this one,

 

 

A Wright Flyer over Chippenham UK. Below, same view today.

 

 

 

[planedriver]

Ooooh yes. . . would love to tour the Pacific Islands aboard one of those. . .rather like that company which used to fly out from Sydney in the 50s / 60s The book about that airline was called 'Bird of the Islands' . . .can't remember the Author's name though. . .fascinating illustrated tale about a 'One Horse' airline. . .

So you'd probably like the huge photo on my lounge room wall Phil.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

 

From Oshkosh 2014, the "pirate ship" Breezy and a chopper made by an old chap with very different ideas about rotor blades.

 

 

 

 

[old man emu]

The book about that airline was called 'Bird of the Islands' . . .can't remember the Author's name though.

Sir Gordon Taylor. Gordon Taylor (aviator) - Wikipedia

 

Bit of an "also ran" . Not bad at mid-air oil top ups over the Tasman Sea. Wasn't too bad with the compass and whizz-wheel.

 

OME

 

 

[onetrack]

What about the skeleton of a stolen and stripped Cessna 175A, pictured being salvaged, and riding on an old International 4WD truck?

 

The near new Cessna was stolen from Maylands aerodrome (Perth, W.A.) in July 1962 and crash-landed in the the Little Sandy Desert, in the arid central interior of W.A.

 

The Cessna thief then walked for 8 days through some of the most desolate country in Australia, before he arrived at Ethel Creek Station.

 

The Cessna's location was found by retracing the steps of the thief, but it was declared an insurance write-off due to the remote location and the damage incurred (nose wheel ripped off and some fuselage buckling).

 

It was reported that the engine was salvaged from the wreck, but this does not jell with the photo below, of the wreck being recovered - as the engine is shown, stowed on the truck.

 

The wreck was recovered by Max and Jim Hazelton - who trucked it to NSW, where the Cessna was rebuilt. Amazingly, this aircraft is still flying today, but with an uprated power plant.

 

The Cessna thief was charged and jailed for a couple of years, I seem to recall, and he was deported at the end of his sentence - which was all he wanted in the first place! - to go home! LOL

 

http://www.adastron.com/adastra/album2/tb-009.jpg

 

ADASTRA AERIAL SURVEYS - Photo Album

 

 

[IBob]

Sir Gordon Taylor. Gordon Taylor (aviator) - WikipediaBit of an "also ran" . Not bad at mid-air oil top ups over the Tasman Sea. Wasn't too bad with the compass and whizz-wheel.

OME

That oil transfer would be unbelievable, if the entire crew didn't vouch for it:

 

In flight, he climbed out onto the underwing strut and made his way to the failed starboard engine. (On the way he would have nothing to hold onto, just the air pressing him to the LE of the wing).

 

On arrival, he bled oil from the engine into some sort of flask. (The engine must have had a drain tap, surely he wasn't carrying a flask and a wrench, and surely he couldn't fill the flask then put a bung back in while hanging on out there?)

 

He then made his way back (pressed again to the LE).

 

Back at the fuse, they tipped the oil into some sort of empty case provided by the navigator. Then he went back for more.

 

With some amount in the case, he then repeated the operation on the port side, transferring flasks of oil out to that engine.

 

And, if I recall, each time he did this, Kingsford Smith backed off the throttle on the port engine, so it was done in a series of slow climbs up from sea level, sinking back down each time Taylor was topping it up.

 

As someone who has done a bit of clambering outside flying aircraft, I find this astonishing.

 

 

 

[Phil Perry]

That oil transfer would be unbelievable, if the entire crew didn't vouch for it:

 

In flight, he climbed out onto the underwing strut and made his way to the failed starboard engine. (On the way he would have nothing to hold onto, just the air pressing him to the LE of the wing).

 

On arrival, he bled oil from the engine into some sort of flask. (The engine must have had a drain tap, surely he wasn't carrying a flask and a wrench, and surely he couldn't fill the flask then put a bung back in while hanging on out there?)

 

He then made his way back (pressed again to the LE).

 

Back at the fuse, they tipped the oil into some sort of empty case provided by the navigator. Then he went back for more.

 

With some amount in the case, he then repeated the operation on the port side, transferring flasks of oil out to that engine.

 

And, if I recall, each time he did this, Kingsford Smith backed off the throttle on the port engine, so it was done in a series of slow climbs up from sea level, sinking back down each time Taylor was topping it up.

 

As someone who has done a bit of clambering outside flying aircraft, I find this astonishing.

 

Not replacing oil, BUT.,. . .there is a post somewhere on this site where a crew member went outside the aircraft to put out a fire, OR some other problem which couldn't be fixed any other way. . . on the Stbd engine of a Wellington Bomber. He had to kick or Cut holes in the upper wing fabric to maintain footholds against the airflow.

 

The story is substantiated with a photograph of the offending inner wing area and the engine nacelle taken from the inner trailing edge of the Stbd wing and illustrating his footholds. . .. I may well have posted this myself, I honestly can't remember. . . .got to be at least 3-4 years back though.. . .can't recall if the hero actually hacked a hole in the fuselage fabric to get to where he went. . .

 

 

[old man emu]

Your recall of the Wellington incident is correct. However, I think that airman had the advantage of a tether being held by another crewman. Doesn't detract from his bravery, though.

 

 

[onetrack]

It's amazing what you can achieve when you know failure to carry out your mission impossible, can only mean death for you and your mates.

 

 

[IBob]

It's amazing what you can achieve when you know failure to carry out your mission impossible, can only mean death for you and your mates.

Yep...still...I'd be praying for target fixation...

 

 

[Birdseye]

It's amazing what you can achieve when you know failure to carry out your mission impossible, can only mean death for you and your mates.

 

 

 

[Phil Perry]

It's amazing what you can achieve when you know failure to carry out your mission impossible, can only mean death for you and your mates.

I know precisely what you mean. . . when the Missus asks, 'Does my bum look big in this ? ?' You realise instantly what lethal ground you're standing upon and that ONE wrong word could mean instant death. . .

 

 

[old man emu]

I know precisely what you mean. . . when the Missus asks, 'Does my bum look big in this ? ?' You realise instantly what lethal ground you're standing upon and that ONE wrong word could mean instant death. . .

I solved the fashion question dilemma by praising women's outfits that were totally wrong, thereby generating the idea in my wife's mind that I am a fashion clueless. Don't get asked for my opinion now.

 

 

[onetrack]

Phil - Yep, I know exactly what you mean. I'd rather crawl out on the wing of an ailing aircraft in freezing cold, in the darkest of night, carrying a flask, to drain oil from a good donk, to return and climb out onto the other wing, to refill the ailing donk - than to put my life in extreme mortal danger, by foolishly saying, "Geez, that dress makes you look fatter than you already are!!"

 

 

[Geoff13]

I once got asked if this dress made her bum look big.

 

Apparently "no your bum makes your bum look big" was not the correct response.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Apparently "no your bum makes your bum look big" was not the correct response.

You should have tried "It takes the emphasis off your face".

 

 

[Guernsey]

You should have tried "It takes the emphasis off your face".

Strewth, that's suicidal.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Not 'Quirky' but Historical ( And nice. . .) Seven Mk12 Spitfires of 41 Squadron RAF, based at Friston in Sussex. Seen here flying over the South Downs.

 

 

 

[IBob]

Not 'Quirky' but Historical ( And nice. . .) Seven Mk12 Spitfires of 41 Squadron RAF, based at Friston in Sussex. Seen here flying over the South Downs.[ATTACH=full]51392[/ATTACH]

Early in the war, everyone donated their saucepans to make aircraft. This could go some way towards explain British cuisine.

Did they run out of saucepans here, or are the missing wingtips beeing made back into them now the war is over???

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Early in the war, everyone donated their saucepans to make aircraft. This could go some way towards explain British cuisine.Did they run out of saucepans here, or are the missing wingtips beeing made back into them now the war is over???

Ooooh that's a big one to comment upon Bob.. . .the 'Missing' wingtips were a modification resulting from problems with 'Tip Stall' durring exteme military aerobatiics. . .you'll need to look this up as it's a bit complicated to go into here, but that doesn't mean that I do not understand it. . . .the 'Pointy Ended' wingtips so beloved of the classic Spitfire shape were not all that aerodynamically effective, this being discovered by pilots of the earlier marques of Spit.

 

You have to bear in mind that R.J. Mitchell died just before the second world war, and even before that, did not have access to wind tunnels and massive numbers of hours of testing data of his wing design, which nowadays, would have indicated problems in the tip design.

 

How many Kettles, saucepans and other utensils could have been be made form the aluminium saved by not making 'Pointy' wingtips is not something I've ever attempted to calculate.

 

My Dad died from Alzheimers disease, and one of the culprits supposed to be a cause of this was,. . in the 1970s, drinking millions of cups of tea from teapots made from aluminium. . . .

 

Did Cutoff Spitfire wings kill my DAD ?. . . we shall probably never know.

 

My good Lady makes tea in a Ceramic pot. ME ?. . .I could never stand the taste of the stuff and I've only drunk coffee since as long as I can remember. . . . but that's another story. . .