derekliston

The two connected names were Hengist and Horsa and whilst Airspeed built the Horsa, Slingsby built a military glider also and it was named the Hengist!

The Airspeed company was founded by the author Neville Shute who’s full name was Neville Shute Norway. The company grew to the extent that they bought him out which enabled him to become a full-time author and among his many books was ‘No Highway’ which I believe was the first prediction of metal fatigue destroying an aircraft!

I agree Nev, just remembering what read at the time, that the superstructure was magnesium/aluminium alloy. I was interested because I had a cousin on the Sheffield but thankfully he had transferred out not long before! Sorry no more thread drift from me!!!

Fairly sure that the Sheffield was an aluminium/magnesium alloy, so not surprised that it burnt and the Exocet didn’t even explode. It was the still burning rocket motor that set fire to the ship!

Sorry if this seems like thread drift, it is related I promise! An awful lot of years ago whilst myself and a couple of mates were apprentices in Ferranti’s research lab, we were, as apprentices are wont to, mucking about one Saturday morning with a bit of fibreglass scrap from the case of one of the electronic boxes. Don’t remember how it came about, but we set light to it and it went up, as someone said elsewhere, like a candle! On the Monday the designer was completing a form for the Navy about the fire risk and he said nil risk! We told him he was wrong and demonstrated with another piece of scrap. Well that resulted in a complete redesign to comprise an aluminium case. I have been wary of resin based structures ever since and more so now, since I have seen what happens with these plastic fantastics! I have minimal plastic on my CH701 and I like it that way. My cowling, apart from a Jabiru supplied nosebowl, is aluminium.

Assuming that he did in fact refuel at Warwick. I tried to refuel my CH701 at Warwick on Friday and discovered the stepladder has been nicked, or is otherwise missing! So I had to take my own ladder yesterday! Jabiru being high wing also, is it possible to refuel without a ladder?

The barbed fittings do have to be clamped, I agree, but having said that, when replacing oil hoses I have not yet succeeded in removing one from a barb without cutting it!

So sad, such an unforgiving hobby. Also glad it wasn’t one of our Warwick crew!

Not a lot left after it burnt! Did the pilot/s survive? Only from the burnt shape it looks like it could be one of the flying school diamonds? Anyone know more yet? I fly from Warwick but didn’t today because I didn’t like the wind.

I never turn the radio down. In fact I use an airband receiver to hear what is happening before I start the engine. We only have a single runway at Warwick but in calm or 90° crosswind conditions that still gives the possibiy of conflict. I often hear traffic, in particular gliders, call landing short or landing long, but I’m a wussy pilot, I don’t go until I know I’m clear! The biggest concern nowadays is traffic not using radio, which I have said many times before. I know there is no requirement if they don’t hear radio traffic, but it only takes two pilots with the same mindset for conflict to exist!

I have the plane that I wanted, I built it and I fly it, but it is VH registered. It could be RAA because it is a Zenith CH701 but it is a hard decision to make!

That would be reasonable, I would have thought, but this is CASA we are talking about! I believe that you would be hard pressed to find anyone across the aviation industry at any level with a kind word for them! It would appear from what I have seen as an engineer and pilot over 40yrs in Australia that they are an unstoppable juggernaut and far and away the biggest impediment to General Aviation in this country! (Rant over!!!)

The whole system is flawed. Before I had the heart attack CASA was happy for me to have a medical every two years with no additional tests. However, after the heart attack and the necessary remedial action, they have required the stress test for every one of the nine ensuing years! Nuts really but about what you expect from CASA medicine. They seem to think that they know better than my DAME although they have never met me!

Since it is a CASA requirement mate, how do I get round it? I’ve had them for nine years now and haven’t died yet! Although it is always a possibility! I knew a bloke a long time ago who dropped dead literally the day after he passed a life insurance medical!

Apart from additional cost to an already expensive hobby, I have no problem with the requirement, it keeps me aware of my health. Having said that, I ABSOLUTELY HATE the actual stress test, fortunately only once a year!

Yes! I am 76 and CASA have required it annually for the last nine years, since I had a heart attack!

I fly behind a Jabiru and I agree with you, hence my 65 comment! Good engines, but you have to look after them.

As a retired LAME I would be quite happy with those numbers. Anything above 60 is considered acceptable although on my own engine I’d investigate if it is down to 65!

I don’t care what physics proves or what conspiracy theorists or anyone else say, what keeps aeroplanes in the air is money, lots of it!

As I’ve said elsewhere before, a lot of people where I fly are not using their radios which is apparently legal. The only reason that I can think of for that is to avoid Avdata charges? The gliders a lot of the time don’t seem to use their radios! (I am not for one second suggesting that had anything to do with today’s accident!) I am not trying to blame anyone for anything, just why I personally don’t fly when the gliders are up! Obviously speculation is not good, but if it was a Pawnee and a Jab I have to wonder if it will turn out to be the low wing, high wing scenario?

Absolutely tragic but also why, being a wussy (is that a word?) pilot, I don’t fly at weekends when the gliders are flying at our airfield. Skinny white things that can be virtually impossible to see, can be coming from anywhere and power is supposed to give way to them, which is fine if in fact you see it first! So very sad all round! My presumption is that the glider crew were the fatalities? What was the powered one?

Can’t possibly be an engine failure, not with a Rotax can it???? Glad the pilot survived and hopefully can recover to fly again!

Just looked it up, N420AF i think, so not that one!

Is that the Aircam that crashed a few days back?