Phil Perry

One of the last Dambuster squadron members Died in December 2018, His Wife also passed away ten days later. The couple had no known family so it might have been a very quiet funeral, had it not been for the Media Officer at RAF Cosford, who picked up on this and immediately alerted as many people as possible about the situation via local and social media. One of Our pilots at Otheton noticed this and alerted me with a screenshot of this Twitter Post. With only one and a half days to go, I called a friend in Oxfordshire about this and he said he would be there. . there was no time to expect other local flyers to attend, being a working day. https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/2019/01/22/hundreds-at-funeral-of-telford-dambusters-raf-couple-who-died-10-days-apart/ The crowd was amazing. . over three hundred people were there, and My mate and I supplied / served hot bacon rolls and tea afterwards for the flag bearers, the pall bearers and anyone else who fancied a bit of snap. . .out of the car boot. My Mate Clark thought of this, as, since the people had no relatives, there would be no wake as such. . and the crematorium is on a hilltop ad it was bloody freezing in that wind. . .He's a Good Man, ex Marine (UK) It's a shame that Edna and Victor were unable to see it all. . . the RAF Bugler with his last post was very moving. . .

As I have mentioned before. If the chart says use XXX.XXX, just DO IT. Don't worry what the magic box is doing and forget using the word Frequency. ( Most pilots in the UK don't anyway ) The risk of cross channel 'interference problems due to the physical bandwidth reduction inherent with using 8.33 slots using AM, has obviously been a factor behind the Europe Wide statutes that all 'Old' radios must cease to be used entirely after January 3rd 2019 anywhere in European airspace. Before I gave away my old Icom A20 to a handsome Gent on this forum; I could still hear clearly transmissions from most of the local airfields and pilots who had changed earlier to 8.33 equipment. . . .But thanks for the comment, as others may not have known that.. Phil.

If you 'Fast Forward' to pages 69 & 70. . the suggestion for 'Cause' are shown, although due to the damage these are 'Suggestions' . . . using all the known data plus witness statements. Very thorough report though. . . . Good ole' AAIB. . . and another reference to the excellent Australian study on the problems which can arise AND BE COMPLICATED BY 'Partial Power loss' situations.

Following the very short AAIB report Posted earlier re the CTSW here is an interesting one about a very high hours pilot who had some sort of problem. Two Fatalities. Look at the detail in this report, it is staggering in detail by comparison. I was deeply interested in this as I originally learned to fly in the same type. . . https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c1114f040f0b60c8701aa7b/DH82A_Tiger_Moth_G-ADXT_01-19.pdf

I'd be interested to read the accident report on that one. . .

Interesting tale with regard to your 'Experiment' Mr. Downunder Sir. Your last comment was most prescient, You KNEW that it was going to happen and were prepared for it. This luxury, as your comment points to, is that Many pilots are NOT prepared for certain occurrences, and have to take time to evaluate the situation and carry out checks to identify the most probable cause.. . Rather like the 'Sully' movie ( Very LOOSE Analogy here ) where there was an argument raised at the investigation ( I realise that they Did NOT give him s hard a time as was shown in the film ) that, OK, maybe he could have made it back to a couple of airports following the Bird strike, but nobody Warned him or his First Officer ( Handling) that it was liable to occur. NOW - This bit of the movie script might have been written by Clint Eastwood ( The Director of the movie ) or it may have been taken from the actual investigation I don't Know,. . but it Does highlight the situation that you have alluded to. . . 'Nobody Warned me' . .this was indeed the case for the pilot of the CTSW, especially as he had no knowledge of what might happen when flying out of balance with minimal fuel in one wing tank and a lot more in the other wing, considering the open 'Cross flow' fuel system design of that machine. I have been reading that there have been a number of such occurrences with the CT and CTSW ( SW = Short Wing) types, which, as fortune would have it, dd not result in Unintended nor planned Re-interface with the ground due to fuel starvation. . . I concur with your thoughts on Switched tanks, with isolator switches too. . .the old C-150 had a rather sensible Left tank / Right tank switch, with a main fuel isolator tap as well.. . . Always worked fine for me. . . Why Later designs did not adopt this as a sensible standard is a mystery to me, same with the lack of Gascolator Drain taps under the wing tanks to check for water during the preflight. . . I Might buy an Aeroprakt VIXXEN for around £85K,. . .But I wouldn't even bother with a CT. ( Personal Preference you understand )

I think the report says that the airframe is largely made from Carbon Fibre, I'll have to have another read. This is a very short report by AAIB standards, being only four pages, however, had the incident resulted in any Fatalities, It would have been more comprehensive. Bad form for the Owner / Operator / Annual Permit to fly inspector in not having checked for any unapplied service bulletin updates though. Amazing in fact. MIND YOU. there may have been a paperwork problem with the aircraft documents, as the Service bulletin referred to was in 2012, whereas the accident was in September 2018. . . mitigation ? Insurance ? Contributary negligence ? . . . Too early to say probably. . .

Both crew were uninjured when a CTSW aircraft carried out a forced landing following engine failure. The conclusion by the AAIB seems to point to an 2012 Service Bulletin regarding fuel management on this type; of which the pilot was unaware . The Composite aircraft was damaged beyond repair . https://pagefast-9.dmanalytics2.com/click?u=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F5c1117ede5274a0ad4ea6615%2FFlight_Design_CTSW_G-KEVK_01-19.pdf&i=9&d=6W3ZZY2X-80X5-4Z15-YZ83-Y0V14UUV184Z&e=airside4me%40gmail.com&a=82V37503-Z333-490Z-YW90-377X02Z1U98V

Yes. Eric Brown. Nickname 'Winkle' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_flown_by_Eric_"Winkle"_Brown

Have not been to Hayling Island since 1968. . . . So Don't recall that one. . . we had a Good one in West Brom, opened while I was still at school in 1964 . . .

Quite Possibly in the RAF, but this picture is alleged to have been taken at RNAS Yeovilton, a Fleet Air Arm base up until 2006, when the Sea Harrier was retired. Dunno why Matey said they were Women though,. . I just took his word for it. ( He was based there for a few years as an Engineer, moving on the the RFA to fix Huge Diesels )

My Good Lady reminded me that we used to travel to Burwood,. . .from Boronia ( Long way, said she ! ) as there was a really Good curry house there, I think it was called The King's Castle or something like that,. . .BYO licensed and EXCELLENT Indian food, the last time we went was the same day as the Solar Eclipse, which darkened the Melbourne skies for a short while in the Mid 1970s. . .it's probably a dollar shop now. . . Incidentally, I realise that this is a fairly Old post, but Wifey keeps sneaking up behind me in her carpet slippers to see what rubbish I am posting, and I happened to be perusing this thread. . .

If this picture isn't an early version of 'KodakShop' then I'd hate to see what the trousers of these two Ladies would have looked like 2 seconds later. . . ( Pic sent to me by a friend who was in the Royal Fleet Auxilliary )

I still believe that the current regulations stipulate One Kilometre Minimum quarantine distance from an airport. . . . seems a bit close with respect to runway alignments I would have thought. . . perhaps this will be changed in the light of recent developments. . .

Gatwick Management closed the Airport Marty. ( According to MSM. . . the airlines put up their hands and said 'Don't Blame Us Guv. . .') Possibly worried about a major incident happening on the eve of the whole site being sold to a Company in France ? Who knows. .. Large amount of travellers had their plans ruined anyhow. Very Sad, but at least nobody injured or killed.

Ejection ain't funny Bro'. I read about woe pilots who had to do this, and Neither of them were passed fit for flight afterwards, well, not in the same sort of aircraft anyhow, due to spinal compression and other injuries consistent with being fired out of a cannon at an initial 20-25 Gs. One was an English Electric Lighting pilot, who was forced to eject off the Scottish coast following technical problems he couldn't resolve following Russian Bear interception in the late 1960s. After a couple of years flying a desk, they allowed him to retrain on Hercs. . . .Not the same though is it ?. Flying a wheelbarrow after being used to the fastest machine in the (then) inventory . . . The second was ANOTHER Lighting driver, who did a spectacular ejection just before the aircraft hit the ground , and this was captured by a photographer taking pictures of a new model Tractor in the next field. I have posted this photograph on RF years back,. . .I'll see if I can Googly it again. https://www.vintag.es/2016/08/pilot-ejecting-from-english-electric.html

I would be Amazed. . if the damage on that aircraft in the picture was caused by a Drone. . . hard to believe. . .looks more likely to have been a Goose Strike. Geese are responsible for hundreds of these strikes, I was given a book this Christmas, entitled FLY BY WIRE the Author is a William Langeweische. . .and it is Ostensibly related to the Sully and Skiles A-320 'Cactus 1549' Incident on the Hudson River, NY in 2009. . . .The Author gets to page 60, before even getting into the Hudson ditching. . .the first part is dedicated to explaining the Migrating and local Geese problem in the USA and other countries. It is Fascinating, and I unreservedly recommend this book to the House.

A friend of mine has already taken matters into his own hands after being pestered by regular drone incursions into the immediate airspace above his property. I hapened to call into his gaff on Friday this week and he showed me the remains of a Drone that he had shot down. It had been hovering close to his Koi Carp pond, populted by extremely expensive fish. He loaded his .410 Shotgun with a Birdshot cartridge and brought it down. It looked to me like quite an expensive machine, based upon those I have seen at the local Model field. . but there was no identification on it. . . . He's waiting to see what the local Plod say, should the owner give them the footage from it's HD camera. He said that it was the third time that this drone had been looking at his fish, and he thought that they might be planning a raid.. . . ( ? ) Fish Terrorists. . .Mmm.

The puzzling thing about all this is that NO ONE managed to take ANY actually Verifiabe photographs of the 'Drone' in the immediate vicinity of Gatwick Airport. Everybody and his dog has a camera phone. . .? Most Odd. . .

And another extract, mentioning an Australian Safety Publication. PARTIAL ENGINE FAILURE Geoff Weighell, CEO of the British Microlight Aircraft Association and a GASCo Board Member, Nigel Everett and Colin Wright take a joint look at this particularly dangerous condition. READ MORE

Four fatalities, including two instructors. Very Sad. WITH INSTRUCTORS ON BOARD TWO DIE IN A CFIT AND TWO MORE IN A LOC The December 2018 AAIB monthly bulletin reports two GA fatal accidents. GASCo offers its sincere sympathy to the families and friends of all who died. The 52 year old pilot of a PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior III had 5,700 hours and held a CPL and an IRR. He was the Senior Instructor at his school's location and was also an examiner. He had been tasked with flying the Cherokee to Gloucestershire Airport for maintenance and took along a 19 year old student pilot who was approaching the navigation phase of his training. The aircraft struck the summit of Bredon Hill at an Altitude of nearly 940 ft. Part of the Met Office's aftercast reads: It was a cloudy area with Broken or Overcast skies, bases of the cloud between 800 - 1300 ft ... Any hills over 800 ft would see foggy conditions. READ MORE

A little bit late Franco, but Happy New Year to you and yours. ( And everyone else of course. . .) I love the little Ultralight mate,. . .with MY weight, I'd get a REAL FAST taxi with that I reckon. . . . Phil.

Yeah mate,. . .I Know. . .I were jus' Funnin' . . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR

To be fair Jerry, I didn't intend any competition with anyone. A couple of years back, when this came up. . . I was given to understand that any radio set from the UK would NOT be legally useable in Australia due to different Type approval guidelines. That's understandable, all Governments want to protect their rules. I said that if I could find some surplus rigs, that I could mail them to friends on RF for the cost of the postage, should they wish to use them as spares, since the models are ostensibly identical, across the ICOM range anyhow. It started when I offered the IC-A20 which I've had for years, to SkippyDiesel to use as spares for his knackered one. I later received PMs from other interested parties. I shall be sending my A-20 to Skippy some time shortly, after getting it weighed for postage and asking if he thinks the cost is worth it. I sent a small aircraft fuel system component to another RF member not long ago, but the postage cost more than Half the contents ! Most of the Otherton lot and guys from nearby fields have traded in their 'fixed' units for the 25% CAA rebate, but there may be a few handies around still. I missed out on a 'Promised' one this morning when the chap told me that he'd swapped it for a Headset ! ( Twot ) I'll keep an ear to the ground over the new flying season though. . .never know . . . My I wish you all a Happy New Year and GREAT flying. . . . Phil.

Sorry to hear about that mate. . .Ouch. Glad you're OK though. The SECOND extension period expires on Jan 3rd 2019 ( ! ) so any radios which have not been 'Traded Back' to the CAA or to dealers will be useless here thereafter. So I'll be nagging folks to let me have them for 'Spares' ( ! ) I've still got to get an 8.33 Handyrig myself, but Funds are still extremely depressed at the moment, after Wifey and I paid for the Family Royal Wedding for Eldest Daughter on November 4th. . .( Ouch ) In the meantime I'll be using the Club Rig. Our airfield frequency changed from 129.825 to 129.830 last month, ( in case you're flying nearby ). . . but the rotten buggers have kept all the 'Leisure' flyers together on this ONE channel nationwide, even though there are now three times the channels available.. . they obviously discarded the idea of breaking the country up into sectors of, say four, or six regions, to prevent the bloody cachophany of noise that we have to put up with in good flying weather with far too many stations on the same bloody channel., spread over such a Small Country .( Thanks CAA /OFCOM - Really Intelligent decision ) We have already had to reduce the output power on our base station radio to TWO WATTS . . . as another airfield 20 NM away were whingeing. . . MAINLY because of Pi$$poor operating procedures, ie, pilots failing to IDENTIFY the station they are talking to BY NAME . . .I rather like the Aussie procedure of using the name of the station called, at the beginning and end of a transmission when using a Unicom channel Very sensible with no room for confusion. Whinge Over.