Phil Perry

You beat me to the button there Marty. ABSOLUTE NO NO in my view and I do not care what anyone else says about this because it will be utter bullcrap. If a person is not authorised to 'FLY' that aircraft as a solo student, then he / she should not even turn on the Master switch, let alone start the engine without a qualified instructor being on board and in full command supervision of the controls. The only exception to this would be a licenced airframe and engine engineer who may have been given a dispensation so to do. I have an engineer friend who is licenced, LICENCED . . .to taxi jet airliners for ground test and relocation purposes. I would be most surprised if such dispensations do not exist in Australia. Commonsense should prevail, irrespective of anecdotes to the contrary. Sorry if this sounds a bit severe. ( Yes, I agree that SOME of us have probably done this. . . . .)

Can't help with the importation into Australia I'm afraid Mr. Pimlico Sir,. . .just wanted to comment that I've always liked the Shadow series, having flown the 503 version for many happy hours. Not so much fun if you're in the back seat mind ! Unless it has the later fuselage mod with more legroom. I flew one with a new ownner for AEX whilst in the rear seat a couple of times, but it was a bit on the tight side and if I wasn't very careful, each time I thurned my head to lookout, the damned headset would jam against the tubes above and I'd end up with the ear cup over my nose. . . . Later on, because I eat too much, ( And consequently have an enhanced SHADOW ! ) I had to pack it in, as the pitch trim needed adjusting every time I flew from the 'Glider Like' front seat,. . (.brilliiant visibility all around ) and I loved the sidestick control. . but it was a little bit narrow in the pitch balance envelope department as designer Dave Cook would agree. . . . the last time I flew it, I had to make seven landing attempts at our small airfield ( 380M runway ) as I couldn't slow the bloody thing down below 70 MPH with full nose up trim. . . ! I didn't know that the owner had got someone to permanently alter the trim range as he was a little runt, . . .and it suited his weight. There are still several of these flying in the UK, as you are probably aware. I didn't get a chance to fly the 582 version, regrettably. . . You should be able to glean the info you need from the worthies on this site. . . Good fortune. Phil.

I need to add an amendment to the above article, as my friend is not quite correct on a couple of points. . . Ball was flying an SE5, not a 5a, as this didn't come into service until the summer of 1917. The 5a was a classic aircraft, the original 5 not so much. Though fast and stable, none of the SE series came near to the manoeuvrability of a rotary engined aircraft (hardly surprising) which is why Ball had a personal Nieuport 17 for use in 56 Squadron as well as his 'official' SE5. Neither SE had twin Vickers, but instead,. .retained the late 'Nieuport' arrangement, ie, a single synchronised Vickers and an overwing Lewis gun right up to the end of the war. Why this setup was never changed is unknown. . .

Albert Ball – The Angel-Faced Killer ( H/T BP. ) Breakfast His place was laid, The messroom clock struck eight The sun shone through the window On his chair. No one commented on his fate, Save for a headshake here and there; Only old George who’d seen him die Spinning against the autumn sky, Leaned forward and turned down his plate. And as he did, the sunlight fled, As though the sky he’d loved so Mourned her dead. Hannah M. Hunt On the evening of the 17th May 1917, near Douai in Picardy, a German pilot officer on the ground, Lieutenant Hailer, saw a British SE 5A fighter fall from a thunder cloud, spinning and inverted with a dead prop. The engine was leaving a cloud of black smoke, probably caused by oil leaking into the cylinders. The SE5a’s engine had to be inverted for this to happen. The Hispano engine was known to flood its inlet manifold with fuel when upside down and then stop running. A crowd of Germans hurried to the crash site and found the British pilot dead in the wreckage. Nevertheless, they took the pilot to a field hospital where he was pronounced dead, due to a broken back and a crushed chest, along with fractured limbs. It was noted that the body and the crashed aircraft bore no signs of battle damage. Identification found on the body revealed the pilot to be Acting Captain Albert Ball, the British fighter ace with 44 confirmed victories. It was as though the Royal Flying Corps’ then premier ace, had simply fallen to earth. Albert Ball was born in Lenton, Nottingham on 14th August 1896. His father, also Albert Ball was a successful businessman who would become the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and later knighted. Young Albert had two siblings, a brother and a sister. Albert’s parents could afford to be indulgent with their elder son and he was brought up to have working knowledge of things mechanical and electrical. And what may seem bizarre and trigger today’s social workers, Albert junior was raised with firearms and became a crack shot. He was also a deeply religious young man. He studied at Grantham Grammar School, Nottingham High School and transferred to Trent College at 14. He was not particularly academic but showed a love of mechanical things, carpentry, modelling, the violin and photography. He served in the Officers’ Training Corps at college and when he left in 1913 at the age of 17, his father helped him gain employment at the Universal Engineering Works in Nottingham. When war broke out in 1914, Ball enlisted in the 2/7th (Robin Hood) Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham and Derby Regiment). He was rapidly promoted to Sergeant and commissioned second lieutenant, Gazetted on 29th October 1914. He was assigned to training recruits, a rear echelon role that irked him. He tried to transfer to front-line duties but remained based in England. He managed to find time for a brief engagement to Dot Allbourne, but slightly caddishly, maintained interest in other girls. Ball hit upon the idea of learning to fly to get to the front any way he could, and started private lessons at Hendon Aerodrome. He would wake at 0300 and motorcycle to Hendon for a pre-dawn flight, before riding back to commence military duties at 0645. He seemed to have an indifference to the accidents and suffering of his fellow student pilots that arguably bordered on psychopathy. He wrote to a friend: Yesterday a ripping boy had a smash, and when we got up to him he was nearly dead, he had a two-inch piece of wood right through his head and died this morning. If you would like a flight I should be pleased to take you any time you wish. He was considered to be a less than average pilot by his instructors, but gained his Royal Aero Club Certificate on the 15th October 1915. He was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and detached to an aerodrome near Norwich. He soloed on a Farman biplane but his landing was rough after having stood guard all night. When his instructor commented sarcastically on the landing, Ball responded angrily, but would continue to have a series of rough landings. He completed training at the Central Flying School Upavon and received his wings on the 22nd January 1916. Second Lieutenant Ball joined 13 Squadron RFC at Marieux in France, on 18th February 1916. He was assigned to flying reconnaissance flights in a BE2c and was shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 27th March. A few days later on a flight, he had a running battle with a German observation aircraft, during which his observer fired an entire drum of Lewis Gun ammunition before they were driven off by a second German aircraft. In letters home to his father, he tried to dissuade his younger brother from following him into the RFC. I like this job, but nerves do not last long, and you soon want a rest. Ball’s developing skills and penchant for aggressive action allowed him access to the Squadron’s single-seat fighter, a Bristol Scout. He found the small, agile machine a joy to fly and he lavished praise on the machine in letters home. He was posted to Number 11 Fighter Squadron RFC on 7th May 1916, a unit that flew Nieuport 16s and FE 2Bb “pushers.” In one of his letters home at this time he complained of fatigue and the lack of hygiene in his assigned billet in the local village. Ball elected to live on the flight line and built a hut for himself, complete with a garden. One can’t help wondering just how popular this made the newcomer with his fellow pilots. Ball adopted the tactics of a “lone wolf” pilot who stalked his prey from below until close enough to use the upper wing-mounted Lewis Gun angled to fire upwards into the enemy crew, a tactic beloved by German Night Fighters in WW2 against British bombers. He would hold the control column between his knees while he changed the drums of ammunition. He was a “lone wolf” on the ground as well as in the air and because he worked on his own aircraft, he presented a dishevelled and unkempt appearance. He scored his first kill on 16th May 1916, brought down two LGVs on 29th May and a Fokker Eindecker on 1st June whilst flying a Nieuport. He added a balloon to his tarry by destroying an observation balloon with phosphorus bombs on 25th June. On 2nd July he added two more victories and became an ace. As if in premonition, he wrote to his parents asking them “to take it well” if he were killed in action. He requested time off, but was instead detached to No 8 Squadron where he flew BE2s from 18th July until 14th August. During this time he was tasked with dropping off an agent behind enemy lines. Having dodged three enemy fighters he landed in the field, only to have the agent refuse to get out of the aircraft. During his time with 8 Squadron, he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for “conspicuous skill and gallantry on many occasions.” On his 20th birthday Ball returned to 11 Squadron and destroyed three Roland CIIs during one sortie on 22nd August 1916. He ended that day taking on fourteen German aircraft and struggled back, short of fuel to the Allied lines. He was transferred to 60 Squadron RFC on 23rd August and his new Squadron Commander gave him carte blanche to fly solo missions, plus his own aircraft and ground crew. He had the Nieuport’s propeller boss painted signal red and by the end of the month had increased his kills to 17 enemy aircraft, with three downed on the 28th August. Ball went on leave to England where his feats had received much publicity. It had been British policy to not publicise RFC successes, but the carnage of the Battle of the Somme made all successes something to propagandise. The young pilot much enjoyed the attention, particularly that of the ladies. He returned to France and scored two more kills on 15th September. He scored three triple daily victories and by the end of the month had amassed a score of 31. Making him Britain’s top fighter ace. His superiors ordered him to rest as he was taking unnecessary risks and arranged a Home Establishment posting in England. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and Bar “for conspicuous gallantry and skill” and the Russian Order of St George in the same month. Back in England he was lauded as a national hero and was invested with the MC and DSO and Bar by King George V. He was promoted to substantive Lieutenant on 8th December 1916. Lieutenant Albert Ball was posted on instructional duties to Orford Ness in Suffolk. He was invited to test fly the new SE5a fighter in November, but he was unimpressed with the new aircraft. He found it to be heavy and too stable, compared with the nimble Nieuport. His views contrasted markedly with those of fellow pilots who had flown the aircraft. Perhaps they were looking at it as a type, which would give more inexperienced pilots a fighting chance against the superior German fighters. During this time, Ball met 18-year-old Flora Young and they became engaged on 5th April 1917. It was while serving on the home front that he was able to lobby for the building and testing of the Austin-Ball A.F.B.1 fighter, which he had designed and helped to develop. He hoped to be able to take an example of the type to France with him, but the prototype was not completed until after his death in action. Ball chafed at instructional duties and wrangled a posting back to France as a flight commander with newly- formed 56 Squadron RFC. It was to be equipped with the SE5a and Ball was unhappy, insisting that his aircraft should have modified gun mountings to fire upwards and downwards instead of the two Vickers Guns synchronised to fire through the propeller. He flew the SE5a when on patrol with the rest of the Squadron, and used a Nieuport for his “lone wolf” sorties. During this time he continued to score a steady rate of kills, despite having constant problems of his guns jamming in the SE5a. He reverted to the Nieuport and scored his 44th kill on 6th May, an Albatros DIII. He continued to fly lone patrols, but the German fighter pilots were getting much better as were their tactics and he was increasingly returning with more comprehensive battle damage. On his final letter home, Ball wrote: I do get tired of always living to kill, and am really beginning to feel like a murderer. Shall be so pleased when I have finished. On the 7th May 1917 Albert Ball was leading a patrol of eleven aircraft in his SE5a, when the patrol encountered a large number of German fighters from Jasta 11. The two sides engaged in a confused, running dogfight in decreasing visibility and the two formations became scattered. Albert Ball was last seen in pursuit of a red Albatros DIII, the mount of Lothar von Richthofen, the Red Baron’s younger brother, until the Germans went to the crashed SE5a that had fallen from the thundercloud. The Germans credited Lothar von Richthofen with shooting down Ball, but he disputed this as he claimed that he shot down a Sopwith Triplane and not an SE5a. It is probable that the younger Richthofen was caught up in the propaganda game, spun by the German High Command. It is more likely that Albert Ball became disorientated in the storm cloud and suffered vertigo, inverting the aircraft and cutting out the engine. The fact there was no battle damage on the crashed SE5 supports this hypothesis. At the end of the month that the Germans dropped messages behind Allied lines announcing that Ball was dead, and had been buried in Annoeullin with full military honours, two days after he crashed. Over the grave of the man they dubbed "the English Richthofen", the Germans erected a cross bearing the inscription In Luftkampf gefallen für sein Vaterland Engl. Flieger Hauptmann Albert Ball, Royal Flying Corps ("Fallen in air combat for his fatherland English pilot Captain Albert Ball." The tragedy is, there was a certain inevitability about the death of Albert Ball. Notwithstanding the terrible attrition rates of RFC aircrew, Ball was driven and took too many risks. He was a loner and died a loner’s death, disorientated in a dead aircraft spinning to earth. Citation for Posthumous Victoria Cross: Lt. (temp. Capt.) Albert Ball, D.S.O., M.C., late Notts. and Derby. R., and R.F.C. For most conspicuous and consistent bravery from the 25th of April to the 6th of May, 1917, during which period Capt. Ball took part in twenty-six combats in the air and destroyed eleven hostile aeroplanes, drove down two out of control, and forced several others to land. In these combats Capt. Ball, flying alone, on one occasion fought six hostile machines, twice he fought five and once four. When leading two other British aeroplanes he attacked an enemy formation of eight. On each of these occasions he brought down at least one enemy. Several times his aeroplane was badly damaged, once so seriously that but for the most delicate handling his machine would have collapsed, as nearly all the control wires had been shot away. On returning with a damaged machine he had always to be restrained from immediately going out on another. In all, Capt. Ball has destroyed forty-three German aeroplanes and one balloon, and has always displayed most exceptional courage, determination and skill

ABSOLUTELY. . . Interview all applicants and choose the candidate(s) who demonstrates the most suitability and the best qualifications for the job irrespective of sex, ethnicty or spoken accent.

regional accent,. . .or are an Immigrant,. .. in which case your accent is immeidiately accommodated and excused. all ABBC advertising for media staff nowadiays Contains the Caveat : ONLY BLACK, COLOURED, OR AISIAN MAY APPLY. . . .This kind of advertising used to be illegal, and it probably still is, but the Powers that be don't do their job anymore,. . .we are being subsumed. . . . White people. . .( I admit to being one of these. . .) are seemingly being de-selected from postions of value in the media. . . . A curious situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsBGPjc8DFE

Oh no mate,. . .BUSHMEAT is available at street markets all over London and in several other large cities where African people are settled. . .gawd only knows what kind of animals that the 'Bushmeat' comes from . . .but it is available everywhere that African migrants gather. . . .as is KHAT . . .leaves from a particular African plant, which are chewed by most recent African immigrants. . . Khat contains a mild Drug, which produces a feeling of serene calm,. . .and most Nigerians, and others from the African continent chew it all day, all the time. . . . When it is exhausted of it's drug, it is then spat out on the pavement, which then causes the risk of TB, which is a growing problem for the National Health Service in many big UK cities and smaller towns. . ., since Tuberculosis was eradicated in the UK some fifty years ago . . .now brought back into the country by totally uncontrolled immigration from third world countries. . . . No good asking Angela Merkel about her open invitation to the third world. . . .nor the UK Government either . .. they are all 'Apparently' complcit in the 'Replacement of the white race' policy. I'm afraid. . . . so they don't really give a fcuk. . . . .God help Australia in this regard also. . . . It seems to be happening there also. . . .

It's all about First World 'Education' I guess . . .Friend of mine runs a business based just outside London. He supplies contract maintenence / cleaners for social housing projects when they have been vacated by the previous tenants. He has found several cases of 'Fire Pits' chiselled into lounge room floors so that bushmeat may be cooked over an open fire. The tenants of each of these properties were ( reportedly ) from Sub Saharan Africa, where electric and gas cookers do not exist outside of big cities, and many people from these regions had never even seen kitchen appliances before.. These African people, along with the little Chinese Lady, were not barbarians, but simply acting in total innocence, based upon their experiences. Remember Mel Gibson having a Buddhist Monk 'Bless' his aircraft before going on a mission in Air America ? ? same same I guess. . .

Fascinating read Onetrack. . .thanks for that.

No they didn't,. . I am sure I read somewhere way back that Winston Churchill was a little dubious about the whole thing after witnessing a few drop test failures. . . Evidently though, he allowed the programme to proceed. Perhaps that unique target, given the possibilty of much secondary damage to enemy industry as a result, did not present itself as being viable again. . .I've no doubt that there are some writings about this in the archives which should now be de-classified. . .

I saw a B+W Docco on this subject a long time ago, following the development of the bomb using various long water tanks and catapults. One of the most difficult problems to overcome ( as you mention ) was the actual Release Height above the water, finally set at Sixty feet, if I remember corretly, using converging spotlights pointed down at the water. . . and Particularly the actual speed of rearwards spin to produce the required 'Bounce' at the optimum distance from the dam wall for the bomb to travel to preclude it skipping over the dam parapet. ( As some of the weapons actually did ) Some brilliant tests and calculations by Barnes Wallis and his team. . . I see what the article means by the 'Understated, matter of fact' manner in which this crewman worte his comments.

Reposted this as it may have got buried in the 'Anniversay' thread. 617 Squadron 'Dambusters' crew member flying logbook sold for £9,000.00 Fascinating insight into his operational flying. Dambusters bomb aimer's wartime logbook sells for £9,000 | Daily Mail Online

617 Squadron 'Dambusters' crew member flying logbook sold for £9,000.00 Fascinating insight into his operational flying. Dambusters bomb aimer's wartime logbook sells for £9,000 | Daily Mail Online

I well remember the Fairey Rotodyne,. . .one of my 'Airfix' kit builds. Then, later on we had the TSR-2 Tactical aircraft debacle, a most promising aircraft; which was treated in the same manner, all tooling and blueprints destroyed by order of the then Government, with indecent haste, so that the UK had to buy American products. . . 'Sad' is the word which springs to mind.

Thanks for all the info guys. . . in the particular case of the SUBJECT aircraft,. . . I it doesn't affect me personally, but it makes good reading. I've passed on all the links and comments to Mad Mick the stressed out Fleigen Fuhrer. . . .

I think our British overlords started that rot. . . .there was a time when many small airfields had their own bijou aircraft factories building stuff for the leisure flying folks who could afford such fripperies . . . my friend and early flight veteran Billy Turner, says that the government buggered the private flying industry by putting a tax on aviation grade petrol in the early 1960s when it had been sold at One Shilling per Gallon for a long time. . .I don't know what the percentage tax was, but I've no doubt that encyclopedia Wikitannica will have a record of that somewhere. . . Whether that in itself began the rapid decline of the private aircraft industry is debatable. . . there were possibly other reasons which is why many folks nowadays tend to buy aircraft made in Europe. Although there are a handful of small LSA manufacturers remaining in the UK.

Thanks for that Camel, . . I'll forward it to the man for his info. Phil. Putting it another way then, ' Customer Support' is some sort of contract between the supplier and the user. And unless some supranational body decrees this illegal, or Immoral, I can't see a problem.

Wouldn't have a clue mate TBQH. . .I rather doubt that any supplier / manufacturer of luxury goods is going to play silly buggers though, the trade deficit is hugely in favour of the UK being a net importer of billions of squids worth from European countries. . .Governemnts don't do 'Business' Businesses do that. . and any attempt by the EU to harm htheir own exports isn't going to go down well methinks. . .I don't for one minute expect to see undreds of thousands of Mercs, BMWs, Renoults, Citroens, Volkswagens et al rusting away in farmers' fields if the UK is forced to retailiate with any silly tariffs. . . this 'The UK cannot be seen to succeed post Brexit' is pure BS, as I'm sure you are quietly aware. . . Anyway, it will all get watered down in the end,. . .it was NOT supposed to happen, this Brexit thing you know,. . .they thought that the fix was in, but it obviously wasn't 'IN' hard enough. They will find a way to get back on track. . . Hopefully my CFI mate will have had his Eurostar wings re-jigged by then. . . . .I've been joshing the Stingey bugger for ten years to look around for a spare training aircraft but he's so tight he squeaks when walking slowly. . . ( Someone will grass me up for saying that so I'll have to say 'I didn't really mean that Mick. . . ' ) Nice to see you again anyway mate,. . .thought you'd emigrated or summat. . . Oh, By the way,. . .this forum is all about Flying. . . you mustn't drag politics up here. . .tut tut. . .

Thanks guys. . . I heard this morning that there has been a suggestion of forming a group of EV-97 owners to petition the BMAA and LAA for some suggestions on the situation, but other than the UK importer spending a shedload of money setting up the equipment to carry out the neccessary work in the uk, WITH factory oversight,. . . I can't see what good that would do. . . a friend recently purchased a brand new Eurostar, but he says that since ho only flies a small amount of hours per month, the situation will not become a problem for him for a VERY long time. . . I would imagine that many private owners could possibly feel the same way.

I gather that the Evektor company sell a design remarkably similar to the EV-97 Eurostar aircraft in Australia, marketed as the Sportstar ( ? ) the reason for my question is that Our CFI, who has one single EV-97 used for daily training, told me this morning that he has, very soon got to remove the wings and freight them back to the Czech factory, for a strip down inspection / reassembly at 4,000 hours. He was unaware that this process cannot be undertaken in the UK as no wing jigs exist in the country for this purpose. He is naturally a bit miffed, as this will entail the aircraft being out of service for at least a month, quite possibly longer with shipping time both ways; along with the manufacturers being very busy also. . . leaving him with no means of earning a living. I wonder if anyone in God's own country has heard anything about what happens to 'Sportstars' as I guess that a near identical looking design, made at the same factory would be subject to similar periodic requirements re maintenance.

I'm very sorry to hear that Pete,. . . if it's any consolation, my flying friend Johnnie Brown was diagnosed with rectal cancer 18 months ago almost to the day. He had chemo, fed from a small bottle worn on his person. . AND radiotherapy at certain intervals, which reduced the size of the thing and it was then surgically removed. He has been declared clear for a few months now, and is considering corrective 'Plumbing' surgery to re-route the waste output from his colostomy bag to it's original exit. . I hope and pray that everything works out for you. Johnnie says that the upside has been that he lost 42 Lb in bodyweight during the treatment period, and is now svelte enough to fly his Rans S6 Microlight WITH a passenger and not be overloaded. . . . Other than feeling a little sick occasionally during chemo, he was not legally nor medically prevented from excercising his pilot licence. lthough I realise that OZ rules could be vastly different to ours.

Hitler's last gasp! Kamikaze Doodlebug with room for a PILOT that was the Nazis' final bid to bomb Britain is to go on view 47 years after it is saved from the scrapheap As far as I was aware, Hanna Reitsch, whilst normally employed at the JU87B factory testing Stukas, did some test flying on the V1 prototype to iron out some control stability difficulties. . .nothing mentioned then about 'Kamikaze' Germans, but then, the DM likes clickbait headlines. The V2 was already a resounding success and could not be intercepted by British fighters as it was somewhat too quick, antoher reason why I can't see much sense in using V1s for suicide missions, but you never know with old Adolf. . . Some good pics and interesting bits though . . .

I have some old sepia photographs taken by my Maiden Uncle Jim,. . memory awoken by that picture of the Hawker Hind above. He was trained as an engineer / gunner on the Hawker Hind Biplane in Mersa Matruh ( Libya ) in 1938 - 39. After after the outbreak of hostilities, he was transferred to a Wellington Bomber squadron and failed to return after a propaganda leaflet raid over Norway. From the humorous comments on the backs of some of these pictures which somehow made their way to my Mother to be. . . I really wish that I could have known the man. . . Sad.

Thanks for that Ben, one of our guys at the flying club mentioned that he thought there was one being restored somewhere in Australia. I can now tell him where !