willedoo

A short clip of helicopters fighting a fire in Moscow at the weekend. They look like the Karmov Km32 & the Mil Mi26 operated by the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations.

 

Cheers,

 

Willedoo.

 

http://rt.com/news/major-blaze-moscow-helicopters/

 

 

 

Sad news a couple of weeks ago to hear of the crash on takeoff of the Mig 15UTI, registered as HA-UTI which has been under restoration for the last five years by the Jet Age Foundation of Hungary. The first post restoration flight was on the 11th. of July & it crashed on the 18th. July on it's fourth flight. It must have been heart breaking for all the people who were involved in the project, thankfully the pilots were not injured.

 

There was video taken of the accident, it seemed to be struggling a bit to take off, then banked to the left, hit the ground & became airborne again before finally landing on it's belly. Almost seems like there might have been a malfunction with the aileron or something, haven't seen any recent news giving any indication of the cause.

 

The damage was fairly extensive & it probably won't fly again. They're a fairly tough old bird, but it broke the starboard wing, messed up the underside port wing & lower fuselage & gear. It hit pretty hard, so there probably would be a fair bit of structural stress damage inside the airframe as well. It's anybodys guess as to it's future, if they could track down a reasonable airframe, they have a good engine & other components, but it's a huge setback.

 

Here's an article with a bit of background:

 

http://www.hungariandefence.com/cikk/27048/a-restored-%E2%80%9Ceagle%E2%80%9D

 

They seem to incorrectly state that it's one of only three airworthy in the world, fairly sure there's a lot more than that, one operates out of Rockhampton, Qld. & there's a fair few in the US. There's a few videos on the project on this link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roncskutatas+&aq=f

 

Always sad to see such dedication & passion suffer a setback like this, hopefully some good will come of it.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

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A video of the engine test on HA-UTI, the Hungarian Mig15 UTI restoration project, taken last year. This is the one that crashed on take-off on it's fourth post restoration test flight a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the damage was extensive & it looks like it's unlikely that it will ever fly again.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

 

Here's a link to an article on the carrier based Mig 29 contract with India. The article is not that exciting, but it has some nice production photos taken inside the plant for anyone interested in that sort of thing. Looking at how they've got them propped up, I guess the WH&S rules aren't as strict over there.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

http://www.ruaviation.com/docs/4/2011/8/4/38/

 

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The AN-225 landing & taxi at Nagoya, Japan. Hard to imagine how big this plane is.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

 

Hello Padarcs, The name Stardust was the name of the P40 flown by USAAF ace, LT. Andrew J.Reynolds,9th.Fighter Squadron,49th. Fighter Group, operating near Darwin around 1942-43. Reynolds was the first USAAF ace in the Pacific theatre & the top scoring ace from 1942-1943. I thought there may be a small possibility that the P51 is named after it, as it is reasonably well known, appearing in some paintings & as a livery in some kit models. Some pilots carried on the tradition of the same name for subsequent aircraft they were assigned to, but I haven't found any connection between Andrew Reynolds & P51's. The 9th.FS flew P51's after the end of the war, but his history is hard to trace after the Pacific ace period. I'm fairly sure he ended up a Lt.Colonel, so he possibly moved on to command another unit & may have flown Mustangs. Either way, it's possible the P51 in the photo may have been named after it. That's all I know for now. Cheers,Willedoo.

 

 

 

Had a good look around & can't find anything. Does your friend know the name of the property on which the photo was taken? The photo is too low a resolution to give any clues, a higher res photo might give some clues as to the location, if you could post one. There must be some way to find out something, just a bit stuck at the moment.

 

Cheers, willedoo.

 

 

I'll go with the C46 (or Navy equivalent) - the twin cargo doors are surely a clue along with the fat fuselage?

Yes, looks like it. Found a photo, not very high res, of a C46 with what looks like twin doors & it also has the same line on the aft upper fuselage just below the tail. Have no idea what this is, as it's hard to find detailed photos. I'd guess it's either a strengthening rib or something to do with the aerodynamics & airflow around the tailplane. Given it's date of production & slow speed, maybe it's not an aerodynamic feature.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

 

Here's another interesting air base co-ordinate for viewers of Google Earth: 53° 05'17"N 26°01'53"E , is the Baranovichi base in Belarussia.

 

It was formerly a large long range bomber base under the USSR, housing up to two regiments of TU16's & 22's in it's heyday, as well as air defense fighters. Belarus inherited almost all of their air force from the Soviet Union & the current image shows nearly the entire Belarussian fleet of SU24's parked up, only one or two missing, looks like about 33 of them.

 

The SU24 is a strike bomber along the lines of our F111, slightly smaller, but with only about half the speed & range of the old Pig.

 

Seems to be a few Mig 29's parked there & possibly an SU27. Lots of bunkers & open storage bays seem to be unused these days, the base looks like a bit of a ghost town.

 

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Has been some talk for a while about the Russian strategic bombers being been brought out of mothballs & dusted off. Here's an article about mid air re-fueling practice:

 

 

 

 

 

Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers refueled in the air Wednesday from Il-78 tankers, an official representative of the defense ministry’s press service and information directorate, Colonel Vladimir Drik, reported.

 

 

 

“Fortunately, nearly 10 long-range aviation crews from the airbase at Ehngel’s (Saratov Oblast’) were involved in the flight methodological assembly for improving practical skills in the air,” Interfax reports Drik said.

 

 

 

According to him, in-flight refueling is one of the most complex flight missions for air force flight crews.

 

 

 

“Flights with in-flight refueling are included regularly at different stages of the Russian Federation armed forces training for operational deployment of aviation equipment from one region of the country to another,” Drik reflected.

 

 

 

He added that in 2010 during fulfillment of an assigned task by flight crews of long-range aviation, several records were established for time in the air on Tu-95MS and Tu-160 airplanes.

 

Source: 20.07.11, Vzglyad

 

 

 

Google Earth co-ordinates for the Engel AFB near Saratov are 51° 28'30"N 46°11'23"E

 

The current image shows, in the parking bay, four of the supersonic swing-wing TU 160 Blackjacks. To the left of them is the old cold war icon, the TU 95 Bear & to it's left is a Myasishchev Bison, either a 3M or 4M, too hard to tell at that resolution. The 4m reached IOC in 1954 & most have since been converted from bombers to tankers. The large wingspan can be seen here, always a problem with the Bison as it had bicycle gear & the jockey wheels on the ends of the wings were always out on the grass, off the strip. Couldn't see any IL-78 tankers in the image, they are probably not based there.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

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Well, that was fantastic to watch such an historic moment. Thanks for all your input & effort on covering the flight, John. Reminds me a bit of watching the first moon landing.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

Came by an old book recently about Piper Cubs & scanned this photo of a WW2 hospital Cub being unloaded or loaded into a transport. Tried to figure out what the cargo plane is, thought it was too fat for a C47 & has a retractable tail wheel as well. I'm fairly sure it's a Curtiss-Wright C46 Commando from photos I've looked up. The original pic is an official US Marine Corps photo which would possibly make it an R5C designation. It sure looks like one.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

 

that photo's from the first time, we went the following year too. I remember it well because I had major surgery 2 days after returning home! My surgeon saw how nervous/upset I was just before surgery and asked how Dalby was. Amazing how his memory helped me calm down. Funny how we remember these things...

Yes, Dalby's my old stamping ground, I grew up around there, have got cousins crop dusting in the area. Lots of flat ground & cotton. Anyway, all the best.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

It's been nearly 3 years since I was at Dalby. Yes, we get around a bit, hoping to retrieve SYF from Shepparton tomorrow and bring her slightly closer to home!

That would be right, the photo was dated around October 2007, here it is:

 

 

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

Hey James, welcome!It's a while since I've been there, but I did land at Gladstone once.

Welcome James, looking forward to hearing more from you, & Kaye, you must get around a bit. Saw a photo recently on flickr of VH-SYF parked up at Dalby, Qld.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, has cast a replica of the Yuri Gagarin 50th. anniversary of manned space flight statue & donated it to Great Britain.Yuri stands beside the statue of Captain Cook, so he's in good company, two very historic explorers. The statue will be there for one year apparently.

 

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«Gagarin belongs not only to Russia but also to all the countries and all the people. It is important for us to show the statue in London », –Sky News cites the deputy chairman of Roscosmos, Vitaly Davidov.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jul/14/yuri-gagarin-statue-unveiled-london

 

 

Hey little old Quilpie has a lot going for it, friendly locals for one thing, a big cattle transport hub (lotsa big trucks), opals ( the only opal altar in the world ), the Bulloo River and wonderful fishing, Station Stays in the immediate area and art galleries too. A great airport where you can visit the site where Amy Johnson landed in Quilpie and view the display at the Amy Johnson Airport Terminal.

 

I should be plugging my place just down the road on the Dowling Track, not Quilpie! We all need visitors though, tourism helps keep the local economies ticking along. Cheers Zenonie

The butcher also sells some of the best steaks in Australia. Hopefully tourism might get a boost with the bitumen steadilly creeping toward Innamincka, already at the Nappamerry bridge with only a small gap back towards Ballera. Fairly soon, people will be able to drive to Innamincka via Thargomindah/Cunnamulla & return via Eromanga & Quilpie on the tar all the way. Never thought I'd see it in my lifetime.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

Since when have Toowoomba and Quilpie been in West Qld? lolI guess it is West of South East Qld... but it ain't West Qld for the rest of us Queenslanders.... lol

I was expecting to see a trip report to Mount Isa or Birdsville.... lol

Yes, the flight departed from Toowoomba, which is in south east Qld, Quilpie is only an hours drive east of Eromanga, which claims to be the furtherest town from the coast in Australia, so that's sort of west but probably not what you would call the far south west. Not sure what district it is in officially, seems a bit west of the Maranoa & east of the channel country.

 

Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

I was wondering about the price tag, Scott, but that explains it to a T. Thanks Peter for the name of that show, I've watched a few, but the memory must be getting bad. Cheers, Wiledoo.

 

 

so who,s up for putting in some $ for a 2 seat spitfire.http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/london-auction-of-items-from-masterpiece-london-not-for-the-frugal/story-e6frg9zo-1226084969232

Scott, it looks like the one on TV a few weeks ago. It was on that show, I forget the name, where Australian descendants of war veterans get taken on a journey to discover their relative's war history. It was modified to a 2 seater in modern times, I think. Don't know if any were built that way as trainers, haven't heard of it. The lady who was the guest of the show was training for her private pilot's license & she got to take the controls & fly it for a while, would have been a great experience for anyone to do that, it's possibly the same plane. I think her Uncle flew them in Malta or somewhere.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

Article about United Aircraft Corporation head, Mikhail Pogosyan, commenting on the Chinese Stealth prototype being basically a technology demonstrator instead of a real contender, similar to the role of the SU47 Berkut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The manager of the Unified Aircraft Building Corporation (OAK), Mikhail Pogosyan, evaluates skeptically the Chinese program for creation of a fifth generation fighter. This year China demonstrated a fifth generation airplane for the first time that has made one demonstration flight, Fontanka.RU reports.

 

 

 

“It is more a demonstrator than a real program,” Pogosyan said at the Le Bourget air salon in France, commenting on the flight of that airplane. At the same time, he emphasized that the Chinese aviation industry is developing successfully. “We are analyzing it very closely,” he added.

 

 

 

“However, there won’t be any kind of huge leaps forward here. For realization of such programs (fifth generation) one needs to have a large scale and great experience,” the OAK manager thinks.

 

 

 

He reported that the program for creation of the Russian fifth generation fighter (PAK FA) is being developed in two directions – there is the development of the basic airplane for the Russian military and the program of cooperation with India on the creation of an export version of this airplane. “It is a single program, 90 – 95 percent unified,” Pogosyan said.

 

 

 

The agency source added that tests of the fifth generation airplane are on schedule, without any malfunctions. “At the present time two airplanes are being tested in the sky and one airplane on the ground. All programs are under way successfully,” Mikhail Pogosyan noted.

 

 

 

Pogosyan emphasized that the volume of domestic and export purchases of combat aircraft by 2020 should be equal and amount to a percentage ratio of 50 – 50. “If in the 1990s we had a ratio of 10 to 90, of which 90 percent comprised exports, then by 2020 this ratio will be 50 – 50 and even 60 percent – it will be a defense ministry order,” the OAK head said.

 

Source: 20.06.11, Avia.RU

 

 

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Recent flight from Toowoomba to Quilpie saw the country finally starting to dry out a bit after the extensive wet weather of the last few months. Last time I did this flight was in November & it was a sea of green grass.

 

Took off on the new almost finished Toowoomba Airport extension. Asked what size planes could use it, apparently the biggest is still the Dash 8 & it was extended mainly for a better length for the Flying Doctor King Airs, or so I was told.

 

First two photos are Charleville, last one is Quilpie.

 

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Thanks Willie. Keep me posted. Either way is fine. I'm trying to get a new style one also from someone in the military With that said, the look and design in general is not that different. The safety aspect is probably a little better but these helmets certainly put in the hrs. As a matter of interest, I have the nomex flying suit and gloves also. You cannot be 'over the top' with protective gear.

Yes Darren, I'm not too familiar with the new ones. I think it was the HGU-56/P that replaced the old SPH-4's. I think it's kevlar, I know they have a custom fit thermoplastic liner instead of the old sling harness & a lot better side protection than the old ones. Hopefuly you might be able to post up a photo if you get one one day. Cheers, Willie.

 

 

yes i do belive that is canberra..

Thanks, Scott, only been there once but not to the airport. I thought the hills looked a bit lke the country around there. Cheers, Willedoo.

 

 

Mate, I would be very interested in the helmet. I could send you mine also! Let me know if you change your mind/think about it.

No worries, Darren, once I work out which way to go with it, you'll be the first to know. I wouldn't part with it to another collector, only to a good home where it could be used for it's intended purpose. It's probably been trying to break out of that box & fly for the past 30 years. I take a size 57-58 hat size & although it's a bit of a wiggle to get it over the ears, it feels a good fit once it's on, although I haven't adjusted the slings yet & the pad is sitting flat against the liner. I guess a size 59-60+ head size would find it a bit too tight. I suppose they only came in two sizes because of the large amount of adjustment available with the slings. Will keep you updated regarding whether I'll keep it or not.

 

Regards,

 

Willie.