Author Topic: Interesting or unusual planes? (Read 389531 times)

Bledlow · « **Reply #125 on:** 05 September, 2011, 11:57:10 am »

Mrs B & I visited the Museum of Berkshire Aviation http://home.comcast.net/~aero51/html/ at Woodley, on the edge of Reading, last September. A very small museum, but with some interesting stuff. A strong local bias, & therefore a few Miles aircraft.

Miles Hawk Trainer - replica built around the surviving parts of an an original. There wasn't enough left for a restoration.

Miles Student - restored

Fairey Gannet

Fairey Rotodyne

It has a Handley Page Herald outside.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #126 on:** 10 September, 2011, 02:44:41 am »

Unable to get a photo, but today I was having a crafty fag break at the side of US-95 and spotted a Predator coming into Land at Creech AFB, near Indian Springs, NV.

clarion · « **Reply #127 on:** 10 September, 2011, 09:00:36 am »

Shortly after making this post, Mr Larrington was arrested as a suspected turrist, and has now been removed for extraordinary rendition.

Peter · « **Reply #128 on:** 10 September, 2011, 08:35:07 pm »

Quote from: Adam on 03 September, 2011, 06:47:56 pm

Last Wednesday, I finally got to go around Tangmere Military Aviation Museum. It's quite a compact museum, with only 2 small hangars, but in the old Mess buildings, they have crammed in loads of displays and bits of aircraft interiors and equipment.

They're especially proud of their Lightning and Hunters, including the Airspeed record holder as flown by Neville Duke in 1953 from Tangmere:-

However, what impressed me the most was the replica Spitfire prototype:-

The original was destroyed just before the war, but this is one of several reproductions made. Although this is a non flying version, it was built by a firm of aircraft restorers whilst they were working on a normal Spitfire, and it's supposed to be 99% accurate, and it certainly felt and looked very authentic to me. Even though it's not the real thing, it represents an iconic step forward by British aviation.

Pictures of the other aircraft they have are shown here.

If you find yourself out that way, I recommend you spend an afternoon there.

Adam, was that Lockheed plane also knoown as the Shooting Star, as used in Korea, or a version thereof?

Adam · « **Reply #129 on:** 10 September, 2011, 09:11:48 pm »

Quote from: Peter on 10 September, 2011, 08:35:07 pm

Adam, was that Lockheed plane also knoown as the Shooting Star, as used in Korea, or a version thereof?

Not quite. At Tangmere, they've got a Lockheed T-33 which was just an 2 seat advanced jet trainer. That was a stretched version of the P-80 single seat fighter which is what served in combat duty in Korea. Both planes were known as Shooting Stars though.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #130 on:** 11 September, 2011, 01:52:01 am »

Quote from: clarion on 10 September, 2011, 09:00:36 am

Shortly after making this post, Mr Larrington was arrested as a suspected turrist, and has now been removed for extraordinary rendition.

Let me out of this fish crate, you swine!

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #131 on:** 11 September, 2011, 07:40:55 am »

Quote from: clarion on 09 July, 2011, 11:04:19 pm

Today we saw a small plane with what appeared to be a personalised aircraft reg - G-SHAY at an airfield somewhere in Essex.

this isn't uncommon, I think. My Dad's plane, based at Southend, is G-UTSY.

bomber · « **Reply #132 on:** 20 September, 2011, 05:47:53 pm »

I believe when registering an aircraft you just request whatever 4 letter reg you like, and unless its obscene or already taken its yours.

Saw a Piaggio Avanti at Bournemouth today, damn slick looking machine. Unfortunately no camera on me at the time.

Adam · « **Reply #133 on:** 20 September, 2011, 08:26:06 pm »

It's only £165 extra to have an out of sequence registration, on top of the standard fee, which for a light aircraft is £62.

About 30 years ago, I registered a plastic bin liner* and got allocated G-BITY which is quite a good registration for an in-sequence mark. I've kept onto it, as I hoped at some point the CAA would allow registration marks to be transferred to other aircraft, so that if I ever bought a plane (_{ha ha, not likely now}), I could switch it across, and then have it painted up with a really smart shark paint scheme.

* _{Technically it's a free standing hot air balloon, but it was made out of a large number of bin liners. Around that time, there was a big craze for registering all sorts of daft things, just for the hell of it, as back then it was very cheap. I knew someone who registered a manhole cover and called it some obscure name which made it sound like it was a flying wing.}

clarion · « **Reply #134 on:** 20 September, 2011, 08:26:42 pm »

Crikey that's interesting - like most Piaggios a pusher. Looks like a Burt Rutan creation.

Tewdric · « **Reply #135 on:** 20 September, 2011, 08:41:45 pm »

Quote from: Adam on 20 September, 2011, 08:26:06 pm

About 30 years ago, I registered a plastic bin liner* and got allocated G-BITY which is quite a good registration for an in-sequence mark.

Adam · « **Reply #136 on:** 20 September, 2011, 08:44:21 pm »

I'd never thought of that - I could sell the registration to him for lots of cash.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #137 on:** 10 October, 2011, 12:41:51 pm »

Quote from: clarion on 10 September, 2011, 09:00:36 am

Shortly after making this post, Mr Larrington was arrested as a suspected turrist, and has now been removed for extraordinary rendition.

It wasn't me...

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #138 on:** 17 October, 2011, 02:42:55 pm »

The Vulcan was over Silverstone during the last BTCC meeting of the year yesterday, though sadly I was only watching on the telly.

fuzzy · « **Reply #139 on:** 17 October, 2011, 04:15:32 pm »

Yesterday afternoon a Douglas DC3 Dakota resplendant in D- Day paint job flew over Marlow heading West.

Lovely sound as it passed.

delthebike · « **Reply #140 on:** 17 October, 2011, 04:18:06 pm »

Quote from: fuzzy on 17 October, 2011, 04:15:32 pm

Yesterday afternoon a Douglas DC3 Dakota resplendant in D- Day paint job flew over Marlow heading West.

Doesn't the D Day paint job make it a C47?

Steph · « **Reply #141 on:** 17 October, 2011, 07:01:24 pm »

Nope. I do believe there was a strengthened floor etc on the C47.

Adam · « **Reply #142 on:** 17 October, 2011, 08:07:47 pm »

Technically, the Dakota is a C47 as that was the name the RAF gave to it, when the C47 came into service. Although a lot of the remaining civilian DC3's around the UK were converted from C-47's after the war (by simply putting seats in).

Generally, if it's got a large cargo door at the rear, then it used to be a C47.

fuzzy · « **Reply #143 on:** 19 October, 2011, 01:25:16 pm »

Whatever its' designation, it looked just liekt he jobs that Damian Lewis and his troops jumped from in Band of Brothers.

Steph · « **Reply #144 on:** 19 October, 2011, 03:48:05 pm »

The DC-3 was converted to the Dakota/Skytrain/Skytrooper/C-47 bu adding cargo door, strengthened floor, etc. Later ones were 'converted' back to DC-3, but retained the mods, as Adam says. There was a later super-Skytrain (US designation) that involved larger tail surfaces, engine mods and other changes. Watch "A Bridge Too Far" and look at the fins.

TimC · « **Reply #145 on:** 19 October, 2011, 04:25:52 pm »

Quote from: Steph on 31 August, 2011, 07:01:37 pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/electropod/2604961161/

My dad was the last Lightning station commander at RAF Gutersloh (1974-76), and I believe he has XN728 in his logbook. It's such a shame to see it in this state. I'd prefer it was destroyed than allowed to lose its dignity so.

Quote from: Mr Larrington

Unable to get a photo, but today I was having a crafty fag break at the side of US-95 and spotted a Predator coming into Land at Creech AFB, near Indian Springs, NV.

Creech (Indian Springs) AFB is largely used in support of the 'Flag' exercises in the Nevada training ranges. I have been in there a few times in a previous life; with all the closures, it's surprising that such a relatively small base has survived!

Quote from: Pingu

N-315

That's a RNLAF (Dutch)-liveried Hunter T7, isn't it? They used to have about seven squadrons' of these! I flew them myself in the RAF in the late '70s, though they were (only just) out of front-line service by then, and were only used for training roles.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #146 on:** 20 October, 2011, 02:29:38 pm »

Quote from: TimC on 19 October, 2011, 04:25:52 pm

Quote from: Mr Larrington
Unable to get a photo, but today I was having a crafty fag break at the side of US-95 and spotted a Predator coming into Land at Creech AFB, near Indian Springs, NV.

Creech (Indian Springs) AFB is largely used in support of the 'Flag' exercises in the Nevada training ranges. I have been in there a few times in a previous life; with all the closures, it's surprising that such a relatively small base has survived!

Oooh, miss! TimC's been to Area 51, miss!

AFAICT all of central Nevada is pwned by teh USAnian Military-Industrial Complex so it's just a matter of where They decide to put the runway, and nearer a paved road is better unless you're reverse-engineering UFOs. The whole business is decidedly inconvenient should one wish to travel overland from, say, Utah to Stullifornia, because it might lead to unwanted proximity to Las Vegas, which is a ghastly dump and here is a picture to prove it:

And yes, the sky really is that colour.

Steph · « **Reply #147 on:** 21 October, 2011, 04:36:55 am »

TimC, I have watched that Lightning deteriorate over the years, and you have to ask yourself what the mindset is, firstly of someone who takes such a wonderful beast and parks it like that, and secondly of the arsewits who feel such destruction to be 'fun'.

TimC · « **Reply #148 on:** 21 October, 2011, 10:13:42 am »

As I remember, it was bought by the scrapyard owner as an original way of advertising his business. There have been many attempts over the years to persuade him to let someone take it away and restore it, but nothing's ever come of it. I guess it's too far gone now - and there are plenty of Lightnings in museums anyway (though not F2As - the most capable variant!).

Butterfly · « **Reply #149 on:** 22 October, 2011, 10:59:14 am »

I like it how it is now. It has a character and drama that it wouldn't have if it was restored.