Interesting or unusual planes?

[ElyDave]

He's welcome, helos are noisy, rattly, smelly, dangerous collections of nuts and bolts.

[andytheflyer]

He's welcome, helos are noisy, rattly, smelly, dangerous collections of nuts and bolts.

My first (and only) flight in a helicopter was in Nigeria, looking for a site for a new power station to burn oilfield gas that had hitherto been simply flared.

It was scheduled for a Tuesday, but postponed a day.  On arrival at the airport on the Wednesday, we discovered that they'd had to change the engine on the previous day - a 9 seat Sikorsky.  Not sure if that inspired confidence or not.  It was the most unnerving 90 minutes of my life.  I'd done a scoping process to identify some likely sites and so I was in charge of telling the pilot where I wanted to go.  The whole aircraft shook and vibrated so much that ED's description of a dangerous collection of nuts and bolts seems about right.  I've spent many hours in the air in small fixed wing aeroplanes over the years for both work and pleasure, and am totally comfortable in them, but this was something else.  And I'm not keen to repeat it.

[fuzzy]

My helicopter experiences have been the polar opposite (in feelings of security). During my time in the army, the helicopter was my preferred method of transport on Northern Ireland. Being ferried around by Wessex, Puma or Lynx, occasionally using nap of the earth flying was much better than the sheer helpless terror of bing shut up in the back of a Humber Pig moving into or out of Crossmaglen or similar. waiting for the RPG to hit or the culvert bomb to be detonated- fuck that for a game of soldiers. helicopter any day.

[ElyDave]

I flew out to the Bruce platform on G-REDL the day before its gearbox fell apart mid cruise, killing 16 people. Apparently chips had been detected a week earlier.

My dad was on a flight bringing an RAF puma back from the continent, landed at manston.  Inspection showed a blade 20 min away from complete failure. 

[Steph]

Based on comments from now-departed mates with the T-shirt rights, I included this passage in 'Uniforms'

"If you thought that riding in an LCU was bad, then don’t even think about helicopters. We were airlifted to the battlefield. Sounds fun. What it actually means is getting into a big, booming tin box with an extremely noisy engine overhead and a lot of draughts, and then being flung around the sky in it by a pilot with a high regard for anti-aircraft missiles and a very healthy desire not to meet any."

[TimC]

Had a C141 going rather low over the house while I was out mowing the lawn. 

As Spesh has already said, you definitely didn't see a C141. They would have been a very unusual sight in UK even when they were in service. None was based in Europe, and they were relatively rare visitors to Mildenhall and Fairford (which took most USAF transport traffic), let alone any of the other US bases in UK. Excursions into the UK Low Flying regime were almost unheard of. The C17 not only replaced the C141, the UK bought the aircraft and uses it in the full gamut of tactical operations. The RAF never went anywhere near the C141, except that certain exchange pilots flew the thing in the USA.

[trekker12]

I was stood on the remains of the runway at Thorpe Abbots airfield (the home of the Bloody 100th bomb group 1943-1945) on Saturday timing a group of classic cars using the airfield for a rally and the Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane from the BBMF flew over on their way to the Gt Yarmouth airshow.

Made me remember why I was stood there despite putting me off my countdown starting the next car!

Sorry no pics, I was busy!

[ScumOfTheRoad]

As said to me by an aeronautical engineer once: "Never travel in a machine whih cflies by chopping the air up into little bits and sitting on top of the pile"

[pcolbeck]

My cousin warns everyone he knows about flying in helicopters, fly fixed wing he always says helicopters are much too dangerous. This same cousin was until he retired a couple of years ago a colonel in the Amy Air Corp, had done several stints as an instructor on helicopters and several tours flying the things in anger from lovely airbases in places like Afghanistan whilst being shot at.

[Mr Larrington]

Strange as it sounds, I have a chum who flew fixed wing hairyplanes in the USMC and then switched to helichopters.  This was in 'nam, mind, so they were probably short of suitably mad people.

[Andrij]

One can see more than horses at Horseguards Parade.


P1040638 by Andrij, on Flickr

Tomorrow Tuesday, 10^th July is the big do celebrating 100 years of the RAF.

[Ham]

That'll be next week, shirley? https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/news/10-july-centenary-celebrations/

I'll be out on the flats watching, you're welcome to join.

[Andrij]

That'll be next week, shirley? https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/news/10-july-centenary-celebrations/

I'll be out on the flats watching, you're welcome to join.

Ta.  Got my Tuesdays in a twist. 
I may take you up on that offer.

[fuzzy]

I saw a Westland Wasp helicopter flying from Marlow towards Henley a couple of days ago. Not seen one for yonks

[Steph]

One can see more than horses at Horseguards Parade.


P1040638 by Andrij, on Flickr

Tomorrow Tuesday, 10^th July is the big do celebrating 100 years of the RAF.

Is that a celebration of aircraft we binned for no good reason*?


*Harrier lurking there.

[Jurek]

One can see more than horses at Horseguards Parade.


P1040638 by Andrij, on Flickr

Tomorrow Tuesday, 10^th July is the big do celebrating 100 years of the RAF.

Is that a celebration of aircraft we binned for no good reason*?


*Harrier lurking there.

My bold.
How was that allowed to happen?
I don't believe that anyone else has anything remotely similar / effective....

[Torslanda]

Tim C would (I think) confirm* the Harrier fleet was 'retired' under the 2010 defence cuts (in the name of 'austerity' HA!) so Dave & his mates could cop fuck off backhanders for ordering the Lightning II.


*Actually ISTR hearing that the fleet was about to cost $hitloads in deep servicing and it made economic sense. Or something . . .

BTW That Tornado appears to belong to BAe rather than the RAF. Maybe the RAF leased it back from the company they sold it to so it comes under the monthly current budget rather than straight capital expense.

[Ham]

That'll be next week, shirley? https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/news/10-july-centenary-celebrations/

I'll be out on the flats watching, you're welcome to join.

Ta.  Got my Tuesdays in a twist. 
I may take you up on that offer.

Will be trying to work out the best place to stand, the view from our allotment at the bottom of Empress Ave was stunning for HM's little birthday practice run, but the flats should be better.

[Andrij]

P1040638 by Andrij, on Flickr

MOAR pieces of planes today (including something raaaather modern).  I'll wait until Friday evening to take more pics.

[Jurek]

Might have to see if we can get onto the roof at work.....

[Jaded]

I think that old jets just become impossible to fly because of manufacturer warranty, or whatever it is called. They only have so many flying hours. That's why the Vulcan was finally grounded. It could still be flown, but it would be prohibitively expensive.

There are so many jet warplanes that won't be seen flying again. e.g. the Harrier.The Tornado is going that way too. There might be the odd one or two, but you'll be seeing Spitfires and Hurricanes long after modern jets.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Jaded, indeed. I saw it commented somewhere that, at a push, you could build a Spitfire in a shed. OK, that pushing it because you would need a foundry to cast the block for the Merlin engine.
But the actual technology for the airframe is bending metal and rivetting.

For the vulcan I believe it was the certificates for the engines. Again I read somewhere that there were some zero time engines, which were left with bags of dessicant powder in them.
Engines were installed and started up, then ruined because dessicant bags had not been removed. Anyone able to elaborate on this story. Yeah.. I know.. Google...

[Jurek]

Might have to see if we can get onto the roof at work.....

Can't get onto the roof at work. Well, I can. But I'd probably lose my job.
But I can climb up the bank of the resevoir behind us (just not in flip-flops  )  - from where there's a big-sky view of the airspace above Leyton and Queen Elizabeth Park, which form part of the route....
....Or I might decide that I have some urgent business in town, next Tuesday.
And go and stand with my back to Buck House for maximum effect.

Keen students will be delighted to learn that there are waaaaay more airworthy Spitfires today, than there were at the end of WWII.

[ElyDave]

I think that old jets just become impossible to fly because of manufacturer warranty, or whatever it is called. They only have so many flying hours. That's why the Vulcan was finally grounded. It could still be flown, but it would be prohibitively expensive.

There are so many jet warplanes that won't be seen flying again. e.g. the Harrier.The Tornado is going that way too. There might be the odd one or two, but you'll be seeing Spitfires and Hurricanes long after modern jets.

My understanding (partly from my dad who was in maintenance management in the RAF for 27 years) and partly from offshore industry experience, is that it's about different levels of maintenance based on hoours, particularly on airframe and engines.  Any of it CAN be done, but it's cost in some cases. 

RE the Harrier - do the US MArines still use the AV-8B - A licensed Harrier?  I can remember seeing both those and Tornados flying about when I was in Germany in the early 80's so that shows how old those designs are, so is it surprising they've been retired?  Nothing really giving the Harrier capability but the Tornado is well outdated by now, the Lightning is two generations on effectively.

[fuzzy]

The Panavia Tornado was appearing in books about aircraft when I was a small devouring such things because boy (early/ mid 70's).