RAF Museum Hendon

[TimC]

Anyway,stuff your BUFF, here's sex on wings

      YouTube
            - Hawker Seafury  AWESOME SOUND !
   

Wonderful aeroplane, Tony. My favourite of all the piston warbirds on the display circuit, and the only one I would have actually liked to have flown. Shame they don't have enough engines!!

[pcolbeck]

Anyway,stuff your BUFF, here's sex on wings
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/PA69MsHfxuc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/PA69MsHfxuc&rel=1</a>

Wonderful aeroplane, Tony. My favourite of all the piston warbirds on the display circuit, and the only one I would have actually liked to have flown. Shame they don't have enough engines!!

Not tempted by an early mark of Spitfire or a Mosie ?

[Really Ancien]

That P51 in the original set of photos has to be my favourite, I think they look better than Spitfires.

Damon.

[pcolbeck]

Side on I might agree with you so long as it's a P51D.  The earlier ones without the bubble canopy were pig ugly. Also the plan view isn't as nice a Spitfire due the Spits lovely elliptical wings.

[clarion]

I love the Sea Fury.  My favourite aircraft ever, I think.

[Really Ancien]

The various designs showed some convergence as they evolved. So the Spitfire begat the Spiteful, which had similar laminar-flow wings to the Sea Fury and the Mustang and looked like a Griffon powered Fury might have.
Supermarine Spiteful - fighter

Damon.

[TimC]

Anyway,stuff your BUFF, here's sex on wings
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/PA69MsHfxuc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/PA69MsHfxuc&rel=1</a>

Wonderful aeroplane, Tony. My favourite of all the piston warbirds on the display circuit, and the only one I would have actually liked to have flown. Shame they don't have enough engines!!

Not tempted by an early mark of Spitfire or a Mosie ?

I would have been tempted by the Mosquito - I had a good look round BAe's one many years ago. But I wasn't in the right circles to even dream about flying it. On the other hand, it seemed like about half my mates were flying Spitfires at weekends; they were about as ubiquitous as Ford Sierra.! If you can forgive the casual attitude of a then-25/30 year old, they were just too common! I did harbour some ambition to fly the BBMF Lancaster, but you needed far more hours than I had as a young Hercules pilot to be considered. I had spent a few months working at BBMF when I was a noob RAF Officer (pre-pilot training), and knew the few permanent staff very well, so I had quite a lot of exposure to the WW2 warbird scene of the late '70s, early '80s. I did eventually end up displaying the Hercules about 10 years later, which was probably far more fun as I didn't have to worry about finding new bits if I broke it!

[Zoidburg]

That P51 in the original set of photos has to be my favourite, I think they look better than Spitfires.

Damon.

I think that depends on the mark of Spit.

Later marks of spits and the P-51 had a very similar look to them, there is very little between them in profile, they both evolved to have a very similar shape - and the same engine.

[Really Ancien]

The Mustang had an interesting history, it was the RAF who had them first, with unsupercharged Allisons, for ground attack in the desert, they were then fitted with Packard built Merlins, the factory which featured in the Requiem for Detroit film was where they made them. Some later Marks of Spitfire had Griffons rather than Merlins. The laminar flow wings of the P51 made them both fast and at lower speeds economical, which made them ideal escort fighters.

Damon.

[Tourist Tony]

What is now buried under the Nissan plant was Usworth aerodrome,now limited to a small air museum next door.Each year they had a proper air show, with Vulcan and Seafire and Red Arrows.
One year we had a Jaguar beating up the runway at low level, which was impressive, but we also had a Sea Fury doing the same.
Instant and utter lust on first hearing it. And it could take on MiG 15s.......

[Frenchie]

I spot the arse end of a Messerschmitt Me 262.
Luckily, they only saw service in the last year of the war.

there's another even more bonkers German one in the bomber hall whose name escapes me

Me 163?!

[Frenchie]

Interesting, I didn't realise that B52s are noted for their dirty exhausts because of the water injection on take-off.

I knew that Harriers use this, and it's one of the limitations on hovering, once they run out of water I think it's a no-no, presumably because the engine can't produce enough thrust, and things start to overheat (like the flaps which apparently are in the hot exhaust from the rear nozzles to increase downward thrust).

Water injection on Wikipedia

It was quite common to give engines a boost. It is bad as it generates NOx I think.

[fuzzy]

What is now buried under the Nissan plant was Usworth aerodrome,now limited to a small air museum next door.Each year they had a proper air show, with Vulcan and Seafire and Red Arrows.
One year we had a Jaguar beating up the runway at low level, which was impressive, but we also had a Sea Fury doing the same.
Instant and utter lust on first hearing it. And it could take on MiG 15s.......

The best beating up of a runway I have ever seen was at the Battle of Britain day, Biggin Hill, sometime in the mid 70's (I was an Air Cadet). Standing near the end of the runway when an English Electric Lightning did a low altitude, high speed pass along the axis then, at about mid point stood on its tail flying along the runway nose up with vapour pouring off the wings before demonstrating its lunatic climbing ability. The sort of thing that convinces a kid that being a Pilot must be the dogs bollox

[TimO]

I spot the arse end of a Messerschmitt Me 262.
Luckily, they only saw service in the last year of the war.

there's another even more bonkers German one in the bomber hall whose name escapes me

Me 163?!

We've already had this discussion, and no, he meant an He-162.

[TimO]

... an English Electric Lightning did a low altitude, high speed pass along the axis then, at about mid point stood on its tail flying along the runway nose up with vapour pouring off the wings before demonstrating its lunatic climbing ability. ...

Did anyone else see the latest episode of Wonders of the Solar System, where Brian Cox got to have a go in a Lightning doing it's flying vertically in no time thing.  Jammy git.

[fuzzy]

... an English Electric Lightning did a low altitude, high speed pass along the axis then, at about mid point stood on its tail flying along the runway nose up with vapour pouring off the wings before demonstrating its lunatic climbing ability. ...

Did anyone else see the latest episode of Wonders of the Solar System, where Brian Cox got to have a go in a Lightning doing it's flying vertically in no time thing.  Jammy git.

Some people have all the luck!

As an aside, BBC are reporting an accident involving the Red Arrows. Pilot taken to hospital after ejecting. During pre season training in Crete.

[spesh]

.... I did eventually end up displaying the Hercules about 10 years later, which was probably far more fun as I didn't have to worry about finding new bits if I broke it!

I presume you must have heard about The Four Horsemen? 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hvvoKch5gAI&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/hvvoKch5gAI&rel=1</a>

Though I still reckon the best/craziest thing ever done with a Hercules was to land one on a carrier - and take off again, which is some testament to it's STOL abilities.

[clarion]

DHC used to display the Dash 7 and the Buffalo together at Farnborough, including some very impressive leapfrogging along the runway.  They could probably take off in the width of a Leatherhead cycle lane

[TimO]

Though I still reckon the best/craziest thing ever done with a Hercules was to land one on a carrier - and take off again, which is some testament to it's STOL abilities.

I always thought the 23 tonnes of E-2 was mad enough, but the C-130 could be over three times that.

I'm guessing this wasn't fully loaded?

[spesh]

Though I still reckon the best/craziest thing ever done with a Hercules was to land one on a carrier - and take off again, which is some testament to it's STOL abilities.

I always thought the 23 tonnes of E-2 was mad enough, but the C-130 could be over three times that.

I'm guessing this wasn't fully loaded?

The US Navy were looking at using Herks for resupply duties, as the standard COD (Carrier On-board Delivery) aircraft of the time couldn't carry much, and was restricted in range.

As for payload:

The initial sea-born landings on 30 October 1963 were made into a 40-knot wind. Altogether, the crew successfully negotiated 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings, and 21 unassisted takeoffs at gross weights of 85,000 pounds up to 121,000 pounds. At 85,000 pounds, the KC-130F came to a complete stop within 267 feet, about twice the aircraft's wing span! The Navy was delighted to discover that even with a maximum payload, the plane used only 745 feet for takeoff and 460 feet for landing roll. The short landing roll resulted from close coordination between Flatley and Jerry Daugherty, the carrier's landing signal officer. Daugherty, later to become a captain and assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command, gave Flatley an engine "chop" while still three or four feet off the deck.
 
Lockheed's Ted Limmer, who checked out fighter pilot Flatley in the C-130, stayed on for some of the initial touch-and-go and full-stop landings. "The last landing I participated in, we touched down about 150 feet from the end, stopped in 270 feet more and launched from that position, using what was left of the deck. We still had a couple hundred feet left when we lifted off. Admiral Brown was flabbergasted."

From the accumulated test data, the Navy concluded that with the C-130 Hercules, it would be possible to lift 25,000 pounds of cargo 2,500 miles and land it on a carrier. Even so, the idea was considered a bit too risky for the C-130 and the Navy elected to use a smaller COD aircraft. For his effort, the Navy awarded Flatley the Distinguished Flying Cross.

By way of comparison, the Grumman C-1 Trader could carry a mere 3,500 pounds of cargo, it's replacement the C-2 Greyhound (the airframe basis for Hawkeye AEW) can lug 10,000 pounds (4,500kg).

C-130 Hercules Lands on U.S.S. Forrestal

[Frenchie]

... an English Electric Lightning did a low altitude, high speed pass along the axis then, at about mid point stood on its tail flying along the runway nose up with vapour pouring off the wings before demonstrating its lunatic climbing ability. ...

Did anyone else see the latest episode of Wonders of the Solar System, where Brian Cox got to have a go in a Lightning doing it's flying vertically in no time thing.  Jammy git.

Doesn't beat the Top Gear chap who got to fly the U2 for me though...

[Really Ancien]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cj-Z9ZCwQ1Q&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cj-Z9ZCwQ1Q&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Sa3OGnFGlA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/2Sa3OGnFGlA&rel=1</a>

Damon.

[Frenchie]

Very impressive!

I was trying to compare landing and take off distances for the Hercules and the new A400M and they are quite similar. I wonder what, at a push, the A400M could do?

[Frenchie]

I spot the arse end of a Messerschmitt Me 262.
Luckily, they only saw service in the last year of the war.

there's another even more bonkers German one in the bomber hall whose name escapes me

Me 163?!

We've already had this discussion, and no, he meant an He-162.

Good!

[bobb]

Is it time for someone to post a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/IWEfmCvu8R8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/IWEfmCvu8R8&rel=1</a>

I love that choone!!! To be honest, after all these years, I still can't fiigure out which one I'd rather......................

OK, as you were..... Bits of metal.....