Bristol 188 British Supersonic Research Aircraft and steps to Concorde

MRC · Jul 12, 2020

Norfolk
I once did a photo shoot with the last Vulcan! Or rather my car did...and amazingly I just found it on the tube.

We had to be super careful about any debris on runway. Apparently a dropped spanner did for one engine.

My Lotus and I did a photo + sound recording session for Practical Classics in the 1990s. Was promised high quality photos from the day. Got nothing. Had to buy my own copy of the magazine + cassette tape, which I have now lost. At the time I don't think there were any aircraft movements at Bruntingthorpe, and the 2 mile runway was reminiscent of the long straight of Nordschleife but without the brows. The transition from wide runway to narrow taxiway was "interesting". The sound recording guy had not been in a Lotus before and was not entirely happy with the experience 🙁

Omegafanman · Jul 13, 2020

Norfolk
I once did a photo shoot with the last Vulcan! Or rather my car did...and amazingly I just found it on the tube.

We had to be super careful about any debris on runway. Apparently a dropped spanner did for one engine.

Nice story and yes FOD is a big issue... It is what ended the Concorde story in tragic fashion (although economics played a part). They have done lot of work on runway cleaning systems (although some FOD is easier to spot / larger …)

Omegafanman · Jul 13, 2020

GordonL
re the TSR2. Ferranti designed and test-flew a world-beating Terrain Following Radar for the TSR2. When the project was cancelled, all the drawings, jigs, tooling etc were destroyed by instruction from the MoD. One example of the radar was hidden away in someone's garage and is now on display at the Edinburgh factory....

There's a wonderful early 60s promotional film here:

Flying blind at 400kts/200ft over the Scottish mountains and obeying a small marker on the head-up display! That must have taken some courage.

Very interesting information / impressive piece of kit considering radar and autopilot technology levels at the end of WW2. Ref courage and stealing a quote aimed at Lancaster pilots the large huge amount of engine power on these aircraft were needed just to get their enormous testicles off the ground :0)

Omegafanman · Jul 13, 2020

TimeODanaos
Don't hold back now - and no sitting on the fence, neither!
Canning TSR-2 was a heartbreaker all right. So were the hidden post war, post Suez economic realities and government incompetencies. As a boy of course, all I knew was a beautiful (albeit deadly) thing died.

I wonder what the next round of cuts will do - Rolls Royce for example is heading south currently....Lockheed Martin seem to have a finger in every pie.

Omegafanman · Aug 28, 2020

Reading further on Multirole combat aircraft and City of Bristol links led me to the Bristol Beaufighter.

Planes like the Spitfire, Lancaster, Hurricane and Mosquito seem to grab the WW2 glory headlines but I had not realised what a remarkable and adaptable plane the Beaufighter was.

Fighter, Night Fighter, Air-Ground, Air-sea, Air to Air, Photo -Reconnaissance, Rocket and Torpedo bomber – the ten-gun terror / whispering death. Seeing one video where a telegraph pole had clipped a wing off almost to the engine cowling … and it still made it home, so the plane could also soak up a lot of punishment and not just dish it out.

The videos below are both worth a watch. I had never heard of the single plane daytime propaganda raid on Paris.. and home in time for Tea and Medals… classic quote / classic right stuff.

I know it is tempting to be a bit jingoistic / gung-ho without really taking on board what everyone involved went through but the pictures below (actual artwork from WW2) shows there was a lot of sanguine gallows humour – a different and very brave breed back then. I found the pictures on an SAAF tribute site:-http://saafww2pilots.yolasite.com/steve-stevens.php

I saw a few watches on display in various photos but can’t make out how many might be Omegas. I still wear my 6b/159 with pride and great respect for that generation and all they sacrificed.

On a humous note and back to Concorde the short collars worn by FLT Mervyn Shipard, DFC & Bar would have probably taken him supersonic without an aircraft (see first vid below)...

Whispering Death Beaufighter Forgotten Warhorse...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y30WJ-WJ66w&t=5585s

Daring Solo Beaufighter Raid - Paris 1942....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3HTl6oSSU

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