Great account of an amazing piece of planning and airmanship. Thanks for sharing. One wonders if the mission would have been a lot easier if the RAF had access to purpose designed tanker aircraft such as the KC-135 or KC-30A. I'm sure those aircraft could carry a lot more fuel than the Victors, thus negating the need for complex refueling schedules amongst themselves.
I was delighted my Roly Falk article was featured in this months Vulcan to the sky newsletter. The newsletter also featured one of the best recorded Vulcan howls (link below) I was at Duxford Friday (will post some photos soon) and saw the Victor they have been restoring for 5 years. Not sure if that will end up in a bomber or tanker configuration? I also thought this was an interesting interview with Martin Withers which also has some measured reflections on the losses suffered by both sides and the failures of diplomacy. Something still very relevant. .
I was just walking back from the pub (hic) and heard some familiar engines.... Very lucky to spot this bird in the distance keeping low... even more lucky to have a farm gate so I could zoom in with a small camera. I hope to get a bit closer to one in August :0) .
Whenever I hear a mention of the Nimrod, I can't help but think of this... This isn't "my" airshow, but still reverberations were felt throughout the airshow community at the time...
I spent Friday chatting to some display pilots. It is a specific task needing very specific skills and training - even more so in recent years as lessons learned feed into the rules and guidance. When you are low and slow or on a go-around it is very important you are well trained. In an emergency you do not rise to the occasion - you sink to the level of your training. At least lessons learned from accidents like this help make future pilots safer.
May 14, 2005 French helicopter test pilot Didier Delsalle lands a helicopter ontop Mount Everest / Chomolungma To set the record, the helicopter landed was done again on May 15, 2005 ! .
Just noticed the Handley Page Victor in the Vulcan post above. Australia, about 1957 or 1958, a town in the outback, about halfway between Woomera and Adelaide. Imagine a barefoot kid of about 11 or 12, walking on a dusty road on the way home from school one afternoon. Hearing an unusual noise behind him he turned and saw, very low in the sky, a huge silver space ship coming toward him. It was nothing he'd ever seen the like of before, a needle sharp nose, more windscreens than even Dan Dare's ship had and engines that had no "throb", just a deep growl. Watching the thing approach he was almost transfixed and just stood in the middle of the dusty road. Things that flew overhead in those days were nothing more exotic that Dakotas (C47s), the occasional Tiger Moth, and sometimes, a flight of Mustangs heading North, so this thing was almost beyond imagination. The huge silver machine seemed to loom larger and larger as it got closer, and then it was overhead and slowly shrinking in size, the beautiful swept wings and T tail the last fading sighting. It must have been the encounter so many years ago that triggered that young kid's interest in aeroplanes and aviation and led to him serving in the Fleet Air Arm and the Air Force, and even obtaining his private pilot licence.
Keep us posted on whether you decide to take the plunge on a PPL. It's great fun. In the meantime, happy reading!
"through hardships to the stars" I was travelling this weekend and took the opportunity to drop in on this spot. Sadly all 15 staff and crew were killed when a prototype Britannia (the whispering giant) crashed on approach at this now tranquil spot in 1957. I have family links in that one relative was a police first responder and one was part of the crew recovery team. It was a big unsurvivable crash and both seldom talked about what they saw and dealt with. Considering it was a built up area I do wonder if the flight crew had any input to avoid a much bigger disaster - it is miraculous nobody was killed on the ground and it only just cleared a major shopping high street. The safety and reliability we enjoy today on commercial flights was hard won for sure. .
I'm almost certain the crew tried to crash land in an area where there weren't any buildings in order to both minimise casualties on the ground and maximize their chances of survival. Sadly, the crew did not survive but they at least achieved the other objective. Have heard of other incidents where this has occurred.
Being vectored around Chicago. I was bored. Will this get me in trouble like the folks in the driving pictures thread?
Don't think you'll get in trouble as unlike planes, cars don't have autopliots May I ask which aircraft type you're flying?
Was moving a DA40 back to its base. Not a bad airplane, but uncomfortable after a couple hours. Autopilot made it tolerable enough