The Aviators Thread

[DoctorEvil]

zebrespace

Minerva pocket watch with strap adapted to the wrist on the pilot suit. Year 1943

That leather strap is in pretty good condition if it dates from 1943. I would have thought that leather as old as that would be all dry and cracked now.

 

[Dug]

zebrespace

Ok. I continue with one of which there is no marketing. With this I want to pay tribute to all nurses of the British Air Force (RAF) who have served during WWII.
Zenith RAF nurse watch from 1940 in gold metal:

A beautiful watch....if you own it you are very, very lucky! A piece of history that would display well in the RAF museum.
Yes, a significant date, particularly for London.
My elderly aunt, now 89, has told us harrowing stories of the the bombing that took place in November 1940, when she was a young child living Coventry.
Don't know the truth of it but the rumour was that Churchill knew about the 14th of November bombings two days in advance but failed to send out a warning!

 

[DoctorEvil]

This article was forwarded to me by my wife. It's about Prince Harry's Rolex Explorer 2. A good choice for a pilot watch because of the dual timezone function. Might even have seen combat in Afghanistan where he was an Apache co-pilot gunner...

https://timeandtidewatches.com/prince-harry-owns-one-hell-of-a-rolex/

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Almost 50 years ago... 1973 Yom Kippur war
Looks like an Omega Seamaster on the wrist of this Mirage III pilot ?
. (Photo: IAF)
.

 

[Pvt-Public]

SpeedyPhill

Almost 50 years ago... 1973 Yom Kippur war
Looks like an Omega Seamaster on the wrist of this Mirage III pilot ?
. (Photo: IAF)
.

I don't think the logo looks like Omega.

 

[JimInOz]

SpeedyPhill

Almost 50 years ago... 1973 Yom Kippur war
Looks like an Omega Seamaster on the wrist of this Mirage III pilot ?
. (Photo: IAF)
.

Don't know about the watch, but he's sitting in a Martin Baker MK4 ejection seat.

 

[JimInOz]

Good news for those on QFA144 after declaring a Mayday (Squawk 7700) over the ocean.

Landed safely just now.

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Now just take a look at the amazing profile of this aviator wrist watch case & lugs : RAF group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Bader (1910-1982)
(Photo: National Archives)
.

.
? A post-war 1955 photo and the watch doesn't have numbers as an RAF Omega wrist watch discussed here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-aviators-watch-cca-1936.14880/

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Despite " artificial legs " , Douglas Bader remained an amazing fighter pilot !
More of the 1955 photo-series (National Archives)
.

 

[SpeedyPhill]

70 years ago... Charles Lindbergh's autobiographical book describing his historical 1927 flight over the Atlantic Ocean, was the inspiration for the 1957 movie " The Spirit of St. Louis " ... a movie I first saw 50 years ago in 1973.
At that time I was already collecting aviation & spaceflight photos/lithos and grew a fascination for trans-Atlantic flights which always got faster ...
Remember Charles Lindberg's flight from Long island New York to Paris lasted 33 hours 30 minutes and the exact spot where he parked his single engined aircraft at Le Bourget airport in Paris became the aiming point for future crossings...
Most interestingly, actor James Stewart, like Charles Lindbergh, had been an USAAF pilot in WW II, flew B-47 SAC bombers and accompanied B-52 missions over Vietnam before eventually retiring from US Air Force as a Brig General !
Compared to Lindbergh's 33 hours, the fastest transatlantic flight, made by a SR-71 Blackbird only took 1 hour 55 minutes (New York - London).

Wrist-watch-wise most interesting events (e.g. Lindberg's Longines Hour Angle aviator watch)
I have a series of autographed photographs on the lesser-known subject of the May 1961 trans-Atlantic crossing made by the 3 men USAF crew onboard a stunning Mach 2 capable Convair B-58 Hustler SAC - Strategic Air Command bomber. Flight time: 3 hours 19 minutes
Some photos show the crew, Major William R. Payne - Aircraft Commander, Captain William L. Polhemus - Navigator, and Captain Raymond R. Wagener - Defensive Systems Officer, kneeling right at the spot where Lindberg parked his aircraft in May 1927.
They all wore a Rolex GMT-master 1675 pilot watch..;
.

Edited: Jan 21, 2023

 

[DoctorEvil]

I vaguely remember having to do this many years ago when travelling with my parents...

 

[Archer]

The weight restriction is for the baggage handlers, not the plane...

 

[STANDY]

Archer

The weight restriction is for the baggage handlers, not the plane...

Yep…100% right. Working at an airport it is for baggage handlers not planes.


On a side note. This is a good article how airlines categorise passengers weights

https://www.traveller.com.au/how-do...istake-puts-spotlight-on-weighty-issue-h1va4t
Males travelling in business class weigh more than the average male, female business travellers weigh less

 

[DoctorEvil]

STANDY

Yep…100% right. Working at an airport it is for baggage handlers not planes.


On a side note. This is a good article how airlines categorise passengers weights

https://www.traveller.com.au/how-do...istake-puts-spotlight-on-weighty-issue-h1va4t
Males travelling in business class weigh more than the average male, female business travellers weigh less

Great article. Thank you.
I found it funny when one weight calculator classes business female passengers as weighing less than economy female passengers. I remember once flying from Brisbane to Melbourne on Virgin Blue with an upgrade to business. Everyone in that section bar the cabin crew was way oversized (including females). Kinda makes sense that these passengers prefer to pay more for comfort given that the economy class seat is tiny by comparison.

 

[Twocats]

DoctorEvil

I vaguely remember having to do this many years ago when travelling with my parents...

I had the pleasure of experiencing this event this week. I flew to Dublin via Frankfurt on Tuesday for an event. I rarely wear suits but this time it was needed so I had to take a check in bag. Of the 300+ flights I have taken in the last two years this was my first checkin bag. I arrived home Thursday night and my case arrived via special courier today. The driver said I was really lucky as passengers flying via Paris were experiencing up to six weeks delay in the luggage arrivals.

 

[Mad Dog]

Talk bubble coffee wars while phliegering today…

KMSY…



KLAX…

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Always amazed by the intricate detail seen in World War I photographs...
Here's a Royal Flying Corps RE 8 two-seater reconnaissance biplane photographed in Egypt during World War I (1917)
.

.

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Aussies - Australian Flying Corps 69 Squadron RE 8 biplane near Arras in Northern France
.

 

[JimInOz]

Modest_Proposal

Aren't there still a few DC3's active in Australia?

At least one.



She trundled over my place about 10 minutes ago, I heard the sound of the Wright Cyclone radials rumbling across the sky, but she was too low on the horizon for me to see.



For more details on "Kanana", see here.

https://www.melbournejetbase.com.au/about/dc-3/

PS: I may have actually flown in her (pax) when operating under Airlines of South Australia in the 1960s.

 

[Jones in LA]

I've found that learning to fly is kind of like a video game, in that as you complete scenarios, new levels are unlocked and the scope of the game is enlarged and things become even more interesting.

After 100+ airport landings, I finally did my first off-airport landing. Following a few circuits in the airport pattern we left Burbank airspace and headed to the mountains and the Angeles National Forest, a few miles north of Burbank. I landed in a side-yard of a derelict building (the grey patch of ground in the centre of the Google Earth image). It was sooooo cool! This is what helicopters are made for