@DoctorEvil - here is a shot from yesterday..
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Many "display" aircraft and even "gate keepers" have two sides in different Squadron colours... makes two sides for Separate Squadron reunions

 

Right in front of my nose, helicopter rescue at 1085m on Mt Snowdon - Wales
Sikorsky S-92A of His Majesty's Coastguard
(Photos: MoonwatchUniverse)
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End of a busy but productive week... need a few months to sort all the photos out :0)
The volunteer crew who look after XL426 were amazing today.
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Forgot to post this when it happened ... my son finally passed on May 19!


Next step is the instrument rating course in the fall!

 

Isn't that ridge Crib Goch? I have helped carry someone down from the base of that, on a stretcher in the dark. Sadly no helicopters in the mid-1960s, nor mobile phones with which to request one.

 

Well done. Congrats! Another aviator to join the ranks.

 

The Vulcan never ceases to amaze me. In that camo scheme it looks beautiful yet sinister. A real femme fatale.

 

Congrats!!!

 

Epic shout out for the volunteers!!!

 

Anyone collect Data Plates? I assume many of you are far more familiar with them than I am for British and American aircraft.
I was chasing a few Japanese ones this weekend. Unfortunately, their more expensive than gold.

I tried to get one for I believe the rarest variation of a Mitsubishi Zero, the A6M2-N. Although it was very effective as a ground attack amphibious aircraft, I am sure it was not as easy to fly with three big pontoons on the craft to slow it down. I found it amazing that there were at least two IJN Aces that downed several Allied aircraft with these seaplane Zeros. There is also a film from a F6F in a dog fight with a A6M2-N lasting several minutes with the Zero not loosing with the faster F6F that apparently still couldn't turn and bank as fast as the much slower A6M2-N. I have searched everywhere for an intact aircraft. I don't think one exists. Seems all 327 were lost in battle.

I did get luck any won the auction for a A6M2 Model 21 which is the most famous variation. This is the plane that claimed air superiority over all of the South Pacific up through 1942. This variant had the center drop tank for long range, was the fastest, most maneuverable, and longest range aircraft of it's time. Pappy Bonington was shot out of the sky I believe with this variant. The model 21 was the aircraft the Tainan Koukutai used to dominate Taiwan and Rabaul New Guinea. There are not many of these tags on a single plane. And not many of these planes still in existence. To be a registered FAA aircraft, at least the head data plate is needed, so you can imagine how hard it is to get a data plate. If the auction goes over 200,000 yen, then the paperwork gets messy too because of the historical importance of the antiques so the auction houses have to fill out export papers which takes a month to get approved (or denied).





Sometimes either manufacturing delays or in field modifications caused mismatches between the serial number of the plane
and major components of the aircraft with a data plate.

 

I collect Commercial aircraft data plates from aircraft I have recycled when the owners don't request them returned which is rare.

So far I have collected an A310, A319, A320 (4), B737-300, B737-500, B747-200 (2), B747-300, B747-400 (3), MD83.

Below are my last two conquests (sisters but not twins) and I have another 747 in Spain on the way down now so I will have that data plate soon.

My plan is to collect enough plates that I can have a professional make a model aircraft out of all the data plates. I am thinking the easiest is a large model of the wright flyer made out of all that remains of 20+ commercial beasts.

 

Very cool! I wasn't aware of this hobby until just this year. These airline data plates, especially 747 are fantastic! Although, I have a little mixed opinions about bending them all up into a sculpture, you might regret that later. A wall size framed display would be amazing to see.

 

I have 10 years left to retirement so that’s easily another 70 plates I will collect. Right now I have each plate glued to the glass on the framed photo of the aircraft they belonged to.

I have so much material from de commissioned aircraft I need to slow down.

 

Great job with the photos. Always love to watch the Blues, from the Wednesday practices at Pensacola to the real deal out on the circuit.

 

Very Nice, I just picked up a copy of 'Vulcan 607' to read.

 

Touring in the UK for 20 days now... Brexit is working as we only spotted 1 Dutch & 1 German license plate... Where are the tourists ?
Anyway, visited the RAF "Battle of Britain" memorial in Folkestone - Kent and bought two of these remarkable Bronze RAF pilot figures.
Photos: MoonwatchUniverse
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Great camo...

Image courtesy of Aviation Humour via Facebook

 

1953-2023 ... 70 years Glycine Airman pilot watches ... aka The first automatic watch in space !
The 36 mm waterproof stainless steel Glycine Airman automatic was designed in 1953 to be the perfect pilot’s watch. A matte black 24 hours dial contrasts with the prominent arrow shaped hour hand and distinctive pencil minute hand. The Glycine Airman had an adjustable 24 hours bezel with lockdown thumbscrew, a domed acrylic plexiglass with date magnifier and a precise seconds hacking mechanism, an important feature for time synchronization used by military personnel.
It became the first automatic wrist watch to be used & exposed to outer space, by NASA astronaut Charles Pete Conrad respectively on Gemini V (August 1965) and Gemini XI (September 1966) spaceflight missions. During Gemini XI, Richard Gordon conducted 2 hours 41 minutes spacewalk time and due to the open cockpit design of the Gemini capsule, Conrad’s Glycine Airman automatic was all that time directly exposed to the vacuum of outer space!
A pilot watch favorite with civil airline pilots & military air crew of all forces alike; Army, Coast Guard, US Navy, USAF, USMC & US Space Force.
(USAF photo: Captain E. Coker completing 100 missions over North Vietnam in F4 Phantom- Ubon Thailand)
(Photos: MoonwatchUniverse)
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