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The Aviators Thread

DoctorEvil
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Omegafanman Omegafanman
There are some challengers for the crown ;0)
Ref the thigh strap I have still not tracked down a photo from WW1 or WW2 of a pilot or navigator using that configuration.
I am sure it did happen, just off there are no photos,

IMG_2433.webp IMG_2434.webp IMG_2435.webp
I had to look up what "sidereal time" meant and it's doing my head in a bit 馃槃
I'm assuming this watch has some use in astral navigation, although I'm having trouble figuring out what role the rotating dial plays.
 
Omegafanman
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DoctorEvil DoctorEvil
I had to look up what "sidereal time" meant and it's doing my head in a bit 馃槃
I'm assuming this watch has some use in astral navigation, although I'm having trouble figuring out what role the rotating dial plays.
Not sure if this will help or hinder but it is taken from the great man himself. Commander P.V.H Weems....

Weems - Copy.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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It looks like British Royal Navy F-35 B pilots wear the large legible 42.5 mm CITIZEN Eco-Drive WR100 wrist watch...
At least senior US Air Force & F-35 Lightning II Chief Test Pilot Alan Norman wore an Omega Speedmaster, but a Tachym猫tre remains useless!
(LockheedMartin)
.
F-35 Chief Test Pilot Alan Norman.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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1964 - 2024 saw the 60th anniversary for the FAS of the French Air Force...
Remember in 1966, President Charles Andr茅 de Gaulle decided to leave NATO, France becoming an independent nuclear strike force. Besides a constant sixtet of submarines with remarkable names (e.g. Redoutable, Terrible and Inflexible) between 1964 and 2005, the French Army used the Dassault Mirage IV, a huge but sleek delta winged supersonic strategic bomber... for many the most beautiful aircraft ever built !
Photo shows General Charles "Chuck" Yeager visiting Dassault in 1969... Between 1955 and 2020 Yeager solely wore Rolex pilot watches !
.
1964_2024.webp 1969_Yeager-Dassault-MWU.webp
 
Duracuir1
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I visited a man who has ordered one of my straps for his old Rolex Air-King Date. He always has some interesting stuff.

Have a look at this hand drawing. I wish I knew the story behind it.

IMG_5634.webp IMG_5635.webp IMG_5636.webp IMG_5633.webp
 
JimInOz
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Duracuir1 Duracuir1
Have a look at this hand drawing. I wish I knew the story behind it.

It's a humorous representation of the Four Forces of Flight: Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag, being demonstrated by the evil pixies.

Normally pictured something like this:


Screenshot 2025-01-09 at 10.27.07.webp
 
DoctorEvil
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Duracuir1 Duracuir1
I visited a man who has ordered one of my straps for his old Rolex Air-King Date. He always has some interesting stuff.

Have a look at this hand drawing. I wish I knew the story behind it.

IMG_5634.webp IMG_5635.webp IMG_5636.webp IMG_5633.webp
I wonder whether this drawing could also be making a reference to "gremlins", the mysterious creatures that cause unexpected mechanical problems in aircraft (particularly mid flight). From memory, its slang used by the USAAF during WW2. I don't know if other Allied air forces also used it. The date on the back of the drawing (March1941) would be from this era.
 
JimInOz
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Ah......gremlins! Well done!
I could only think of pixies.

The plane appears to be an RAF or RCAF Harvard, so the gremlins could have been a global phenomenon 馃榿.
 
Turpinrr
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My missus got a message on her Facebook page this week off the son of a former crewmate of my dad's.
The man was the Navigator and was the one who'd taken individual crew photos.
The son said he knew next to nothing about his dad's career in the RAF and could I help.
He then sent these pics of their time at Barford St. John where they were training on Wellingtons.Uptil yesterday I'd never seen them before

RAFCrew6.webp RAFCrew4.webp RAFCrew3.webp

I'm hoping he may have some pics from when they trained on Stirlings before converting to the mighty Lancaster
 
JimInOz
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Turpinrr Turpinrr
I'm hoping he may have some pics from when they trained on Stirlings
Isn't the second pic a Stirling?
Nose seems to be high enough off the ground for one.
 
Turpinrr
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JimInOz JimInOz
Isn't the second pic a Stirling?
Nose seems to be high enough off the ground for one.
Yeah you're right, thanks for that 馃憤
I was that busy looking at my dad and wondering who the instructor was with them I hadn't spotted the height of the kite (it rhymes) and the turret is altogether different from the Wellington.
I owe you one, ta
 
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