Anyone else like Birds AND planes? (1 Viewer)

John Cantelo · Jul 24, 2015

West End Birder said:
Even worse the Supermarine factory was about 1.5 miles from where I was born and about 2.5 from where I live. It's not that I don't like the Spitfire, I just prefer the P51 (and the F4) - perhaps it was an Airfix thing!

A Sholing mush by birth I was born 1.5 miles from the Supermarine works (as the Spitfire flies, about 2 miles by road), but ended my residence in Southampton living about 600 yards from the place. Both parents were born within 0.5 miles of the works. Oddly though despite most of my family coming from Woolston (where the works stand) and my father serving in the RAF none of them worked at the place - pretty much all of them working in the shipyards.

Aesthetically no fighter of WWII (or ever?) gets close to the Spitfire, but, although it's hard for me to admit it, the P51 was the better fighter although only when fitted with a Merlin engine.

crazyfingers · Aug 11, 2015

I witnessed something somewhat interesting while on vacation in Maine last week.

A coast guard helo and a coast guard rescue boat doing some practice.

Most of the photos are taken at 2239mm equivalent. The ripples in the air are particularly bad but you can still see in the first photo they are using the rescue basket.

The second photo shows the boat and it's possible to make out that there is a cable from the helo to the boat.

The third photo is actually taken at 4479mm, handheld, and the cable is visible.

The 4th photo shows the cable but there is also a peculiar smokey arc in the lower left suggesting a flare was sent up?

They were doing this for much of an hour at different locations. They would move several hundred meters and do it all again.

Farnboro John · Aug 16, 2015

Last Chance To See

Could well have been for me.... Eastbourne Airshow from Beachy Head (it is aimed at the seafront but anyone can look up at planes). Only a few weeks left of XH558's last flying season. Then the tin triangle will be a museum piece, like the Dodo.

John

Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 X5

foxtango · Aug 22, 2015

Been practising my prop-blur - still can't get the full 'disc' !!!

Cityjet (VLM) by boac58, on Flickr

Cheers

Jont

(on Flickr boac58)

crazyfingers · Aug 28, 2015

I'm on vacation this week in Maine, USA and posting from my tablet.

Today we were on our way to Acadia National Park and passing by the Bar Harbor airport we saw this come in for a landing at around 1:30 pm.

Later after a few hours on our way back I stopped at the access road and took this photo through the chain link fence. Camera Canon SX50 at 2239mm equivalent zoom. At perhaps close to a mile away or more the air was not bad.

So anyway, "Placid Lassie" C-47 was in Europe for WWII.

http://www.airbornetroopcarrier.com/c-4742-24064-74thtroopcarriersquadron.html

Will try to learn more about it when home on a real computer.

It's interesting that this is the second C-47 I have seen at the Bar Harbor Airport. Last summer I saw a different WWII vintage C-47 flying out of the airport. I posted about that one several pages back. I guess Bar Harbor Maine is a good stopover. I wonder what route a C-47 would need to take to get from Europ to the States. Iceland I expect. Would it refuel at Greenland? Hmmm... Must look up the range of a C-47.

West End Birder · Aug 28, 2015

Why I am glad I don't fly anymore!

Here is a screenshot from FR24 today showing glider activity just by Cotswold Water Park - imagine routing near that lot!

crazyfingers · Aug 30, 2015

Luck was on my side today. I was about 7 miles from the airport today and the C-47 flew out. It was headed Northeast going straight. Makes me wonder.

We were by the airport yesterday and it was still parked at the Bar Harbor airport.

When it went nearly directly over my head today I was at Frazer Point at the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park.

It was a lot quieter than I would have expected.

Andy Adcock · Nov 22, 2015

We have a village fair every year which includes a fly-by by a Spitfire, this year was a Dakota and as I'm on a hill in a small valley, they usually pass at almost eye level, amazing aircraft.

Andy

Andy Adcock · Nov 22, 2015

West End Birder said:
Vulcan, surely one of the biggest wastes of money ever!

Had the 'Argies' running for cover at Stanley as they pot marked the airstrip.

I was driving to Skegness in Lincolnshire one day in 1979 when three flew over the road, spectacular beasts whatever the cost!

Andy

Andy Adcock · Nov 23, 2015

As my local patch here in Russia is in the highly active Baltic region, we often get stuff right overhead, these as we were viewing six Temminck's Stints

Anyone put a name to them, one plane looks a bit like an A10?

Andy

Stonefaction · Nov 23, 2015

Mil Mi-24 "Hind"

and

Antonov An-74 "Coaler"

Not sure of individual designations for the particular variants pictured, but nice catches.

Andy Adcock · Nov 23, 2015

Cheers Stone.....2 more to look at.

Andy

Stonefaction · Nov 23, 2015

Both are variants of the Tupolev Tu-134 airliner. The first is for training bomber crews (Tu-134UBL), the second I think is a VIP/Command Post aircraft (Tu-134 Balkany). I remembered I had a book on Russian Air Power, which helped with variants. The Antonov in pic 2 may actually be an An-72 rather than a 74 (though they are similar).

Andy Adcock · Nov 24, 2015

Very interesting, thanks.

Although I'm interested I'm not very clued up but it's easy to see that the bomber trainer isn't armed in any way and I had wondered at it's use.

I'll post more when we see any if people are interested?

Turkey 1- 0 Russia nil, heart in mouth time and perhaps a time to rethink the 'attack on one is an attack on all' ideology of NATO if Putin hits back at Turkey? Russia has clearly been taking liberties with Turkish airspace and I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner. If those pilots have come down in Syria they're in big trouble.

Cheers, Andy

Stonefaction · Nov 25, 2015

I think the bomber trainer will be set up in such a way that the cockpit layout is similar to the bombers, and may well be more of a procedural trainer than for actually flying bomber type missions. If the folk that like aircraft (and birds) on here are anything like the aircraft folk I know then Russian airframes = exotic (exotic = cool). I'd keep posting.....

jbusen · Dec 9, 2015

While not a plane I love rotary wing. Had a great experience that I happened to be hovering at tree top level near a bald eagle nest. Got to enjoy an amazing view of the male and female at a view of maybe 20ft above them. Don't worry, I was far enough away no rotor wash was hitting them. It's a neat experience to get to fly at the same altitude as hawks/vultures... I love every moment of it.

Andy Adcock · Dec 9, 2015

jbusen said:
While not a plane I love rotary wing. Had a great experience that I happened to be hovering at tree top level near a bald eagle nest. Got to enjoy an amazing view of the male and female at a view of maybe 20ft above them. Don't worry, I was far enough away no rotor wash was hitting them. It's a neat experience to get to fly at the same altitude as hawks/vultures... I love every moment of it.

Still, I bet the Eagles enjoyed that.......NOT

Andy

Farnboro John · Dec 27, 2015

I attended an event in November - the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the de Havilland Mosquito. This is the original prototype. It is the only prototype of a significant WWII type in existence in the world, and probably the most historic airframe in Britain.

Its not just the history that makes it special. In an age of metal aeroplanes, the Mossie is built of plywood, spruce and balsa. When other manufacturers were loading bombers with gun turrets, gunners, nine yards of ammunition, de Havilland decided to rely on speed. The Mosquito is fast, manoeuvrable, and astonishingly beautiful: to my mind only the Spitfire of its contemporaries, and Concorde since WWII, can touch it for looks.

The hangar at the de Havilland Heritage Centre that holds W4050 also contains two more Mosquitos, a fighter-bomber armed with four twenty-millimetre cannon and the classic fighter Mosquito sting of four Brownings sticking out of the nose; and a late-model B35 bomber familiar to most from the movie 633 Squadron. No other such collection exists anywhere in the world.

John

West End Birder · Dec 27, 2015

I donated some money to the Peoples' Mosquito who hope to get one back in the sky one day!

Farnboro John · Dec 27, 2015

West End Birder said:
I donated some money to the Peoples' Mosquito who hope to get one back in the sky one day!

Now they are talking to VTTS they might have a chance, but my bet is on the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar who I understand are working to buy Glyn Powell's mostly completed rebuild to airworthy. Timescale for completion (with suitable funds) could be 2016, certainly 2017. Fingers crossed!

I saw RR299 at low level in the Peak District a long time ago. I should like to see another in the air soon (without having to go to USA/Canada each of which have one.)

John

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