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jimbo, that's pretty funny. Can just imagine how smug those boys would have felt that day. haha
Anyway, for all the SR71 fans out there, I just found this...
[url] http://72.14.253.104/custom?q=cache:gmaps.tommangan.us/blackbirds.html [/url]
Comprehensive list of the locations of all the Blackbirds ever made, including all those that crashed.
There was another similar SR-71 story about a Blackbird that had been test flying out over the Pacific, this must have been just about the time people were becoming aware of it.
Flying back over LA on it's way to the desert and sharing frequency with some normal air traffic, planes were asking control for clearance to climb to various altitudes - then the blackbird asked for permission to fly at 60000 feet. The tower came back with a rahter sarcastic "permission granted flight xx22 - climb to 60000 ft, if you think you can get there" the blackbird replied with a cool "thank you control, descending to 60000ft"
🙂
Snoopy was quite a plane, i remember seeing it fly over Fairford years ago, no longer i operation i believe, last i heard it was being converted back to a standard Hercules, somebody must have had a job on their hands!
Snoopy is now being used as a testbed for the TP-400 D6 engine for the A400M.
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Oh and did someone say low level?
[img] http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=162121&d=1210244478 [/img]
Rattling window panes at RAF St Athan.
The story of the Phantom at St Athan is [url= http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/TPC/Funny_Pictures/0001-1000/0001-0100/0090/TPC_0090.htm ]here[/url]
I see your low Phantom, and drop some more...
Has anybody seen [url= http://www.incredible-adventures.com/capetown.html ]This lot?[/url] ... flights in all sorts of interesting aircraft
Aye, Thunder City.
CFH fancies a trip in a Lightning (very quick, lots of noise, doesn't stay up long) whereas I'm gonna plump for a trip in a Buccaneer (big, stays up for ages and gets the job done).
My brother in law was an RAF flyboy, it was a pain (although he wasn't), ask him about his day at work & he would have been out in a Tornado all morning playing around, bombing poor innocent targets etc etc, my normal "sat in the office" sounded distinctly lame.
Still better now he is in 747's I dont feel nearly as envious
GJ - My brother flies Nimrods whereas I was very definitely ground-based whilst in the RAF.
Still, I have more medals than him. 😆
sootyandjim - Member
Aye, Thunder City.CFH fancies a trip in a Lightning (very quick, lots of noise, doesn't stay up long) whereas I'm gonna plump for a trip in a Buccaneer (big, stays up for ages and gets the job done).
😆
Yeah, but more people remember the Lightning....! 😆
Yes, likes to let everyone know its there but doesn't bring much to the party.
😛
Ok then, pull up a sandbag and swing the lamp here's a couple of stories that I hope are true but have become legends.
A propulsion chief doing a ground run on a lightning, sat on a crate as the seat was out, jumped the chocks when at max chat. It took off as it was basically a rocket. He was able to bring it round a circuit and land.
The Americans, whilst showing off their new U2 spy plane sent a photo of the houses of parliament to the British government from their "undetected" mission. The British sent back a picture of the U2 above the houses of parliament taken from above by a Canberra.
I have seen Buccaneer beat ups that make those F4 pics lok like kids play. Buccs could sit on a ground effect bubble at 5ft or so that made it impossible to hit the ground even if they had pushed the stick forward (not sure anyone tried). When they played cat and mouse with F4s and F3s they just went to ground and nothing else could live with them. Not that the F3 could catch a cold! Air Display Variant we called it.
A propulsion chief doing a ground run on a lightning, sat on a crate as the seat was out, jumped the chocks when at max chat. It took off as it was basically a rocket. He was able to bring it round a circuit and land.
I guess you mean [url=
Taffy Holden[/url], a qualified pilot BTW, though not on the Lightning.
Ejection seat was actually fitted (not a crate) but the safeties were fitted.
Oh and a Banana jet beat up.
[img] http://a3.vox.com/6a00e398d65b90000500e398d9523b0004-pi [/img]
The Americans, whilst showing off their new U2 spy plane sent a photo of the houses of parliament to the British government from their "undetected" mission. The British sent back a picture of the U2 above the houses of parliament taken from above by a Canberra.
I so desperately want that to be true!
Sorry, back to my fave plane...[img]
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10 SR71's all lined up together!!!
They're not SR-71s, they're A-12s, the CIA's far more secret single-seat precursor to the Blackbird. (Well OK one's a two-seat training model.) They seem to have been replaced by the Blackbird for a couple of reasons. First, flying such a plane and perfoming the reconnaisance duties proved quite tricky for one person and secondly the USAF didn't like the civvies in the CIA getting to play with such cool toys! 🙂
[url=
than the tin triangle?[/url]
[url=
low can you go?[/url]
Thanks for the SR71 story Jimbo, made my day, office is empty as its lunch, so i don't have to explain all the chuckling............
where did you get it and are there any more?
cheers jono.
Swiss Mirage 3
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Jaguars
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Saab Draken
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Venom and Hunters, Swiss airforce
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I think that Jag landing badly is from 16 Sqdn... That must have been taken before they swapped to Tornados.
Regarding the M55 takeoff, I heard a rumour that there are a lot of straight bits of motorway in the UK that were built "just in case" we needed spare/excess runway for whatever reason. Similarly, they are a lot of bridges that are a lot stonger and bigger than they really need to be so that planes have a nice shelter out of the rain.
I'm feeling a little retrospective right now, so I thought I'd post up a couple o' piccies of the oldschool Russian Migs.
Mig-21 Fishbed
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SU-22 Fitter M
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Has someone photoshopped this guy undercarriage out.......
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Regarding the M55 takeoff, I heard a rumour that there are a lot of straight bits of motorway in the UK that were built "just in case" we needed spare/excess runway for whatever reason. Similarly, they are a lot of bridges that are a lot stonger and bigger than they really need to be so that planes have a nice shelter out of the rain.
I grew up being told that one as well - all up and down the M-way network, straight runs, heavy/big bridges and narrow divisions between carriageways....so if needed, M-ways could be very quickly turned into runways...
I'm pretty sure it's true in Singapore. Motorways as spare runways, that is. Am pretty sure one of the big roads on Cyprus is also a standby runway.
[i]"they are a lot of bridges that are a lot stonger and bigger than they really need to be so that planes have a nice shelter out of the rain"[/i]
Why would they need to be stronger and bigger to take 'rain loading'. Surely they're designed to withstand the rain .. ?
The implication was obviously too subtle, james. The question you should be asking is why planes should need to shelter out of the rain.
'cos they are all delicate-like. Poor things will catch their death if left out in the rain.
Unlike the Itialian jets, which will rot away before your eyes... Just like my Fiat Panda did
Forget the Harrier, I bring you the mechanical nightmare that was the Yak-38 Forger.
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Ah yes... The easiest plane to shoot down in F-19 Stealth Fighter when I were a lad.
I swear the Harrier is half that size and twice as good...
Just resurrecting the low level theme for a bit. 😀
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all the low flying vids and pics are fantastic - the phantom between the hangars is superb...
[url= http://www.glumbert.com/media/flylow ]My favourite low flying video[/url]
The Phantom between the hangars pic is amazing. We heard the story of that one when we were there, no one believed it.
They used to have "competitions" in the Falklands between the Phantoms and the Chinooks as to who could buzz the accomodation blocks the lowest. the helicopters would usually win - as they flew over they'd stand it on a wingtip which would cause massive blade slap and the resulting wingtip vortices would shatter all the windows!
Those Lightning pilots scrubbed up well.
[img] http://www.e-goat.co.uk/photoplog/file.php?n=242&w=l [/img]
Oh and low and fast, Mt Kent, Falkland Islands.
[img] http://www.e-goat.co.uk/photoplog/file.php?n=194&w=o [/img]
How low can you go?
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Unusually pylon-less Tornado.
😯 😯 😯
'kin 'ell, that's LOOOOOOW!
That pilot must have balls the size and weight of canonballs! That is just too low. Another inch and he'd start grinding metal off the wingtip.
[url=
is low[/url]
Perhaps a little too low (84 killed, 100 injured)
If you want too low, how about this?
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=94479
Yep there were some stunts pulled in the falklands at MPA in the hercs the low flying was unberfugginlevable when doing fighter affiliation with the Phantoms. Did a flight once when we refuelled 2 phantoms once full they flew so low there was 2 rooster tails in the sea
must dig out my old pics
Pah! Thats not low! To cunningly combine low flying with my previous picture post, I give you Yak-38 Forger negative height ejection, sadly only one 'chute though....
[url=
The "new" (as in not yet in service) MiG-35
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Looks almost no different to the MiG-29, and remarkably similar to the F-15 Eagle, 2 planes that have been in service since the early/mid 70's. Nice to see the russians are developing as quickly as the rest of the world these days since the demise of Communism 😉
That low flying Tornado has been outed as a photoshop BTW.
Found these yesterday...
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Looking rather sad - they should be indoors and being restored...
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Here comes the noise.
Nice to see the russians are developing as quickly as the rest of the world these days since the demise of Communism
Well they are trying some interestingly new things out...
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Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). NATO codename "Firkin". 🙂 As well as the forward-swept wings it is also claimed to have some sort of plasma field-based stealth system - really!
.......it is also claimed to have some sort of plasma field-based stealth system - really!
I reckon a slightly tipsy Russian official might have been spinning a line to an equally afflicted aviation reporter in the hospitality tent at Farnborough.
Well they are trying some interestingly new things out...Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). NATO codename "Firkin".
Late to the party again! NASA did this ages ago.
X-29
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ACTUALLY the germans across the pond did it before everybody!!
curses beaten to it!
I'll shove a pic up anyway because it's such a gnarly looking thing
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Has to be the SR-71 Blackbird. It's utterly beautiful, and even more so close up. And it really was the height of technology - inertial navigation was in its infancy with the SR-71, so they fitted astro-navigation. It actually tracked the stars to maintain its position fix.
Nowadays with laser gyros we have it made, but that was such an incredible solution at the time.
Sootyandjim that chinook photo reminded me of that Tomb Raider movie sequence...
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knew i would find it, always think this has to be the coolist low level flying out there
Oh dear. This thread is fitting in nicely with the coffee and single malt spotter stuff.
Late to the party again! NASA did this ages ago.X-29
Yes, the yanks played a little with forward-swept wings 20+ years ago, but they never did anything more with it. The X-29 was purely an experimental plane. The Berkut may actually reach production or at least feed into something that gets produced. The F-22 and F-35 are boringly conventional in appearance in comparison.
"...inertial navigation was in its infancy with the SR-71..."
Didn't the V2 have such a system?
re. Forward swept wings. The US tried it with the X-29. IIRC there were no real advantages. Certainly not enough to warrent continuing the programme/developing the technology. One (now largely outdated) advantage was horrendous turbulence immediately behind the aircraft (chase planes had to hang well back), which could be useful for dogfights.
And if anyone's really bored, here's the SR-71 flight manual.
http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/
Yet to find the "If the engine warning light appears, consult your authorised Lockheed service centre immedately", mind.
Sorry, was meant to be:
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Someone has a Starfighter sitting in there paddock 😯
Not to mention the beautiful Hunter, interesting Meteor & a Supermarine Swift I believe.
pity to see them just rusting away like that bit of gloss paint would make them look like new ❓
I'd guess at a Seahawk given the folding wings.
More low-flying, this time back with the SR-71 Blackbird which seems to keep cropping up.
Had the pleasure once of standing behind the last public scramble of 6 Vulcans - at an airshow, long time ago in my youf.... what an amazing noise (and sight)
More recently, at a local WW2 event (ok, not cold war....) had the pleasure of talking to a tail end gunner from a Lancaster - a grade A scar on his left forearm where he'd taken a (large) bullet which wedged between the 2 bones. His favourite anecdote - pilot coming on the radio saying the enemy was getting close, gunners response was o'course - sod of they're 100ft closer to me!!
My little offer (sorry if its been done, to long a thread to wade though).
Back end of the cold war [url=
Tankbuster[/url]
'Tis indeed a shame to see thise lovely old aircraft rotting away.
They are all at the Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society at Lasham in Hampshire if anyone else wants to visit...
Anyone ID this for me please?
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They are all at the Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society
Now there's an organisation who's title is a misnomer!
could be a de havilland drover DHA-3
Yes indeed, aracer! That thought crossed my mind too... They do have couple of WWII era aircraft but nothing of great interest to me, so I didn't photograph them.
Thanks problem_child.
it does have a DH look about it
Yep, it's a Drover.
Might have to pay a visit to Lasham. Thanks, Julian!
Still can't believe this thread is still going!
Very early cold war here....a bit tenuous, but a lovely plane!
The DH Beaver.
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Look me up if you're going to Lasham CFH! Not far from here. There's always the Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop as well...
I used to watch the A10's live firing at the live fire power demo's at battlesbury barracks in warminster in 1987/88. What a awesome sound they make when the gun lets rip, almost like a loud fart!
Without doubt, the "coolest" cold war plane (in fact coolest plane ever, even including Concorde IMO) is the Lockheed Martin Blackbird SR71.
Yup very nice plane indeed.
Isn't the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?
Isn't the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?
Nope, not in any way, shape or form. Totally unrelated projects.
Isn't the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?
Oooohhh. A bit of Gallic sabre rattling there.
Downgraded as in Better -- yes
well they look very alike, if you compare the shape and dimension from wiki it's obvious the planes share the same "frame". Plus before coming to soton never heard about the eurofighter, hence the question.
if you compare the shape and dimension from wiki it's obvious the planes share the same "frame".
*Facepalm*
CFH I just had a look on wiki and it's not very clear, but as far as I could read, eurofighter started as a collaboration between UK, France and germany before the project saw france pulled up. So that is probably why both plane look very similar. I have no time to get more accurate resources, but I'll try to pop to the library this week
A plane is what you use to remove wood from a door, aircraft are what you can see many pictures of in this thread.
Oh and Juan, unfortunately for the French Airforce the government of France made the decision to pull out of the Eurofighter project purely for political reasons and hence have been left with an aircraft that has an ergonomic nightmare of a cockpit, very basic systems that still don't function properly, a serious problem with excess weight and very empty order books, (orders are needed to off-set future up-grade costs which will now be met by a smaller customer base). The only advantage it has over the Typhoon is its ability to land an aircraft carrier, but seeing as the one nation within the Typhoon project that wants a carrier borne fighter is buying the F35 its difficult to see what an aircraft nearly two generations behind the F35 offers to carrier aviation.
While we're on the subject on French aircraft... have we had one of these?
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I always thought it looked too big for such a slender shape...
Designed to carry a single, big and powerful bomb.
Scary times.
400! If you are ever paiing Montrose, a visit to the flight museum there is well worth it.