Aircraft Appreciation thread #3 - Beautiful Aircraft!

[Geoff]

Have we had this little beauty yet?

UFO.jpg

Aurora? Unmanned Full Size Strategic bomber?

Nope, but you got the manufacturer right...

[Pensioner]

I was walking to the local shop a couple of weeks ago when I heard the unmistakable noise of a Merlin, and sure enough a Spitfire flew over at about 1,000 feet. A few seconds later a Hurricane flew over. I read in the local paper that the Battle of Britain memorial flight had visited the local air museum the pity was the Lancaster was supposed to pay a visit as well but had developed engine problems before it went on its flight.

Without a shadow of doubt these three aircraft are my all time favorites.

[klr]

I was walking to the local shop a couple of weeks ago when I heard the unmistakable noise of a Merlin, and sure enough a Spitfire flew over at about 1,000 feet. A few seconds later a Hurricane flew over. I read in the local paper that the Battle of Britain memorial flight had visited the local air museum the pity was the Lancaster was supposed to pay a visit as well but had developed engine problems before it went on its flight.

Without a shadow of doubt these three aircraft are my all time favorites.

"... unmistakable noise of a Merlin". Bastard. :twisted:



Of course, you probably just about remember Spitfires and Mosquitoes from the end of WW II, and just after it. None of today's aircraft have got the same attraction IMHO.

[Pensioner]

I was walking to the local shop a couple of weeks ago when I heard the unmistakable noise of a Merlin, and sure enough a Spitfire flew over at about 1,000 feet. A few seconds later a Hurricane flew over. I read in the local paper that the Battle of Britain memorial flight had visited the local air museum the pity was the Lancaster was supposed to pay a visit as well but had developed engine problems before it went on its flight.

Without a shadow of doubt these three aircraft are my all time favorites.

"... unmistakable noise of a Merlin". Bastard. :twisted:



Of course, you probably just about remember Spitfires and Mosquitoes from the end of WW II, and just after it. None of today's aircraft have got the same attraction IMHO.

When I served in Ireland one of the most amazing things I ever saw was a couple of Avro Shackletons fly over us at zero feet. We were in a landing craft at the time moving towards Derry, I kid you not I could see the smile on the pilots face. The bastard.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I was at a store in Indiana one day and heard a plane coming in to the nearby airport. I looked up and saw a low-wing single seater painted green. It had a meatball on the side! An A6M! I quickly heard another engine behind it, a Mustang. A B-25 and an A-20 came next, then several other planes. The Confederate Air Force was passing through and spent the night there. I got to pet a Zero.

[klr]

I was walking to the local shop a couple of weeks ago when I heard the unmistakable noise of a Merlin, and sure enough a Spitfire flew over at about 1,000 feet. A few seconds later a Hurricane flew over. I read in the local paper that the Battle of Britain memorial flight had visited the local air museum the pity was the Lancaster was supposed to pay a visit as well but had developed engine problems before it went on its flight.

Without a shadow of doubt these three aircraft are my all time favorites.

"... unmistakable noise of a Merlin". Bastard. :twisted:



Of course, you probably just about remember Spitfires and Mosquitoes from the end of WW II, and just after it. None of today's aircraft have got the same attraction IMHO.

When I served in Ireland one of the most amazing things I ever saw was a couple of Avro Shackletons fly over us at zero feet. We were in a landing craft at the time moving towards Derry, I kid you not I could see the smile on the pilots face. The bastard.

What were you doing in a landing craft? Couldn't you have just flown into Northern Ireland?

I've never seen a Shackleton, but I have seen the BAe Nimrod (it's successor) a couple of times.

Hey, the Nimrod was one of Shackleton's ships ... I wonder if that's a coincidence.

[klr]

I was at a store in Indiana one day and heard a plane coming in to the nearby airport. I looked up and saw a low-wing single seater painted green. It had a meatball on the side! An A6M! I quickly heard another engine behind it, a Mustang. A B-25 and an A-20 came next, then several other planes. The Confederate Air Force was passing through and spent the night there. I got to pet a Zero.

Are you sure it was a real Zero? Actual flying survivors are pretty rare.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I was at a store in Indiana one day and heard a plane coming in to the nearby airport. I looked up and saw a low-wing single seater painted green. It had a meatball on the side! An A6M! I quickly heard another engine behind it, a Mustang. A B-25 and an A-20 came next, then several other planes. The Confederate Air Force was passing through and spent the night there. I got to pet a Zero.

Are you sure it was a real Zero? Actual flying survivors are pretty rare.

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

[klr]

I was at a store in Indiana one day and heard a plane coming in to the nearby airport. I looked up and saw a low-wing single seater painted green. It had a meatball on the side! An A6M! I quickly heard another engine behind it, a Mustang. A B-25 and an A-20 came next, then several other planes. The Confederate Air Force was passing through and spent the night there. I got to pet a Zero.

Are you sure it was a real Zero? Actual flying survivors are pretty rare.

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

Not a T-6 Texan then.

But even if the airframe is kosher, chances are the engine isn't.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

Not a T-6 Texan then.

But even if the airframe is kosher, chances are the engine isn't.

This was in 1979, so the chances were much better. That plane appeared in "Tora, Tora, Tora".

[klr]

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

Not a T-6 Texan then.

But even if the airframe is kosher, chances are the engine isn't.

This was in 1979, so the chances were much better. That plane appeared in "Tora, Tora, Tora".

Flying or on the ground? All the flying "Zeros" in TTT were T-6's, IIRC.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

Not a T-6 Texan then.

But even if the airframe is kosher, chances are the engine isn't.

This was in 1979, so the chances were much better. That plane appeared in "Tora, Tora, Tora".

Flying or on the ground? All the flying "Zeros" in TTT were T-6's, IIRC.

I probably got the TTT part wrong. I've slept since then.

[klr]

The Confederate Air Force don't do fakes.

Not a T-6 Texan then.

But even if the airframe is kosher, chances are the engine isn't.

This was in 1979, so the chances were much better. That plane appeared in "Tora, Tora, Tora".

Flying or on the ground? All the flying "Zeros" in TTT were T-6's, IIRC.

I probably got the TTT part wrong. I've slept since then.

You are forgiven. I have an eagle eye for things like aircraft authenticity. Believe it or not, there are virtually no flying Messerschmitt 109's (despite there being c. 35,000) built. The Battle of Britain had to use Spanish Bf 109's with completely different engines. Other movies used Bf 108's.



Much as I like the Bf 108, a Bf 109 it is not ...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Much as I like the Bf 108, a Bf 109 it is not ...

So, is it true the C.A.F. provided more Spitfires for "B.o.B." than the UK government could scrape up? Or is that an urban legend?

[klr]

Much as I like the Bf 108, a Bf 109 it is not ...

So, is it true the C.A.F. provided more Spitfires for "B.o.B." than the UK government could scrape up? Or is that an urban legend?

I hadn't heard about that, but it sounds quite plausible. Don't forget that the UK government is not in the business of keeping fleets of warbirds in the air, apart from the likes of the BoB memorial flight that Pen mentioned. Most warbirds are the preserve of private organisations and individuals.

Most of the Spitfires in BoB were cannon-armed, which would have ruled them out straight away on accuracy grounds (for me), as hardly any Spitfires at that time had cannons.

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... Production