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Potentially great for fast heavy freight around the globe I'd have thought, just a few hours behind the other great Russian heavy lifter that is always in demand.

In the meantime this is the first time I have been up close to what have to be the best looking tail pipes in the business.

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Ah yes, the Eagle, what a beast if a thing huh!
I also love it when they 'flex' their tailpipes like that.
 
Often refer to one of mine as a Stratocruiser so I thought I'd better find out what a Stratocruiser is...

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The brilliant yet sadl documentary about Concorde was shown again last night.
 
I fly a paramotor.
PPG-8300.jpg
 
... Just revisiting this thread. As a point of interest;
Today marks the 76th anniversary commemorating the famous (or I'm famous depending on which side you sit) of the Dambuster raid.
There have been so many documentaries about it and of course the brilliant film.
A tiny pinprick in the greater scheme of things regarding the bombing campaign in WW2 but one of the most famous and daring nonetheless. IMG_20190516_065455.jpg
 
I got hooked on aircraft as a kid after seeing a low-flying Lightning off the east coast back in the 60s. My bedroom was full of Airfix models, usually WWII stuff, with the occasional foray into more modern stuff. I joined the RAF at 16, went to Halton as a 'brat' apprentice (127 entry), and learned my trades working on Provosts, Sea Vixens, Beverleys, Whirlwind helicopters and various other 'retired' stuff. We had rows and rows of Merlin engines in various states of repair, as well as RR Vipers and Avons and Leonides Majors from the Whirlwind to play with...there'll be lots more I've forgotten! Once qualified, I was posted to.....a Bloodhound Mk II SAM squadron - one-way flights!! :eek: The only saving grace, my illusions of being posted to a flying unit having been crushed, was that Binbrook (5 and 11 Sqn Lightnings) was only a 20 minute drive away....and Cleethorpes, full of young ladies in the summer months, was even closer! :D

I was stationed at RAF North Coates - the RAF flew the very last operational sorties of WWII from there in Beaufighters, against the remaining U-boats, the last of the German forces to surrender. We only used 2 out of the 4 hangars on the station, the other 2 not having been in full use since the late 50s. Lots of stuff was stored in there, and had obviously been forgotten about - we found more than a few crated Beaufighter spares that were duly despatched into proper storage....I think a Beaufighter is being restored at Duxford, perhaps the bits will end up on it!

I never flew in anything in my service, but we did launch a Bloodhound from Aberporth in the late 70s.....fantastic to see.....and it hit the Jindivik target launched from Brawdy! Happy days. :)

Pete
 
The Beverley is one of my all-time favourite aircraft - I remember the one being landed on-site at the RAF museum, Hendon. Tragic that it ended up being scrapped - I think there's only a single one left in existence now (somewhere near Hull).

I saw a missile being launched from Aberporth in the early/mid '70s while on holiday there ... quite impressive!
 
what about doing handbrake turn while popping a wheelie?

The Beverley is one of my all-time favourite aircraft - I remember the one being landed on-site at the RAF museum, Hendon. Tragic that it ended up being scrapped - I think there's only a single one left in existence now (somewhere near Hull).

I saw a missile being launched from Aberporth in the early/mid '70s while on holiday there ... quite impressive!

The Beverley's at Fort Paull, a Napoleonic fortress overlooking the Humber - you can walk into it, although the flight deck's not accessible. There's a cockpit section at the Newark Air Museum too, displayed so you can stand behind the cockpit seats and look at the array of instruments and controls - it's retained that smell too! Aberporth was also a naval station - the Navy fired quite a few more than we did.....theirs were a lot smaller than ours though! :)

Pete
 
... Talking of smells, a friend of mine owns the Highland Aviation museum near the airport up here. He has amongst other things the front half of a Nimrod and a Valiant. These too have retained their smells. It's a very distinctive one. :)
 
... Talking of smells, a friend of mine owns the Highland Aviation museum near the airport up here. He has amongst other things the front half of a Nimrod and a Valiant. These too have retained their smells. It's a very distinctive one. :)

It is indeed! Getting a whiff of it, eyes shut, and I'm a teenager all over again! Funnily enough, the Bloodhound had the smell too - I reckon it was a combination of OM15, a red, mineral hydraulic oil that most aircraft of the day used and was used in the Bloodhound's launcher, paint and the yellow-coloured etch primer we used to use, nicknamed 'yak shit'! I might try to recreate it, bottle it and then sell the memory! :D

Pete
 

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