The Sight & Sounds of the Spitfire

[Godot]

Yesterday morning, clear blue skies & then roaring overhead, displaying in all it's Majesty:

(I can thoroughly recommend The Kent Battle of Britain Museum)

 

[verytalldave]

FYI.........

There is another, much smaller, but more intimate museum at Shoreham, near Sevenoaks, also in Kent.
Not to be confused with the Shoreham by the sea.
Only open Sundays, Easter to September.
Link...........
http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/uk/s-t/shoreham-kent.htm

 

[st13phil]

Apologies if this clip of Alain de Cadenet getting his hair parted by a very low flying Spitfire has already been posted, but it always amuses me. The legendary Ray Hanna was the pilot.

(Warning: Note that the clip includes a very rude expletive)

 

[verytalldave]

Magic....................

 

[Defiant]

What an era. What machines.

What men.

Arthur had nothing on that lot.

 

[glojo]

Apologies if this clip of Alain de Cadenet getting his hair parted by a very low flying Spitfire has already been posted, but it always amuses me. The legendary Ray Hanna was the pilot.

(Warning: Note that the clip includes a very rude expletive)

That was priceless!!

Regards
John

 

[st13phil]

That was priceless!!

I was sent a link to a Pilot's forum where someone was hosting this as a wmv clip shortly after Ray Hanna died. There was a discussion in the thread about the "incident" in question and somone who had been there when it happened said that this was one of several takes of Alain de Cadenet because after the first few the director had asked Hanna if he could do a slightly lower pass so that he could get a really dramatic shot. Hanna obliged (apparently he also asked the director, not entirely tongue in cheek, if he wanted an even lower pass after making that one), but the shot was never used in the documentary and was "hushed up" because it was considered that the authorities may have taken an interest in it

I had the pleasure of watching Ray Hanna display the Spitfire at Biggin Hill Air Show many years ago and it was something I'll never forget. He approached the runway in a steep dive, pulled the plane level and flew the length of the runway so low I expected to see prop marks in it. He was without question the best Spitfire display pilot ever.

 

[glojo]

Once heard a Merlin engine will never be forgotten. Hopefully we will never forget these extremely brave pilots nor to show them the respect they so rightly deserve.

John

 

[R2D2]

Prepare to cheer! Speakers on loud!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3UtmHLKUU&feature=related

 

[BTB 500]

There was a double album (vinyl ) called "Sounds of Shuttleworth" that as a plane-mad youngster I used to play as loud as possible through any stereo I could get my hands on

It had a great sequence of a reluctant start from a Griffon or Merlin (I forget which), popping and banging before finally catching.

Still got a C90 cassette of it somewhere ...

 

[RoseTattoo]

The Merlin was the difference in taht it served in many airframes and gave excelelnt service.
Heresy, but I always saw the Spitfire as a 'pretty' plane wheras the Hurricane which, if I understand it correctly is the real unsung here of teh B of B.
Years ago I saw a P-51 Mustang put through its paces at Duxworth and this to me matched the looks of the Spitfire with real performance, range and mult-role ability. As I am sure you know, it was built to an Air Ministry spec but was a failure until someone had the bright idea of taking out the Packard(?) engine and putting in a Merlin. The plane was still being used effectively in Vietnam.

 

[glojo]

The Merlin was the difference in taht it served in many airframes and gave excelelnt service.
Heresy, but I always saw the Spitfire as a 'pretty' plane wheras the Hurricane which, if I understand it correctly is the real unsung here of teh B of B.
Years ago I saw a P-51 Mustang put through its paces at Duxworth and this to me matched the looks of the Spitfire with real performance, range and mult-role ability. As I am sure you know, it was built to an Air Ministry spec but was a failure until someone had the bright idea of taking out the Packard(?) engine and putting in a Merlin. The plane was still being used effectively in Vietnam.

Lancaster bomber! We sing the praises of that engine and quite rightly so, but didn't the early ones have problems with inverted flight?

If we are talking of Second World War aircraft then the Merlin powered Mosquito MUST be right at the top of the list?

Fighter
Night fighter
Bomber
Photo reconnaissance
Fleet Air Arm capability working off aircraft carriers

Yes the Spitfire could do most of these roles ......... night fighter???

It certainly never had the ability to carry 4,000 internal bomb loads.

As part of 8 Group Mosquitos took part in many bombing operations as pathfinders, marking targets accurately with flares for later attack by massive formations of heavy bombers. Bomber Command Mosquitos flew over 28,000 operations, dropping 35,000 tons of bombs, and losing just 193 aircraft in the process (a loss rate of 0.7%, compared to a 2.2% loss rate for the four engined heavies). It has been calculated that a Mosquito could be loaded with a 4,000 lb. blockbuster bomb fly to Germany, drop the bomb, return, bomb up and refuel, fly to Germany again and drop a second 4,000 lb bomb and return, and still land before a Stirling (the slowest of Bomber Command's four-engined bombers) which left at the same time armed with a full bomb load, could strike Germany.

 

[st13phil]

We sing the praises of that engine and quite rightly so, but didn't the early ones have problems with inverted flight?

Yes, well, sort of. It was actually negative G that caused the problem due to it being a carburettor fuel system. It was a woman who came up with the solution, but I don't remember her name

 

[glojo]

Yes, well, sort of. It was actually negative G that caused the problem due to it being a carburettor fuel system. It was a woman who came up with the solution, but I don't remember her name

Mrs N Gee???

Regards
John

 

[st13phil]

Mrs N Gee???

Err... No!

Actually, it was Miss Tilly Shilling who came up with the modification which was used from 1941 until true negative G carb's were fitted in 1943

And there's a good article about the Merlin engine here

Wonderful thing, Google...

 

[Simon]

Lancaster bomber! We sing the praises of that engine and quite rightly so, but didn't the early ones have problems with inverted flight?

Yes, the bombs wouldn't fall out

 

[esox]

While out on a motorcycle ride on Sunday i happened to pass by Lasham airfield so spent an hour or so looking around the crusty old `museum` and static aeroplanes.
One of the enthusiasts/volunteers cleaning the fuselage of one of them pricked up his ears and declared `Merlin!` as an aeroplane approached behind the treeline.
Sure enough,a few secs later a Spitfire flew by,probably on it`s way to Farnborough for this weeks shows(which i`ll probably go and see - Vulcan,Eurofighter,F16/18`s etc,should be good.Oh god,i sound like a planespotter!Talking of which,there was a father and son jotting down glider registration numbers - WTF`s that about?i guess if you have to ask you don`t understand!!)


Anyway,they have a couple of Merlin engines in the museum,and the engineering that goes into them is absolutely phenomenal - they didn`t scrimp or cut corners,did they,despite the fact that it could be shot down on its firt sortie and buried into the ground on impact.
And then you have the Lancaster bombers which have four Merlins fitted.
And bombing raids over Germany sometimes had hundreds of bombers,dozens of them never to return.
What a waste..(of engineering,the end result was worth the effort!)

 

[RoseTattoo]

Have to agree about Mosquito. One of my all time top three favourite aircraft: Mosquito, DC-3, B-707. (Sorry a bit OT)
One of my father’s friends flew one, first as a night fighter and then covering the Normandy landings and advance. He was allocated a square of France and could shoot anything except for a long list of exceptions – he never shot at a thing.
Unlike, was it Guy Braddock, who I found in some old Hotspur comics? He would spit in the fuel tank, kick the propellers into action, take-off upside down and destroy whole squadrons with nothing more than a pea-shooter. Who needs the Typhoon?

 

[glojo]

H. One of my all time top three favourite aircraft: Mosquito, DC-3, B-707. (Sorry a bit OT)

Hi,
I don't know if your interest but there is a DC-3 which is at present doing the rounds of the more rural airports offering 'final' flights in this iconic aircraft.

If you look on the 'Snaps' thread you will see a picture I took of it.

In fact.... Yer tis. This was taken from my patio door:

 

[Shude]

There was a double album (vinyl ) called "Sounds of Shuttleworth" that as a plane-mad youngster I used to play as loud as possible through any stereo I could get my hands on

Any connection to the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Aerodrome?

My Father's best friend died a few weeks ago and has left his entire estate to the Shuttleworth Collection with the express wish that the money be used to maintain the Spitfire.

His ashes are being scattered there in October IIRC, will be an interesting day out.