I Love Spitfires

I thought you might like this. What's the chances of a piece of precision engineering still working after 70 years buried in the ground....

 

Slightly off subject, but keeping to things in the air, we were very surprised to see this AWACS on the ground when we made a stopover in Teceira, on our way to Faial, Açores.



Sorry about the photo quality but heaven only knows what kind of a camera I was using in 1993!

 

He was probably lost Victoria and decided to come down and ask for directions.
Obviously his sat nav was not working

 

You are probably correct, Pete

It was a strange airport ... we all had to disembark onto the runway and go into a tiny building to get a refreshment whilst new passengers joined us and I think they swept the plane. The AWACS was just there in front of us. The airport has multi uses ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajes_Field

 

Not sure what was happening many years ago, when I was working for the NT at Buck-fast Abbey in Devon. To cut it short, RAF St. Mawgan in Cornwall moved a few C130 Hercules transport planes. They flew over the gardens I was working on, and I memory serves right I think it was 43 which came over. WOW what a sight and sound which lasted almost ten minutes. Puts you in mind of what it must have been like during the war when the bombers went over day or night. Large rumbling sound and then to see the size of these planes coming right over the top of you made the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
I do not think that is something I and my fellow gardener's will ever forget.

 

Can I blow my trumpet.....please.
Thanks..OK
My first flight ever was in an Avro Shackleton with four RR Griffon engines.
I have worked on and run the engines of Lancaster NX611
My first aerobactic flight was in a Chipmunk.
I have been winced a few times in / out of choppers.
Done low level airdrops over the jungle.
Got flattened by a Red Arrow Gnat.
Watch Buccaneers at zero feet and just below the speed of sound.
Followed the racing between Singapore and Butterworth in Malaysia with F86s and Hunter aircraft.
Recovered USA jets from the end of the runway.
Reversed taxied a Beverly aircraft.
I think I had better stop now.
Should I write a book?

Fantastic thread by the way

 

While I was with 52 Squadron the aircraft were called "PIGS" an unauthorised squadron logo was produced to reflect this. Maybe my book could be called
"PIGS CAN FLY"

 

I'm in here somewhere, left hand side I think.


Cheers, Tony (Jobber).

 

When "Leadfoot Holder landed his kite with the handbrake on. He wore through half of the wheels and tyres on the runway and then slid off into the bhondu.

Why "leadfoot" I don't know as the handbrake is on the stick (like a bicycle brake).

Cheers, Tony.

 

We used to see a Spitfire quite often flying around the airfield, here in Filton. Not sure if it was owned by Rolls Royce They have their factory just over the road from us. Haven't seen/heard it in a while, but it always drew an audience. Next year, the 'strip' is being closed, to be replaced at some stage by retail and housing

A couple of years ago, there were celebrations to mark 100 years of aircraft production on site. I've been here since 1975, and have seen quite a few interesting aircraft. I guess the most spectacular would be Concorde and the Lightnings. I recall back in '75 whilst doing part of my training, a pair of Lightnings flew over the building I was in. We all looked round to see what on earth had created such a racket, to be amazed by the sight of these two Lightnings disappearing over the hump in the runway, and then doing 'tailstands'

By comparison, it's all got quite boring these days, as there are no longer any 'live' aircraft on site. We are now just suppliers of components, sign of the times, I guess