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#71
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Shane,
I love the stories about them - like how the first RAF pilots to fly them, used to Meteors, would find themselves going supersonic on take-off! I count myself lucky to have seen their airshow party-piece of going vertical. I used to love going to Farnborough on the trade days in the mid 50s through into the 60s. Some fantastic stuff used to be on display and in those days their seemed to be new experimental aircraft built each year as the envelope of what an aircraft could do was explored and expanded. I remember the flying bedstead that eventually evolved into the 1127(?) and then 1154 and finally the Harrier. Yes, Noel and myself not only lived just a few miles apart as he was I think in Bray and then later in Maidenhead itself not far from where I was living but we also both went to school in Oxford. A few miles as well as years apart though. -- Mike Shane wrote: The FD2 had a droop snoop as later used on Concorde. I think one may still survive at Cosford (RAF Museum). Mean to go up there one day. I expect you know I live within walking distance of Hendon. Went there last week, in fact, for the umpteenth time, but museums are, you know, dead....... but we lived not far from White Waltham which was a test field used by Fairey's. If that was while Noel was at Slough, I can understand why you moved! rofl.....sorry Noel, you know I can't resist! Oh - in case you're wondering, my father was an aircraft designer and worked on the Gannet, Rotadyne, Airco 121 (better known as DH121 or Trident). Airco was a short lived partnership of De Havilland, Fairey and Hunting - he was responsible for the tail assembly with the high tail plane, and then Scout & Wasp helicopters after the merger of Shorts/Fairey etc. into Westland. Wonderful. You must have had a fascinating childhood! I didn't realise the Trident started as a DeHavilland. Did he have anything to do with the one-eleven (first plane I ever went up in)? I always thought they had a familial resemblance. I used to live near Lasham airport and wish I'd paid more attention to their Comets. It beats me why we can't keep at least one example of these machines in fully-working order! A flight in a Lightning must be a bit like sitting on the back of a rocket on bonfire night. :-) -- I love the stories about them - like how the first RAF pilots to fly them, used to Meteors, would find themselves going supersonic on take-off! I count myself lucky to have seen their airshow party-piece of going vertical. |
#72
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I can't remember that far back what they actually manufactured but I
know there were a lot of different sized turbo's done. I mainly worked in the fusegear shop but did do a stint in the rewinding but only on small ones. One of Franks brothers worked in switchgear and another in with the big jobs. It was quite a bit place so I never got around the whole place while I was there, it was fun though g When you think about fuses now you think of those little things in plugs but the size of some of the ones I had to make, well, you wouldn't credit g I used to like it though when working on the soldering line doing the silver ones. Joan Shane wrote: Presuming the same Brush, they were a major manufacturer of our diesel-electric locomotives. Didn't know about an HS connection but I wouldn't be surprised. Their main competitor was English Electric who not only made the loco that replaced steam on the East Coast Main Line expresses - the Deltic - but also our first in-level-flight supersonic jet, the Lightning (which still holds speed records for vertical flight nearly 50 years after it entered service) and the equally old Canberra jet bomber that is still in service as a reconnaissance aircraft and pretty-much unsurpassed in it's role. God what an anorak I've become! Shane |
#73
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ROFL
He must have gone to bed and missed that one Shane g Joan Shane wrote: If that was while Noel was at Slough, I can understand why you moved! rofl.....sorry Noel, you know I can't resist! |
#74
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lol I'm in too much pain at the moment to do anything else but
*gracefully* it's a good job I don't have to stand to use this thing or I'd never be here g Joan Heather wrote: Growing old......not quite sure about *gracefully*, lol. But it sure beats the alternative!!!! Actually, my younger sister (2 years younger) has more wrinkles than I do, but she is also a few stone lighter. Pays to have chubby cheeks!! Cheers.....Heather |
#75
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My Mum and Dad both used to work for Dowty's, then Smiths. She was certainly
on soldering while he was a turner (made me some great bits for my first motorbikes!). Dowty's was, afaik, before I was born - my Dad has mentioned seeing them test flying what sounds like Gloster Javellins next door. When I took him to Hendon he got a bollocking for walking onto the bit we plebs are supposed to stay off of, to take a look at the Lightning undercarriage and confirm that it was Dowty. The era I remember though is when they were at Smiths in Basingstoke - we lived in a road that was originally built by Smiths for the workforce (weren't bad houses either). It was a pretty big factory and they were providing instruments for Concorde and the Harrier. Now the factory site is a retail park. Of course, the clocks on most of the British bikes I've worked on were Smiths, but by the mid-seventies Triumph (well, NVT) were buying Italian. South-West Trains - who run the Southern Region services out of Waterloo - are buying a billion pounds worth of new rolling stock, from Siemens of Germany/Austria. I think about the only healthy manufacturing industry we have left is armaments. No wonder Blair's so keen on war! Shane "Joan Archer" wrote in message ... I can't remember that far back what they actually manufactured but I know there were a lot of different sized turbo's done. I mainly worked in the fusegear shop but did do a stint in the rewinding but only on small ones. One of Franks brothers worked in switchgear and another in with the big jobs. It was quite a bit place so I never got around the whole place while I was there, it was fun though g When you think about fuses now you think of those little things in plugs but the size of some of the ones I had to make, well, you wouldn't credit g I used to like it though when working on the soldering line doing the silver ones. Joan Shane wrote: Presuming the same Brush, they were a major manufacturer of our diesel-electric locomotives. Didn't know about an HS connection but I wouldn't be surprised. Their main competitor was English Electric who not only made the loco that replaced steam on the East Coast Main Line expresses - the Deltic - but also our first in-level-flight supersonic jet, the Lightning (which still holds speed records for vertical flight nearly 50 years after it entered service) and the equally old Canberra jet bomber that is still in service as a reconnaissance aircraft and pretty-much unsurpassed in it's role. God what an anorak I've become! Shane |
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