Ops-Normal.org

My first flight was a joy ride in an Auster from Ringway in the late '50s when I was about 7. I sat behind the pilot and marveled at the 'toy' houses far below, but what really caught my imagination was the way the pilot would move the stick to one side and the world tilted over in the windscreen. "...

We enjoyed a presentation the other night at our U3A Science Group by Luke Logan, Chief Engineer for Civil Aerospace at Rolls Royce plc. Luke thinks the A380 will enjoy a resurgence in China (and maybe elsewhere) in an 800+ seat all-economy version (for which it's certified, but no operator has yet ...

Concorde's engines were a considerable upgrade on the Vulcan's. Olympus 593; 40,000 lbs of thrust with afterburner! But the really, REALLY clever bit in Concorde's propulsion system wasn't the 593, it was the intake. This kept the engines in a subsonic environment at M2, and provided 70% (yes, 70%!)...

Forgot to mention - this 'return to flight' bunch are dreamers. Not a snowflake's chance in hell the wonderful white bird will fly again. Do I really need to reiterate why?

Train driving isn't running a bank or being a celeb (you don't have to support football - I don't! And you can choose your bank. But you probably have to buy a train ticket from one TOC if you need to travel). It's a very ordinary undemanding repetitive job. That drivers get close on £50K (some get ...

>£43K for driving a train - more for pointy trains. Why? Back in steam days it was a much more demanding job than it is today, taking decades as a fireman before (if!) you moved across to the other side of the cab. And it wasn't a well paid job then. Now it's easy. Why does it pay more than double a...

Absolute bollocks Mr Crun. Concorde was a perfectly safe design which considering what it did, and that nothing else, despite the best efforts of USSR and USA, could do it, was no small achievement by the design and build teams. The Paris accident was more about the way AF (mis) operated the bird th...

Concorde G-BOAD August 1999 Manchester to Paris via Bay of Biscay for 60,000' and M2. I was in the jumpseat with a superb view (inside and out!) for the entire flight. Marvellous! Thank you Captain Roger Mills!

IMG_0326 res.jpg Me in one of my favorite places back in 2010 Other Chippy in formation r.jpg May 2010 taken by my passenger as another Chippy flies in formation with us down the coast to celebrate 100 years of flight at Formby Point. DSC03621res.jpg Nearly home... turning short final, Liverpool Jo...

Bluddy edit timed out before I'd edited the above post! Mods - that's a big flaw you need to fix!

IMG_0326 res.jpg Me in one of my favorite places back in 2010 Other Chippy in formation r.jpg May 2010 taken by my passenger as another Chippy flies in formation with us down the coast to celebrate 100 years of flight at Formby Point. DSC03621res.jpg Nearly home... turning short final, Liverpool Jo...

The Empty Quarter in Oman. 50C and totally silent.

Tom - that pic at Kenyon Hall.. I love it too! As I taxyed out the photographer said "Keep it low and I'll get a good photo of you". Kenyon Hall is short, but at the upwind end is a big gap in the hedge so I got airborne, held the Chippy down as it accelerated, and flew through that gap be...

Here's me having fun at Kenyon Hall Strip in Lancashire a few years ago... http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/GZK6NK/VinceinG-BCSLres.jpg Driving 10.5" gauge 'King Arthur' at the Rudyard Lake Railway.... http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/GZK6NK/IMG_3050%20r_zpsrwqjfjat.jpg Firing 'Agec...

I never had the skill or patience to turn out models to anything like that standard, though I must have built most of the 1/72nd series when I were a lad, plus quite a few of the bigger ones such as Catalina, Bristol Freighter, etc. I found the 1/144th (?) scale airliners the hardest to make a neat ...

I flew one at Barton once, the one that's resident at Liverpool. Lots of character but slightly wooden handling; for that fuel consumption and a big radial engine I much prefer the Yak 52.

Flew a Waco biplane in Florida that was very similar to fly to the Stearman.

The Great Dorset Steam Fair is an as-yet unfulfilled item on my bucket list. I can't go this year but will plan it in for next. I understand one really has to camp on site as getting accommodation is all but impossible and even if you find a B&B getting in and out each day is not easy! Nice pics...

I'm no expert, Mr. Crun, just a steam nut!

I've fired 'Elizabeth' when her former owner (Vernon, ever such a lovely chap) brought her to the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. When I knew she was coming I emailed him and he said "bring your footplate gear, boots and overalls, and of course you can fire her". So I did. Much ...