Next to the Canberra (and the Hunter), the acme of British aircraft design...
The Buccaneer
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TheGreenGoblin
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The Buccaneer
Though you remain
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."
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boing
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Re: The Buccaneer
Had the good fortune to be taken up to Brough on a day trip during training. We were taken around the factory and also given a very full briefing on the design aspects of the aircraft.
The most impressive part of this briefing concerned the design height/speed profile selection for the aircraft. The briefer started with a clean blackboard. He drew one horizontal line that he labelled ground, he then drew another horizontal line above this and said "any lower than this and you are likely fly into the ground" he then drew another horizontal line above this and said "any higher than this you will be shot down". He then drew a vertical line towards the left, "Any slower than this and you will get fighter intercepts". He then drew another vertical line to the right and said "this is the fastest we can make it go and still have decent fuel burn". He had drawn a neat little box. He concluded his briefing by saying "we designed the aircraft to operate at the centre of this box, any questions?"
How amazingly enlightened, think of it, an aircraft designed to do one job perfectly - and it did. If it had not suffered from inter-service rivalry the RAF should have been flying the aircraft at the same time as the Navy and the "Buccaneer 2-star" which the RAF was offered would have been unstoppable in its era.
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The most impressive part of this briefing concerned the design height/speed profile selection for the aircraft. The briefer started with a clean blackboard. He drew one horizontal line that he labelled ground, he then drew another horizontal line above this and said "any lower than this and you are likely fly into the ground" he then drew another horizontal line above this and said "any higher than this you will be shot down". He then drew a vertical line towards the left, "Any slower than this and you will get fighter intercepts". He then drew another vertical line to the right and said "this is the fastest we can make it go and still have decent fuel burn". He had drawn a neat little box. He concluded his briefing by saying "we designed the aircraft to operate at the centre of this box, any questions?"
How amazingly enlightened, think of it, an aircraft designed to do one job perfectly - and it did. If it had not suffered from inter-service rivalry the RAF should have been flying the aircraft at the same time as the Navy and the "Buccaneer 2-star" which the RAF was offered would have been unstoppable in its era.
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the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
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boing
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Re: The Buccaneer
Another thought. I don't know how many remember the old airfield at Luqa but the control tower was a stones throw from the end of the runway. We stood outside the control tower one day as a flight of Buccaneers was "landing ashore" or whatever they called it. The Navy was doing their carrier profile landings and you could feel the thump of each touchdown through your feet.
The old joke was that if you ran out of weapons in a Buccaneer you could ram a ship and if the windshield held you would come out of the other side still flying.
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The old joke was that if you ran out of weapons in a Buccaneer you could ram a ship and if the windshield held you would come out of the other side still flying.
.
the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: The Buccaneer
Very interesting background, Boing.
It was a fine aircraft which I was told I had been pencilled in for halfway through Tac Weapons, and would have been happy to fly (my main JP instructor had flown them), then through the mysteries of posters I ended up on the Tornado F3. We flew with or against them a fair bit on maritime exercises, and the joint Gibraltar detachments were particularly memorable, in that I don't remember anything after each night out
One of our crews attempted to dogfight in the Mediterranean haze with a submarine conning tower. He had mistaken it for a Buccaneer at its 'usual' height.
It was a fine aircraft which I was told I had been pencilled in for halfway through Tac Weapons, and would have been happy to fly (my main JP instructor had flown them), then through the mysteries of posters I ended up on the Tornado F3. We flew with or against them a fair bit on maritime exercises, and the joint Gibraltar detachments were particularly memorable, in that I don't remember anything after each night out
One of our crews attempted to dogfight in the Mediterranean haze with a submarine conning tower. He had mistaken it for a Buccaneer at its 'usual' height.
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Sisemen
Re: The Buccaneer
I pitched up at Honington to find Buccs in the hangar having cracks burred out; all were grounded and the aircrew were tootling around in Hunters that had been begged, borrowed or stolen in order to keep currency. Fortunately it all got sorted.
The departure flypast for 208 was a thing to behold. We stationed ourselves on the top of SHQ; the loose formation came in from the south, lifted over SHQ and dropped down again to pass between 2 & 3 hangars below the roof line!
The departure flypast for 208 was a thing to behold. We stationed ourselves on the top of SHQ; the loose formation came in from the south, lifted over SHQ and dropped down again to pass between 2 & 3 hangars below the roof line!