Got one of those. Shall be wearing it on Saturday for independence Day.
Anyone know why they were called pith helmets? My uncle had one, relic from around the time of the Boer war (he was an army chap), I think. I remember looking inside it as a kid and I thought it was made of some sort of compressed sheet cork, with a glued on cloth covering, a bit like the way those old leather crash helmets were made, the ones with a peak and ear flaps.
VP959 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:09 pmAnyone know why they were called pith helmets? My uncle had one, relic from around the time of the Boer war (he was an army chap), I think. I remember looking inside it as a kid and I thought it was made of some sort of compressed sheet cork, with a glued on cloth covering, a bit like the way those old leather crash helmets were made, the ones with a peak and ear flaps.
The Pith helmet or Sola Topee was first made in the Indian subcontinent sometime in the 1800s. It got its name from the fact that it was made out of the pith, the soft tissue found inside of the trunk of the Sola tree, a species native to India.
Fascinating, thanks. An early form of loft insulation, perhaps . . .
A pithy definition, and as I know you own one, I know you aren't taking the pith!Ex-Ascot wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:30 pmVP959 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:09 pmAnyone know why they were called pith helmets? My uncle had one, relic from around the time of the Boer war (he was an army chap), I think. I remember looking inside it as a kid and I thought it was made of some sort of compressed sheet cork, with a glued on cloth covering, a bit like the way those old leather crash helmets were made, the ones with a peak and ear flaps.The Pith helmet or Sola Topee was first made in the Indian subcontinent sometime in the 1800s. It got its name from the fact that it was made out of the pith, the soft tissue found inside of the trunk of the Sola tree, a species native to India.
My "punishment", following the damage to the TFR, in addition to being awarded the "Prick of the Year" ornament, was to be sent to Farnborough to do the Flight Test Scientist training course, as my boss needed someone foolhardy enough to sit in the "coal hole" of the trials Vulcan, in order to operate and monitor the instrumentation we'd fitted. My entire career changed direction from that moment onwards, not least because the Farnborough course included getting a PPL, free of charge. I found a love for flying, so volunteered for all the test flying work going, which was easy, as none of my colleagues ever wanted to fly in the aeroplanes they were designing and building experimental kit for.TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:32 pmFunny how sometimes we are celebrated, even presented with an award, as VP959 notes above, for that one mistake we made, when we got so much more right!
Two of my best friends (they still are as it happens) presented me with a heart shaped mirror with the inscription "I love you" when I turned 21. I guess they were trying to say something but I am not self-reflective enough to want to get their point, even now in my dotage!
What a great life history, changed perhaps by a presentation, if not a present. How many hours did you accumulate in the "coal hole" VP959?VP959 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:57 pmMy "punishment", following the damage to the TFR, in addition to being awarded the "Prick of the Year" ornament, was to be sent to Farnborough to do the Flight Test Scientist training course, as my boss needed someone foolhardy enough to sit in the "coal hole" of the trials Vulcan, in order to operate and monitor the instrumentation we'd fitted. My entire career changed direction from that moment onwards, not least because the Farnborough course included getting a PPL, free of charge. I found a love for flying, so volunteered for all the test flying work going, which was easy, as none of my colleagues ever wanted to fly in the aeroplanes they were designing and building experimental kit for.TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:32 pmFunny how sometimes we are celebrated, even presented with an award, as VP959 notes above, for that one mistake we made, when we got so much more right!
Two of my best friends (they still are as it happens) presented me with a heart shaped mirror with the inscription "I love you" when I turned 21. I guess they were trying to say something but I am not self-reflective enough to want to get their point, even now in my dotage!
The task of working as a Flight Test Scientist was so unattractive that they offered a fairly hefty additional pay allowance, way back in 1977, when I first "volunteered", they were paying me £5.40 per hour, or part of hour, flown, as an allowance. Needless to say it didn't take long to work out that a 2 hour and 5 minute sortie was a winner, as that earned three hours flying pay allowance. Consequently, my log book is full of sorties that are five to ten minutes over a whole number of hours. Thankfully every crew I ever flew with, from all three services, was always very accommodating and made sure that our trials flights matched the needs of my flying allowance. Did usually cost me a few beers in the aircrew/scruffs bar afterwards, though.
Not many. Total Vulcan hours flown is 9 hours 15 mins, all from Scampton, all flights over the moors at low level, trialling a jamming system. My colleagues were on the ground, in a Bedford J4 van, fitted with several different simulacrums of Soviet jammers. My job was to monitor the (analogue, in those days) height channel data from the TFR to the autopilot (such as it was) and try to determine if the jamming signals were stopping the monopulse TFR from keeping the aircraft at its set "hedge hopping" height. Thankfully none of the jamming systems worked. Pretty rough ride, though, as at that time the TFR hadn't been tuned to soften the response. It literally flew the aircraft over every stone wall we flew over, and was exceptionally bumpy, even in fairly smooth air.TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑Tue Sep 27, 2022 6:24 pmWhat a great life history, changed perhaps by a presentation, if not a present. How many hours did you accumulate in the "coal hole" VP959?
Ah, "Hedgehoppers Anonymous', eh?Total Vulcan hours flown is 9 hours 15 mins, all from Scampton, all flights over the moors at low level,
Pinky the pilot wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:36 amAh, "Hedgehoppers Anonymous', eh?Total Vulcan hours flown is 9 hours 15 mins, all from Scampton, all flights over the moors at low level,
If I remember my Pop history correctly, the 60's group of the abovementioned name were all Vulcan Groundcrew at the time their hit song 'It's Good NewsWeek' came out.
I'm sure that TGA will be forgiven for putting up the appropriate Music Clip.
relevance to the topic ('odd presents') an din particular Vulcan groundcrew, yes, but if it is just another music video, no.any
