Kick the tyres and...

[FD2]

Pilot flew tourists to Queenstown in aircraft with severely damaged propeller

Slight error of judgment here... I suspect most of us have been guilty of press-on-itis at times but he must have been a little worried when he finally saw the damage!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125507 ... -propeller

[Pontius Navigator]

He then attempted to minimise the damage by filing down the propeller – a maintenance task that may only be performed by qualified aircraft engineers.

Back in the day, the RAF bought the Basset to replace the Anson. As with the Anson, and as befitted a VIP aircraft, it was fitted with a toilet. Its secondary role was to transport a 5-man V-bomber crew.

Unlike the Annie, which could do such tasks with ease, the Basset could carry the crew but not their kit. It was also very well equipped with Nav aids and a Navigator which further increased its weight. When taxiing it tended to bounce causing damage to the prop tips.

The solution was simple. The tips were simply shortened with a hack saw.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Pilot flew tourists to Queenstown in aircraft with severely damaged propeller

Slight error of judgment here... I suspect most of us have been guilty of press-on-itis at times but he must have been a little worried when he finally saw the damage!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125507 ... -propeller

Typical practical New Zealander make and do! I am surprised that he didn't craft a new prop from the lid of an oil drum or something like that!

As they say in South Africa "'n Boer maak 'n plan!"

[CharlieOneSix]

....... The tips were simply shortened with a hack saw.

John Morgan, a FAA pilot from my era fell foul of making a similar modification to his tail rotor in Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation.
http://albiefield.co.uk/Sarawak/nangaga ... agaat.html

On 9 April 1965 Lieutenant J A C Morgan RN, piloting a Hiller 12E XS164 used for liaison duties, was killed shortly after take off when his aircraft went out of control and crashed as result of losing the tail rotor to severe vibration. The tail rotor had been damaged in a previous incident and Lt Morgan had tried to make an ad hoc repair as getting a replacement in such a remote area would have taken considerable time. Apparently the first incident shaved off an inch or two from the tip of one of the tail rotor blades. In a bid to rebalance it, Lt Morgan cut off a similar amount from the other blade. Unfortunately he killed himself as a result.

[TheGreenGoblin]

An old school friend of mine, runs a sky diving school just outside Cape Town, He is a very good parachutist and stick and rudder pilot as well as being a qualified gyrocopter pilot and instructor and kindly offered me a flight with him in his RAF 2000. I arrived on the designated day to find him fiddling with the copter's Subaru engine, and was a little nonplussed to see him using plastic electrical ties, the sort you get on Amazon, to tidy up the electrics on the engine. I asked him about it and he said he had always used them. I went flying with him but I must admit those ties bugged me all the way up and all the way down,

[ian16th]

Having balanced a few ceiling fans, I'm horrified to think of anyone attacking a propeller with a hacksaw.

[TheGreenGoblin]

....... The tips were simply shortened with a hack saw.

John Morgan, a FAA pilot from my era fell foul of making a similar modification to his tail rotor in Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation.
http://albiefield.co.uk/Sarawak/nangaga ... agaat.html

On 9 April 1965 Lieutenant J A C Morgan RN, piloting a Hiller 12E XS164 used for liaison duties, was killed shortly after take off when his aircraft went out of control and crashed as result of losing the tail rotor to severe vibration. The tail rotor had been damaged in a previous incident and Lt Morgan had tried to make an ad hoc repair as getting a replacement in such a remote area would have taken considerable time. Apparently the first incident shaved off an inch or two from the tip of one of the tail rotor blades. In a bid to rebalance it, Lt Morgan cut off a similar amount from the other blade. Unfortunately he killed himself as a result.

On 12 April 1965 when returning form a troop lift and in formation prior to landing, two Wessex 1s piloted by Lieutenant R Robertson RN and Sub Lieutenant J C Hapgood RN collided and both aircraft plunged out of control into the river. Both pilots were killed as well as NAM A Rothwell, who was the Aircrewman in Hapgood’s Wessex, 2nd Lieutenant C J Johnson, Sgt P McNeilly, L/Cpl W H Murray, and Pte R G Green from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and L/Cpl W J Jack from the Royal Army Medical Corps. Only three survived, the Petty Officer Crispin who was the Aircrewman from Robertson’s aircraft and two men from the Parachute Regiment. Crispin had a miraculous escape as he was flung out of the rear cabin door on his dispatcher harness, but was quick enough to release himself and fall into the river sustaining only relatively minor injuries.

I assume that more pilots and aircrew were lost to accidents than to the enemy?

[CharlieOneSix]

Yes, I think you are probably right. At the time the word was that John Hapgood’s eyesight was on the limits and that might have contributed to the collision. I only knew him vaguely but a good friend not mentioned in the article was Bruce Brown who along with 3 others was killed in December 65 when an 848 Squadron Wessex 5 crashed into the jungle. It was believed that he shut down the good engine when the other one failed.

[CharlieOneSix]

A website that TGG will enjoy: https://www.ashpole.org.uk/. It's the extensive blog of Bill Ashpole detailing his aviation career and who I knew when he was with British Airways Helicopters in Shetland, in Penzance and later when both BAH and BCAL ran the Gatwick-Heathrow Airlink. He was also the Mormon Bishop in, I think, East Grinstead. A very pleasant guy, he writes a good blog which includes his time in Borneo. I had a good laugh at the 'incident' involving T M-W, ex RN and later a BCAL Helicopters pilot, when he was in Borneo. He landed back at base only to find a 'bullet' hole in the fuselage of his Whirlwind. All the pilots gathered round to look at it and then an engineer came up and told them that just prior to take off they had drilled a hole to stop a crack progressing.......

Only three survived, the Petty Officer Crispin who was the Aircrewman from Robertson’s aircraft and two men from the Parachute Regiment. Crispin had a miraculous escape as he was flung out of the rear cabin door on his dispatcher harness, but was quick enough to release himself and fall into the river sustaining only relatively minor injuries......

I think Ted Crispin lost a few fingers in the accident. He passed away about 15 years ago.

[G-CPTN]

when both BAH and BCAL ran the Gatwick-Heathrow Airlink.

I read that the Airlink wascancelled by Secretary of State for Transport' Nicholas Ridley when M25 was opened.

There are alternatives of course, however, could there still be a case for Airlink today?

[CharlieOneSix]

....could there still be a case for Airlink today?

From a purely practical point of view against M25 congestion I would say yes. Not sure the economics would stack up today with a modern helicopter even without a pandemic.
G-LINK was rotting away in a field in Brazil back in 2006...

G-LINK Brazil.jpg (56.17 KiB) Viewed 470 times

[Boac]

He was also the Mormon Bishop in, I think, East Grinstead.

What a star! How we would have found the westerly runway at Gatwick without his temple no-one knows

[G-CPTN]

I remember the Rotodyne and was disappointed that they didn't overcome the noise factor.

I wonder if some sort of gyrodyne or autogyro would be possible - though if coaches are satisfactory the economics may not add up.

[TheGreenGoblin]

A website that TGG will enjoy: https://www.ashpole.org.uk/. It's the extensive blog of Bill Ashpole detailing his aviation career and who I knew when he was with British Airways Helicopters in Shetland, in Penzance and later when both BAH and BCAL ran the Gatwick-Heathrow Airlink. He was also the Mormon Bishop in, I think, East Grinstead. A very pleasant guy, he writes a good blog which includes his time in Borneo. I had a good laugh at the 'incident' involving T M-W, ex RN and later a BCAL Helicopters pilot, when he was in Borneo. He landed back at base only to find a 'bullet' hole in the fuselage of his Whirlwind. All the pilots gathered round to look at it and then an engineer came up and told them that just prior to take off they had drilled a hole to stop a crack progressing.......

Many thanks for posting that fascinating link C16. I am still reading. What an interesting chap!

Living in Harold Wood we were not far from the RAF airfields of North Weald and Hornchurch. In the years following the end of the Second World War it became very common to see flights or whole squadrons of Vampire and Meteor aircraft flying overhead our home. I had not the faintest inkling then that one day I would be an officer in the Royal Air Force and piloting a Vampire.

Interest in becoming a pilot began in the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) at the Royal Liberty Grammar School at Gidea Park in Essex. I rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant and gained a marksman badge for shooting – the Lee Enfield .303 rifle and the automatic Bren Gun – an interest that I have kept over the years. The award of a Flying Scholarship provided 30 hours flying training on Tiger Moths at the Herts & Essex Aero Club at Stapleford Tawney ending with the qualification of a PPL (Private Pilots Licence).

Very close to home.

Stapleford was actually struck by a V2 rocket! Sorry I digress....

https://www.wrsonline.co.uk/big-ben-roc ... uary-1945/

[TheGreenGoblin]

....could there still be a case for Airlink today?

From a purely practical point of view against M25 congestion I would say yes. Not sure the economics would stack up today with a modern helicopter even without a pandemic.
G-LINK was rotting away in a field in Brazil back in 2006...

Pie in the sky? Plus ca change and there is nothing new under the sun!

https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/v ... 19.article

UK carrier Virgin Atlantic aims to explore development of a short-haul electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) network initially focused on London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester.

The airline’s plans for the network are part of its new partnership with UK-based Vertical Aerospace under which the carrier will have the option to acquire up to 150 of the manufacturer’s new fully-electric eVTOL aircraft, the VA-X4.

Virgin Atlantic envisions a future joint venture with Vertical Aerospace to establish the network, on which the VA-X4 fleet would operate under the airline’s brand.

“The goal is to enable sustainable, price competitive, regional connectivity across the first and last 100 miles of the customer journey,” says the carrier.

Virgin Atlantic specialises in long-haul operations from the three UK target airports, although its services from Gatwick remain on hold as a consequence of the current air transport crisis.

The airline says the VA-X4 has “huge potential” to enable zero-emissions transfer to Heathrow, claiming nearly 40 towns with populations of more than 100,000 lie within a 100 mile (160km) radius of the airport.

Virgin Atlantic estimates that an eVTOL flight from Cambridge to Heathrow could slash the journey time from 90min to just 22min, given the VA-X4’s proposed speed of 175kt (325km/h).

It says the aircraft – able to seat four passengers along with a pilot – could provide the option of quick connections to 7.7 million passengers outside of the UK capital.

Vertical Aerospace is planning a maiden flight with the prototype VA-X4 this year and commercial operations, following certification, are planned for 2024.

Its chief executive, Stephen Fitzpatrick, says the two companies can “revolutionise urban mobility” in the UK and “completely change how people think about flying”.

“This is the most exciting time in aviation for almost a century,” he adds.

Virgin Atlantic chief Shai Weiss says the companies’ tie-up will combine the carrier’s “operational excellence” and “customer experience” with the manufacturer’s design and engineering knowledge, to “pioneer sustainable and zero-emissions air travel” in the country.

[TheGreenGoblin]

A website that TGG will enjoy: https://www.ashpole.org.uk/.

One of the commentators on the site asked the following.

Sue Bennett formerly Clarke January 29, 2016 at 7:05 pm Reply
Does anyone remember a South African name Ivan Spring who was stationed at Oakington late 50’s – early 60’s? He was then posted to Marham on Valiants. I lived in Cambridge and met him there. I would be grateful for any information.

Ivan Spring returned to SA and wrote a number of books including the classic 'Flying Boat' the history of 262 Squadron RAF and the origins of 35 Squadron SAAF. The poor fellow was murdered in a home robbery, like so many Saffers...

I think ian16th may have known him personally?

viewtopic.php?p=288484#p288484

viewtopic.php?p=289804#p289804

[CharlieOneSix]

Pie in the sky? Plus ca change and there is nothing new under the sun!

Shades of G-SCOT and G-CLAN, the two BCAL Navajos used to get interlining passengers to LGW.

GSCOT.jpg (31.81 KiB) Viewed 406 times

[ian16th]

Pie in the sky? Plus ca change and there is nothing new under the sun!

Shades of G-SCOT and G-CLAN, the two BCAL Navajos used to get interlining passengers to LGW.
GSCOT.jpg

I travelled as Pax on one of them!

Birmingham to Gatwick, then had a tarmac transfer to a Delta flight to Atlanta.

[FD2]

The problem with the Airlink service was that it flew across very expensive 'leafy' (as the tabloids call these areas) areas where very rich and influential Conservative Party donors lived. Nicholas Ridley the Transport Secretary had the perfect excuse to scrap the AIrlink when the motorway was opened. As was totally predictable, the motorway became jammed with traffic in due course so travel between LHR and LGW became a nightmare. I think there are topics relating to it on here and also on that other website whose name escapes me... I transferred on it once and found it fast and efficient, to catch a flight back up to Aberdeen, on duty.

[Pontius Navigator]

FD2, do you mean the TFL site

Lol