CHOCKS

[oxenos]

I recently came across an obscure reference to Thomas Henry Chock, the inventor of the aircraft chock.
In the early days of aviation, before aircraft had brakes, the pioneers used various ways of restraining their aircraft when testing engines. S.F. Cody, who was the first man to make a sustained powered flight in Britain, used to secure his aircraft to a tree on Farnborough Common. A replica of the tree still exists at Farnborough.
T. H. Chock was apparently a large man employed by Thomas ( later Sir Thomas ) Sopwith as a handyman at his early aircraft works. His main duty was to lie in front of the wheels of aircraft while their engines were being run. This was particularly unpleasant, as not only was he lying on the ground, but he was being showered in castor oil from the early rotary engines, which upset his stomach.
He came up with the idea of using a triangular wedge to do the job, but had not the foresight to patent the invention before telling Sopwith about it. Had he done so he and his descendants would have received huge amounts of royalties from what must be one of the most widely used devices in aviation.
As it was, he got nothing, and of course, lost his job.



Next week, the story of the chinese Tro Lee Ak, who came up with a portable ground power source for aircraft, only to be put out of business by the invention of his two cousins, Hoo Tzin and Pee Yee Set.

[Haraka]

Actually another word came in to the British Lexicon as a result of the miserable experiences of the famous Thomas Henry.
Upon inventing the device and finally getting rid of his miserable station in Sopwiths , as you say Sir Tom rewarded him by showing him the door.
Thomas Henry's extreme remarks to Sir Tom during this interlude resulted even today with somebody being described as absolutely "Chocker" at such a type of treatment.

[HTB]

Oxe

Fascinating historical insight. Brings to mind the much quoted, but sadly underrated, PR Spitfire pilot Bert Sodd. He observed over time that many significant recce targets were lcoated in the corner of a map, necessitating sticking together four maps to facilitate appropriate mission planning. This observation became known universally as "Sodds Law".

An interesting footnote is that Bert, being a canny Lancashire lad, went on after surviving the war to producing a range of adhesives suitable for sticking paper maps together; notably "gorilla snot" and masking tape. Sadly Bert had an early demise after becoming too fond of testing the stength of the GS by frequent inhalation. No one is certain where the small fortune that he accumulated ended up (but it is thought that a wayward nephew spirited it away to manufacture paper bags...)

Mister B

[Rigga]

And now I'm waiting for the story of the Bavarian inventor of numerous fluid displacement devices...Hedrig Gstarte-Hendl.

[Wander00]

Tell me this is not 1 April.........................

[Haraka]

Interesting comment comment HTB on Albert Sodd.
I heard that it was not sniffing the "Gorilla Snot" that carried him away , but rather inhaling a spray designed specifically for the use of the Photographic Interpreters of his product.
As a result of his premature demise this spray product was almost unknown , very few tins actually reaching front-line units.
I would be very grateful indeed if the formula for this product could be rediscovered , as it was often cried out for earnestly, to no avail, in critical moments of analysis.

Anybody who has a left-over spray-can of "Sodding Cloud Remover" could make a fortune by putting it back into production.



N.B. This is not the same product as "Sodd 'All Cloud' Remover", which was normally issued and available.

[gr4techie]

A replica of the tree still exists at Farnborough.

There just happens to be more than one tree at Farnborough by coincidence? Or is it really a small plastic scale model tree in a glass display cabinet?

[oxenos]

It appears that the "tree" is a full size replica of the original, cast in aluminium.

[Haraka]

Typical. I wouldn't believe all you see at Farnborough. There used to be a plinth in the garden in front of the RAF Officers' Mess saying that this was where Cody took off on his first flight.
Can't see how he managed to clear the fence myself.

[langleybaston]

That was the Plinth of Darkness, put in place after someone sung "One day my Plinth will come"

[Haraka]

Or the P.I.s prayer

"Some day my Prints will come",

When they eventually do arrive - they come in an envelope upon which is boldy stated "Photographs- Do Not Bend"
..
.
.
.
.
After which is scrawled
.
.
Oh yes they do!!!!

[Rossian]

.......it wasn't Pee Yee Set (although it could have been in Singapore?).

The PE set was a crew on 206 captained by a seriously unpleasant chap who did rather well for himself.

The Ancient Pariner

[onetrack]

It appears obvious that now that this interesting thread has started, that we need to uncover more of these unsung heroes; these pioneers of early aviation.

I'm not sure if many know how much of an impact one particular French fellow of WW1 had on aviation. His name was Givver De Gun.
He became so famous for his daring exploits, he would have fellow aviators gather around his aircraft as he readied for takeoff, with them all calling out his name in excitement and encouragement.
Even today, long after his demise, it's not unusual to hear other aviators still call out his name in excitement, when any sporty aircraft commences its takeoff run.

[langleybaston]

T. Yupp was the deliverer of the dark brown hot brew in 1/2 pint mugs, on the hour every hour, at Main Met. Office 1 Group Bawtry.

We suffered from Bawtry bladder and I still do.

[oxenos]

Rossian, I know prezactly who you mean.. A fellow of the welsh persuasion.

[SpazSinbad]

Thanks 'Haraka' for a good early morning giggle. Now I know why P.I.s could go cross-eyed (and seemingly painless) at the drop of the proverbial. :}

[ROTORTREE]

Then of course the famous Yorkshire inventor who unfortunately was cursed with a severe stutter. Thomas Ack Ack Ackroyd who invented the feared anti aircraft gun in 1900 just in case those dammed yanks invention ever did get airborne



I'll get me coat and tin of gorilla snot

[BOING]

And don't forget the early lady engineer, Miss Schilling (SP?) who designed an important improvement in aircraft fuel injection systems - and had to live with its common name for the rest of her career - Miss Schillings orifice!

Perfectly true.

[Wander00]

Boing - you beat me to it, but ISTR her device was for carburettor fed engines, like the Merlin, to allow a negative g pushover without the engine cutting out

[BOING]

My bad. I heard the story at Oakington on the Varsity. Ass-ume. We had the latest technology.

[Art E. Fischler-Reisen]

One of my ancestors was instrumental in cloud flying....

[langleybaston]

I forgot the pioneering female forecaster, young Crystal Ball, who teamed up with C. Weed.

[MPN11]

Let us not forget the man who contributed so much to so many during those dark days (and nights) of the Battle of Britain. His exceptional eyesight contributed greatly to the success of Fighter Command. I have never understood why they never knighted Mr Ray Darr.

[ShyTorque]

Unlike Immelman, those two WW1 aces, Lou P. De Lupe and Rolov Der Topp never got the recognition they deserved.

[teeteringhead]

Moving away from aviation briefly, I hear that a (very bad) London tourist 'bus guide commented on a large concert hall in Kensington stating it was:

"Named after the architect, Sir Albert Hall!"

Although Sir Benjamin Hall (perhaps his brother?) was the inspiration behind the name "Big Ben" - he was so called (a large chap) and was Commissioner of Works when the bell in question was installed.......

[Rossian]

......this is getting all too too silly! If you don't settle down nursey will have to come and give you all a dose of castor oil. I mean it!!

The Ancient mariner

And if that doesn't sort it out the headmaster will come and send you all to JET BLAST and we know what that means don't we?

[HTB]

Oooh, yes please, with a little dash of orange juice concentrate...hang on a mo...which end will nursey administer the CO?:ooh: Or will it be sprayed on, as in the OP, all over Mr Chock?:E

Mister B

[Haraka]

I always liked the Curtiss XP-55 experimental fighter of 1943. It had the engine behind the pilot and the propeller at the back acting as a pusher.The tailplane was at the front ( a canard) .
Interestingly named was the Curtiss Ascender

[langleybaston]

Tess Pilate and Sly Drule [as eng/nav] are forever remembered for the brave but foolish attempt to cross the Welsh Harp upside down .......... hence the first pilotless flight, and the first flightless pilot.

[Herod]

Nice one, Haraka. I wonder if it was deliberate, and if the bosses at Curtis even caught on.

[G-ARZG]

A tip of the hat is surely overdue to that unsung aerodynamicist,
R.E.R. Rule, sadly now only commemorated by the Parisian transport system ..

[Haraka]

Thanks Herod . I somehow doubt it - the victims of the "Buggerumup Club" rarely cotton on.
I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the Air Standards Coordinating Committee ( ASCC) was looking at the Sukhoi Su 47 Berkut and trying to give it a name .
"Now Gentlemen, It has to begin with F ( Fighter) and as a jet have two syllables and not be confusable with a NATO aircraft"
" Sir ( and my bet it was a Brit), how about a good old English name for a measure of beer that fits all of these criteria?"

Sighs of relief all round I would wager.

"Sounds good, lets hear it!"

and so the Su 47 was given the nickname "FIRKIN".

[oxenos]

Rossian - the reason I did not put this on Jet Blast is that if I had, no-one would have taken it seriously.

[Wensleydale]

......this is getting all too too silly! If you don't settle down nursey will have to come and give you all a dose of castor oil. I mean it!!




I knew her sister, Lynne C. Doyle.

[Rossian]

......my tongue was very firmly in my cheek when I posted that.

I'm an aficionado of JB as being one of the bastions of good manners and sanity in Pprune.

It pisses me off when some sanctimonious prat in R&N posts loftily that whatever it is, is surely more suitable for JB. When as ennyfuleno it is R&N that is full of spotty youths and flt sim wannabees

If it's crap, get it removed, don't pollute JB.

Off to the sybaritic delights of la France profonde south of the Loire tomorrow for a few days. Regards to madame. My madame has just been picked up to go to a ladies lunch AGAIN!!

The Ancient Mariner

[Rocket2]

Surely true that the inventor of the power set was a small Vietnamese person named Hou Chi (m)in.
Bye

[oxenos]

See OP - Hoo tzin

[Haraka]

For those non-members of the Buggerumup Club do note that ,once allocated , ASCC nicknames follow an alphabetical sub-identifier as new variants are formally identified.
For example, there is Backfire "A", "B", "C" etc.

In the past this has gone far into the alphabet ( Think of FISHBED for example).

So who would be the lucky guy first reporting FIRKIN "L" ?

Good job it doesn't seem to have gone into production. :).

P.S. ASCC no longer exists as such, however.......

[langleybaston]

The supremely badly organised adj.,

Arsene Ghia Knott.

[Haraka]

Then of course there was the true R.A.F. nickname for the H.P. Hampden:

"Fred's Hampton"

(I met him you know , at 1961 at Farnborough Air Show............:zzz:)

[langleybaston]

but did you see it?

[Haraka]

No. But had many happy hours in the RHS of one of his products.
RAE Farnborough's "Nimrod replacement" Hastings WD480.

[GGR155]

Just finished the Haunted House by Hugo Furz