Any Westland Wasp or Scout memories ?
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Any Westland Wasp or Scout memories ?
Apologies if this has already been posted,Dr Terry Martin ,who operates WASP XT787 in the UK as the Westland Wasp Historic Flight has posted the below on facebook.
The aircraft suffered an engine failure last year and received damage in the subsequent,although very well handled,force landing and as part of the effort to raise funds to get the aircraft flying again, he is going to produce a book on the aircraft and its sibling ,the Scout, so if anyone has any stories they could share,please get in touch with him.
I would love to hear them!
Regards, Alan
26 March at 19:31 ·
WHERE ARE ALL THE DITS AND STORIES?
Since I owned my first Wasp, I've always looked for a book on how the Westland pair (Scout and Wasp) were developed and how the Wasp performed in service with Navies around the world.
Many of you very kindly offered support, both financial and in other ways after the incident which led to the rebuild of Xray Tango and, although I could not have justified taking money from people, it is my personal goal to get XT back in to the air and to continue the tribute that she pays to all the brave aircrew that flew Wasps, and to all those who served in some way that supported the Ships Flights. The best way to do this is to continue to display in events and airshows all over the UK, and to fly her to demonstrate her best capabilities, and impress those who don't yet realise what an important role was played by Wasps in naval history.
Sadly the costs to keep XT flying have been enormous over the past year, not just after the incident on 23rd September 2016 (much of which is being covered by insurance), but also just for the routine maintenance and normal hourly running costs. To help with the big bills, a few kind supporters have suggested writing that book I've been looking for.
What a great idea, and the royalties will fairly be used to help keep Xray Tango flying through another season.
But I can only do so much on my own without the help of those of you who worked closely with Wasps whilst in service in the UK and in all the other countries that took their first steps into naval rotary wing flight with the Westland Wasp.
I've only received a couple of short 'dits' so far, and yet I know there must be many hundreds, if not thousands of people out there that have a story to tell. Do please share, and your story will be told sympathetically and acknowledged as the author's unless anonymity is requested.
I hope to be inundated now, so please put the proverbial pen to paper and either share on this FB page or write to me at [email protected].
Many thanks
Terry
[email protected]
#historicwasp
https://www.facebook.com/navyrotors/
The aircraft suffered an engine failure last year and received damage in the subsequent,although very well handled,force landing and as part of the effort to raise funds to get the aircraft flying again, he is going to produce a book on the aircraft and its sibling ,the Scout, so if anyone has any stories they could share,please get in touch with him.
I would love to hear them!
Regards, Alan
26 March at 19:31 ·
WHERE ARE ALL THE DITS AND STORIES?
Since I owned my first Wasp, I've always looked for a book on how the Westland pair (Scout and Wasp) were developed and how the Wasp performed in service with Navies around the world.
Many of you very kindly offered support, both financial and in other ways after the incident which led to the rebuild of Xray Tango and, although I could not have justified taking money from people, it is my personal goal to get XT back in to the air and to continue the tribute that she pays to all the brave aircrew that flew Wasps, and to all those who served in some way that supported the Ships Flights. The best way to do this is to continue to display in events and airshows all over the UK, and to fly her to demonstrate her best capabilities, and impress those who don't yet realise what an important role was played by Wasps in naval history.
Sadly the costs to keep XT flying have been enormous over the past year, not just after the incident on 23rd September 2016 (much of which is being covered by insurance), but also just for the routine maintenance and normal hourly running costs. To help with the big bills, a few kind supporters have suggested writing that book I've been looking for.
What a great idea, and the royalties will fairly be used to help keep Xray Tango flying through another season.
But I can only do so much on my own without the help of those of you who worked closely with Wasps whilst in service in the UK and in all the other countries that took their first steps into naval rotary wing flight with the Westland Wasp.
I've only received a couple of short 'dits' so far, and yet I know there must be many hundreds, if not thousands of people out there that have a story to tell. Do please share, and your story will be told sympathetically and acknowledged as the author's unless anonymity is requested.
I hope to be inundated now, so please put the proverbial pen to paper and either share on this FB page or write to me at [email protected].
Many thanks
Terry
[email protected]
#historicwasp
https://www.facebook.com/navyrotors/
Chief Bottle Washer
Plenty on the Rotorheads forum; this one for a start, http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/523...ighlight=Scout
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Westland Wasp dits and stories
Thanks Alan, I appreciate your help with my quest for Westland Wasp stories.
Mea culpa, my original request was a bit ambiguous! Since I own a Wasp, I know much more about the HAS1 than the AH1 (Scout). Hence the book will be at least 90% Wasp and less than 10% Scout - at least the first book!
Thank you to those sending me Scout stories. I'll collect them and perhaps use them on the next project if not the first one!.
All the best
Doc M
Mea culpa, my original request was a bit ambiguous! Since I own a Wasp, I know much more about the HAS1 than the AH1 (Scout). Hence the book will be at least 90% Wasp and less than 10% Scout - at least the first book!
Thank you to those sending me Scout stories. I'll collect them and perhaps use them on the next project if not the first one!.
All the best
Doc M
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I was at boarding school near Dorchester in Dorset in the early 70s. I have great memories of seeing Wasps and Sea Kings based at Portland flying quite low overhead. Wasn't unusual to have six or seven flights a day circling around.
Late '70s, Farnborough. A Scout of 664 Sqdn (which was later re-numbered 656 Sqdn) was doing solo circuits for C/T. He did a practice autorotation and then reported a 'problem' with his skid.
He air taxied back to the squadron asking us (ATC) to ask for an engineer to meet him; on arrival hovering about a foot off the ground.
It was apparent the front of the right skid had become detached from the airframe and was dangling loose, so they got some pallets so that he could 'land' on the bottom of the fuselage!!
He air taxied back to the squadron asking us (ATC) to ask for an engineer to meet him; on arrival hovering about a foot off the ground.
It was apparent the front of the right skid had become detached from the airframe and was dangling loose, so they got some pallets so that he could 'land' on the bottom of the fuselage!!
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In 1968/69, I was a dockyard 'matey', a civilian working in the dockyard on Portland, Dorset. At that time,RNAS Portland was inhabited with mainly Whirlwinds and Wasps.
In order to reach a boilerhouse situated on the far side of the airfield, we had to walk right through the air station, following a footpath that ran along the edge of the hardstanding. it was not unusual to see three or four Wasps hovering four or five feet off the ground, remaining in the same position for quite extended periods of time as I remember.
A couple of times, a machine would come behind us, as if to herd us along the path, with the two occupants grinning broadly, and then back off again when we mockingly gestured as if to throw a large spanner up through the rotor.
Having done our work in the boilerhouse, we often used to climb up the ladder on one of the adjacent oil storage tanks and sit on top, watching the goings on.
The most spectacular of these was watching the student pilots doing autorotations on to the airfield. Excellent stuff!
I was there when what I was told was the first appearance at Portland of the Navy's new Seaking took place. It did a fly-through and short display of its capabilities.
Ah, the good old days!
In order to reach a boilerhouse situated on the far side of the airfield, we had to walk right through the air station, following a footpath that ran along the edge of the hardstanding. it was not unusual to see three or four Wasps hovering four or five feet off the ground, remaining in the same position for quite extended periods of time as I remember.
A couple of times, a machine would come behind us, as if to herd us along the path, with the two occupants grinning broadly, and then back off again when we mockingly gestured as if to throw a large spanner up through the rotor.
Having done our work in the boilerhouse, we often used to climb up the ladder on one of the adjacent oil storage tanks and sit on top, watching the goings on.
The most spectacular of these was watching the student pilots doing autorotations on to the airfield. Excellent stuff!
I was there when what I was told was the first appearance at Portland of the Navy's new Seaking took place. It did a fly-through and short display of its capabilities.
Ah, the good old days!
