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Old 5th May 2020, 11:35
  #14 (permalink)  
Chugalug2
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: West Sussex
Age: 82
Posts: 4,759
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Give the man a washing machine! At the start the twin pins turned up unpainted and shiny. A quick coat of paint had to be applied as they operated from short airstrips hacked out of the jungle and would be clearly seen by marauding Indonesian aircraft above. The paint used initially appeared to be some form of emulsion, as the frequent rain washed most of it off in time. The one parked seems to have had a more appropriate application by then. The Belvedere guys always started up unstrapped and side windows wide open ready to evacuate if needed, as Avpin was used. If that caused a fire it was directly behind them, resulting in the entire cockpit falling off the aircraft if the fire was not rapidly extinguished. Not too unlike the starting up of the WWII Napier Sabre engined Hawker Typhoons...though that engine was capable of doing all that on its own without any additional help.
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