Flying Don't Affect Me, Affect Me, Affect Me.
I am bit annoyed, there is Reg lounging on his veranda with his punkawallah in attendance, while I am working my fingers to the bone. I shouldn’t have joined.
Reg, I am not sure the word humble is the correct one to use, Would mutual respect ;be more apt ?
I think that’s how it was in the war, regardless of rank or trade. ? I was very impressed by, and respected, our navigator, Paddy from Dublin. With his knowledge of H2S, Gee. Fishpond , bubble sextants etc, and remember one night returning to Hemswell, on the approach, we were advised there was a ‘clamp on’. We were told due to thick fog we should divert. We were at a thousand feet, and Paddy said to keep on course for the centre of the field when he would give a new course. As you know it is easier to look down through fog as distinct from looking horizontally. Paddy sitting in his cubicle called out “we are over the airfield --------------------now, and sure enough I looked down , and there was the airfield marker flashing H.W. Would he be using H.2 S or Gee, can’t remember.. Just thought what a cosmopolitan crew. Paddy from Dublin. Jock from Edinburgh, Speedy from Kent ,John a cockney. Taffy from Wales, Fred from Bristol, and me. Enough of this rambling ,Before I go onto the serious matter of I.C.O.s. Reg, please describe the duties of a punkawallah, they wouldn’t believe me. Just thought didn’t we have an astro dome, did any one ever use the sextant, seem to remember clockwork averaging device, artificial horizon, a few of the stars, that’s all. Also just wondering if you experienced the same problem with the Dakota as we did draining petrol form a Tiger Moth, as the main purpose of the pipe was to remove condensate. Another question Reg, Was the flying life of a rear gunner only fourteen hours at one point during the war, or am I dreaming again.?
COCKNEY STEVE, yes you are right I.C.Os on Merlins only control the the slow running jet, as on later vehicle engines. If a Merlin was running , say above eight hundred R.P.M it would still run with the slow running jets off, and would draw fuel from the progression jets and main jet. . Didn’t want to get too technical, as the S.U and Stromberg carbs were quite complicated. Whilst I am happy to discuss such things with any one interested, I had hoped my question re engine shut down would encourage at least one flight engineer to contribute. Wouldn’t it be great if we had an ex bomb aimer, navigator etc on here. Better still a full crew. Will wait a few more days , and then explain how a Merlin can refuse to shut down