Bristol 'Frightener' and Atlas Carvairs
Interesting thread! I wonder if you'll get as many responses as my MMMmmiles thread has? I hope so.
I lived on Sheppey from birth in 53 to the early 70's.
I well remember the Atlas Carvairs flying low over Sheppey to and from Southend, often with an engine feathered.
They presented an unmistakeable sight and sound in the air.
Bristol Freighter - Dubbed the 'Frightener' apparently due to the scares that some low-time pilots had with them.
I am told that standing on the car deck in flight was a nauseating experience. You could see the clouds coming in through the front door gaps also??
I was at Enstone shortly after the crash. A miracle that nobody was killed.
swung right on take off on 26 and went straight for the crowded Oxfordshire SportFlying Clubhouse halfway down the runway.
At the last minute, the pilot rolled the thing left, the stbd wing narrowly missing the roof of the clubhouse.
Alas, at that point, the port wing struck the runway and the thing nose in, skidded off to the left and was written off in the crash.
THe wing collapsed onto the bottom of the fuselage.
Mercifully - nobody was sitting there at the time.
A huge effort to import and restore this ex-Canadion machine. It lasted only a few weeks...
I am not sure of the pilots qualifications to fly the thing but it was a pilot error accident I understand.
The wing survives to this day at Enstone.
I hope one day to see another in UK skies.
If any of you current aviators fly in to Cherbourg - there are some wonderful old pictures of Bristol Freighters on display.
HP