HP 115 First Flight congratulations

[John Farley]

Does anybody recognise who is congratulating Jack Henderson in this picture?

http://img47.photobucket.com/albums/v145/johnfarley/Jack_Henderson_being_congratulated.jpg

[Genghis the Engineer]

'Fraid not, but whilst on the subject...

I was looking over the HP115 a few weeks ago during a brief visit to the FAA Museum at Yeovilton. About halfway down the port leading edge is a strange construction which can best be described as looking like a mini exhaust pipe wrapped half around the wing. You don't happen to know what that was do you? - it was hard to clearly identify a specific function.

Location would be roughly behind the left shoulder blade of your mystery gent above.

Regards,

G

[sycamore]

G, that would be the exhaust for a smoke generator,same on stbd side. Used to visualise the flow vortices at various speeds/ incidences.Think it may have been diesel or actually a couple of smoke bombs. JF will give you a definitive answer.:ok:

[John Farley]

Pipes to inject smoke from canisters under the wing into the vortices above the wing for flow visualisation studies. I do like easy questions.

http://img47.photobucket.com/albums/v145/johnfarley/115.jpg

[BEagle]

A fine piece of British Engineering. Looks like someone went to the local scrappie for a couple of old Ford Zephyr exhaust pipes, then tied them to the wing with bailer twine. "Wizard job, old bean - now let's take the kite up and see whether everything works OK!"

Nowadays such inspired boffinry would no doubt never be allowed. It would require a full Health and Safety risk analysis, a contract put out to tender and an assessment phase, followed by a formal award of contract 3 years later.

And the moustache police would deem that 'tash outside safety limits!

Ah, them were 't days! When every schoolboy knew who Peter Twiss, Neville Duke and Geoffrey de Havilland were. And John Farley, of course, in later years!

[sycamore]

JF, thanks for the piccie; I was trying to send my copy, but the scanner has gone u/s.If you have a ref. to the date of same, I think I was flying the `toggie in a Wessex on 31 Jan `74, somewhere about the time of it`s last sorties I think.

BEags, that `tache had been trimmed to save weight, and was worn by a very astute ,able , but laid-back TP, Ron Ledwidge.
Ron received an AFC when his Canberra B8 had a control malfunction at low-level over Germany;he continued rolling and pushing until they were going upwards, then he and his nav. managed to eject/bail-out safely.
He got a Bar to AFC for his work as a TP.

Sadly Ron died last year,but there was a flypast by Harriers from Witt/Cott,as we came out of the Church, organised by JF, and his ex-nav....... :sad:

[John Farley]

Sorry my friend, I have no date info on the pic. Pete Hudson took it I think but where he is now goodness only knows. Been to Cov lately? I was sick last weekend or we might have bumped into each other