Avro Triplane air to air sorties - pics

[Man-on-the-fence]

I was recently extremely fortunate to be offered the chance to fly a couple of air to air sorties with The Shuttleworth Collection’s Avro Triplane replica.

Having been a fan to the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines for as long as I can remember it was an opportunity of a lifetime. It was however not without its challenges.

The Brief was to get at shot of the aircraft with the Hangars and flight line in the background. The limitations of the aircraft meant that at best, the camera ship would have a 15 mph overtake speed on the target aircraft. This and the poor weather made for a challenging time. I had the highest workload I think I have ever had in the back seat of an aircraft.

The camera ships were the Collections Magister and TigerMoth (if anyone has shots of me in the Tiger on the morning of the first show of the season I would appreciate them) flown by Chris Huckstep and Paul Shakespere. The Avro was flown by Trevor Roche. I was just the guy pushing the button, these guys made the pictures you see below.

Enjoy, I had a great time taking them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/Tripe104.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe102.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe108.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe106.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe201z.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe202.jpg

A couple of interesting shots of the views from both sides of the lens (with thanks to Darren Harbar for the use of his pictures).

The view from the ground, picture by Darren Harbar
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/Tripe103a.jpg

The view from behind the lens
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe103.jpg

Again the view from the ground (this is when it got exciting!). Picture by Darren Harbar.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe105a.jpg

The view from the air
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/motf/2008/080504owavro/tripe105.jpg


Finally, a very big thank you to Rob for giving me the sortie and the Chief Pilot for having the faith in me to get it done. Last but not least, thanks to the engineers and ground crew. If you are at a show and see the guys and girls in the white overalls be sure to give them a big round of applause. Without them it simply wouldn’t happen.

Thanks.

[kevmusic]

Wonderful photos, Man-on-the-fence; a rare and unique opportunity for us to see the earliest flying Avro in its element. Thank you for sharing. :ok:

[Dan Winterland]

Fantastic! Not sure he needed the exra drag from those flags though.

And one of the reasons why Shuttlewoth is the best aviation museum in the world.

[Brian Abraham]

Not sure he needed the exra drag from those flags though
I think they're there to stop that sleek airframe exceeding its Vne. :)
Man-on-the-fence, many thanks for sharing, great to see. Pity that the sound of those old engines and associated smells can't be delivered via Pprune as well.

[PPRuNe Radar]

Fantastic photos :ok: ... pity there are lots of people in the background holding up big lenses towards it. They spoil the atmosphere in the shots for me, but that's just a personal thing :)

Seeing them in sepia effect would also look nice, creating something of the ethos of the time that the aircraft originally flew.

[India Four Two]

Nick,

Wonderful evocative photos. Well done.

The photos bring to mind a couple of questions though.

1) How can Shuttleworth afford to put on a display when there are so few visitors?

2) Any Triplane pilots on here? What's the yaw stability like? There is a distinct lack of keel area aft of the CG.

[jindabyne]

Like this PP Radar?

http://http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/jindabyne/Shuttleworth.jpg

[PPRuNe Radar]

lovely :ok: now can you take all the modern cars out ?? Only kidding :}

[Man-on-the-fence]

Thanks for the comments

PPP

I know what you mean, I would rather have been over open fields but that wasnt the brief and you ha ve to take what you are given.

I42

The first sortie wasnt a show day, the second was early in the morning on the fist show of the season. Old Warden is famous for being realxed and there is no need to get their first thing in the morning.