BBMF Lancaster over Towcester last evening - a complaint!

[Captivep]

I wish to complain, in the strongest possible terms, about the Lancaster which flew directly over my house about 6:30 last night, accompanied by a light aircraft.


It was low, it was noisy...


But it didn't come back and spend twenty minutes circling overhead! It just disappeared off into the distance as though it had something better to do than raise a childlike grin on my face all evening...


It's a disgrace!!!


Seriously, though - thanks, guys!

[54Phan]

It's always a pleasure to see a Lanc in her natural element.

[ACW599]

The nav kit fitted to BBMF aircraft must be pretty dreadful. None of them has ever managed to find N52°43’42” W002°59’48” :E

[Tankertrashnav]

Rumour hath it that they use a car satnav - like Vulcan 558.

A disgrace, I tell you - what's wrong with Gee and a bubble sextant? :*

[ACW599]

A disgrace, I tell you - what's wrong with Gee and a bubble sextant?

Wasn't there a Rebecca antenna on the BBMF Lancaster at some stage? I'll put a Eureka responder on the roof if it helps. :)

[glider12000]

We very much enjoyed it here in Lee on the Solent for it`s display at 1910 :)https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10419637_10154257967110093_7507978668976461612_n.jpg

[gzornenplatz]

I put that into Google Earth and you appear to live in a tree! :confused:

[NutLoose]

Damn, I better get them to scrub the bombing mission then.
Oooooohhh look it's the Laaaanc........ Kaboom :E

[ian16th]

AC599
I'll put a Eureka responder on the roof if it helps.

I'm available to install and service it, for a small fee :ok:

The last one I installed was at Orange in 1958.

[CoffmanStarter]

A disgrace, I tell you - what's wrong with Gee and a bubble sextant?

Along with one of these too :ooh:

http://www.thedambusters.org.uk/images/bombaimer.jpg

[ACW599]

I put that into Google Earth and you appear to live in a tree!

That'll be why the BBMF has never visited. They can't find it. Mind you, neither can any other RAF or USAF aircraft :E

Looks OK in Google Maps and Bing Maps.

[Wander00]

However, many thanks to the Rafale for its visit to the southern Vendee at 1500 local today flying NW>SE at about 100m. Very noisy, so will have got one back on our Dutch neighbours who are forever moaning about any slight sound

[Dengue_Dude]

I'm sure the Yanks would bomb a tree, they made quite a lot of matchsticks during the Gulf War according to one of our mates (who flew on the B-52 missions - I've still got his Survival map).

[mad_jock]

When I was shown round the lanc by the Nav the sum total of nav gear seemed to be a plotting board and a stop watch and a stick to hit the pilots with.

I believe the stick was used more than the stop watch looking at the wear on it.

Not a GPS in sight.

[dragartist]

Yes I know you are all kidding about Rebecca Gee etc.
Some years ago when I had hair (Mid/late 80s) EWAU were tasked to develop a nav kit installation. The latest Narco King, DME/VOR etc. probably just pre GPS. Everyone in the office wanted to be involved in the design and drawings just so we could all say we worked on the Lanc. The instruments were fitted in a drop down panel between two frames such that it hooked up out of sight when on the ground. One of the Antenna was not in a good position close to the static vents. There was a sharks fin IFF or Tacan Antenna on the corner of the bomb door that made holes in a few folks heads. I designed the special Camlock QR fixings that held the panel up. They were based on some I had designed for the Gazelle. Ken Upson (6th Feb 1939 - 20th October 2010 Bless Him) did the lions share of the design. The latest electronic intercom with Solid state amplifiers was fitted in some old Shackleton station boxes with Bakelite knobs. There was talk of us fitting the H2S radome so we could hide a boomerang aerial.


Anyway If they want to practice dropping a Tallboy they can line up on me at 52.331964 - 0.188682 anytime day or night. I will not mind if they put my hens off laying for a few weeks

[Lima Juliet]

The latest Narco King, DME/VOR etc. probably just pre GPS. Everyone in the office wanted to be involved in the design and drawings just so we could all say we worked on the Lanc. The instruments were fitted in a drop down panel between two frames such that it hooked up out of sight when on the ground.

It took me 2 seasons to find this!

Seriously, I was a map, watch and compass man. If you use a GPS then you will make an error putting in duff coords at some point whereas if you pick big feature nav points and draw a line between them then it is harder to scr3w up.

A GPS can be useful for establishing actual track and groundspeed if the wind is a bit variable, but the follow-a-line on a map always works best for visual nav.

LJ :ok:

[Wokkafans]

Apologies for the thread hijack but I'd like to say hi/thanks to the BBMF Dakota which give us a lowish pass (on its way to France?) on Monday morning here at Symondstone/Wishanger near Frensham Pond and also the very nice Puma pair low and fast around 21:00 Monday night.

Lastly the Chinook today at c13:15 - it's always very impressive to see you guys low flying and then rising up over the trees to pass over us at low level - more please as it's always appreciated :ok::D

Now where's that Lanc ;)

[thing]

Not a GPS in sight. Doesn't have to be these days, mines on my iPhone. More accurate than any of the old guff although I agree with Leon, I still put a line on a chart. Batteries don't go flat on a chart.

In fact it's amazing isn't it, imagine going back 70 years and telling a Lanc nav that he could junk everything in the nav postion and a little 5x3 bit of kit could navigate down to metres. In fact bin the nav and just sucker it to the windscreen for the jock.

Yes I'm ignoring the satellites required and launch thereof etc etc.

[thunderbird7]

I believe the stick was used more than the stop watch looking at the wear on it.

I always thought that was what Nav rulers were for.... ;)

[NutLoose]

zIn fact it's amazing isn't it, imagine going back 70 years and telling a Lanc nav that he could junk everything in the nav postion and a little 5x3 bit of kit could navigate down to metres. In fact bin the nav and just sucker it to the windscreen for the jock

Not only that, if you used a mobile phone as the GPS, you could ditch the radio operator as well, I wonder if there is a bomb sight ap available? And take post raid photos on it... :)

[Kiltrash]

Are we going to note any low flying Mil anywhere in the country god help us we will be turning into spotters....

Thanks to the 2 Apaches north of Luton 2 afternoons ago better that the Police or Air Amb from the airport we usually get....

[NutLoose]

Well they are getting rarer to see :p