What Cockpit? MK VI

[Ridge Runner]

AN-28????????

[BSD]

It was indeed Russian.

BSD.

[bingofuel]

Ilyushin Il-62M (hope I spelt it correctly)

[BSD]

Absolutely right! An IL-62M it is.

Got on board the aeroplane in Bangkok (many years ago) when it parked beside us. The aeroplane on the stand on the other side was a green and gold B727 that belonged to Malcolm Forbes emblazoned with the name"Capitalist tool"

Nice contrast!

BSD.

[bingofuel]

Thanks, can I offer 'open house' for the next one.

[evansb]

Here is the next cockpit challenge:

[MReyn24050]

Latest List of Challenge Cockpits published.

I have up dated the list. See What Cockpit and What Aerodrome latest Lists Sticky above.
Mel

[sycamore]

I do like the `champagne` coolers for the pilots,the bags of sweets for clearing inquisitive kids,and the organ players knobs for in -flight entertainment; on second thoughts ,might it be an airship ?

[evansb]

If it is indeed champagne, the vintage was probably a very good year.
The cockpit was later modified with an all-weather enclosure. The craft was capable of water operations.

[evansb]

More clues: This particular craft was designated 4th, and last of the series. Built in the early 1920s, it flew until 1940.

[India Four Two]

bri,

Is this a blimp or semi-rigid with ballonets? American?

[evansb]

Yes, it is an American blimp.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Aah, Mr Evans, the clues do it again, though the Champagne one puzzles me. Probably the greatest Champagne vintage ever was 1928, but this thing was retired/cancelled in 1924, depending on which ship it was.?

Clearly a twin Engined airship from the photo, using, as I42 said, ballonets.

4 variants, amphib, weatherproofed cabin, struck off in 1940 makes this one of the USN's Goodyear built J Class Blimp.

The example shown is either J1 or J2 - identical ships. J3 used a different car, and J4 had J2's modified enclosed car.

J class blimp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

N'est-ce-pas?

[Agaricus bisporus]

Here's our friend the J4 with the enclosed cabin and clearly boat-bottomed car.

And further to my above, the pic that evansb posted resides on this same website too, intriguingly labelled the J4 car and dated 1933, (J4 withdrawn 1940). According to my understanding of the info available Wiki says the J4 should have the enclosed modified ex J2 car (J2 canx 1924 upon failure of J1), or maybe J4 flew for a while with the unmodified car; either way, a fascinating insight into a llittle known aspect of aviation history.

For info, the fellow on the right was the "Rudderman" while his colleague on the left was the "Elevatorman" and evidently had the throttles too. I wonder who was in charge, and what the Champagne bottles did? What price MCC courses back then? Sounds like desperately hard work to me, and no wonder the thing was a bitch to control with a ballonet pump the size of a washing machine motor - imagine the control lag, and the pickle - PIOs - you'd get into by mistiming ditching those bags of lead shot if it got away from you! ...And what did that gigantic trim(?) wheel between the seats do? Haul a half ton of pig-iron to and fro to balance the brute? And to think I got within a gnat's gnadgers of doing an Airship conversion once. Yikes!!!

Nice one, Mr E!

[Agaricus bisporus]

Many aircraft have been dubbed "Queen of the Skies" but this one richly deserves it.

Curiously, it was from this type that I came so close to discovering all about ballast and ballonets, but that is not strictly relevant here.

[aviate1138]

The poor chap seems to have a bad case of Rhododendron fungal "Bud Blast"! Or Pycnostysanus azalae.

Is it one of those Caspian Sea Monsters? WIGE

[BSD]

Aggers,

Neat photo.

For the craft: an S-61 would be my guess.

However, haven't a clue who the bearded wonder is, but with a bottle of bubbly at stake it deserves a good deal of thought.

Cockpit appears to have Decca. A shirt-sleeve operation, with an airline style uniform, and blue shirts. Hmmmmm. The BCAL LHR-LGW link of a few years ago perhaps?

Cheers! (possibly in anticipation!)

BSD.

[Agaricus bisporus]

BSD, I didn't think this would last long, though I removed the "other" offer shortly after posting as I didn't think it relevant to this thread.

OK, S61, yes; shirtsleeve, no way though your logic - and the company - is absolutely spot-on. Well done indeed!

A British Caledonian Helis crew on an IR training sortie ex Aberdeen, just for once not in a rubber goon suit.

All yours, pal!

ps, anyone able to tell me how to pixellate a photo without using a fungal airbrush?

[BSD]

Thilled to have worked it out, but have to offer it to an "open house" as I've just checked the photo I had lined up to find it has been done.

Shame about the earlier (withdrawn) offer though!

BSD.

[India Four Two]

For AB

And what did that gigantic trim(?) wheel between the seats do?

Perhaps if you had done the airship rating you would have discovered that the "trim" wheel was the pitch control :-)

So obviously the Elevatorman, with all the important controls - pitch, power, ballonet pump and ballast, was the Captain - in the left seat as is proper. And the Rudderman would have been an enlisted man, to whom the Captain could give appropriately nautical orders: "Midships", "Steady as she goes", "Make your heading Northwest by North", etc.

I would still like to know about the Champagne bottles. bri?