Did A Bucc Fly Through Brough's Hangar
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Hi,
While I was at Uni I did a 6 month spell on shop-floor at Brough in '68 or '69 and saw the low-level photos on the notice board. They were doing some low level flow visualisation work with tufts and the easiest way to get the photos was from the top of the water tower. Pilot was Dereck aka Block Whitehead.
I went to a RAeS lecture given by him and heard some of the tales including a refuelling test flight with Buccaneer buddy refuelling another Bucc. Block was lead and he gradually drifted down to below 100' and the guy in back had to get lower or break-off. This would have been one-up to Block so they continued on down until the receiver was just above the hedges!
While I was at Uni I did a 6 month spell on shop-floor at Brough in '68 or '69 and saw the low-level photos on the notice board. They were doing some low level flow visualisation work with tufts and the easiest way to get the photos was from the top of the water tower. Pilot was Dereck aka Block Whitehead.
I went to a RAeS lecture given by him and heard some of the tales including a refuelling test flight with Buccaneer buddy refuelling another Bucc. Block was lead and he gradually drifted down to below 100' and the guy in back had to get lower or break-off. This would have been one-up to Block so they continued on down until the receiver was just above the hedges!
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Brian: In the Aug/Sept issue of Air & Space, Smithsonian there is an article about aircraft used in James Bond movies.
It says that a Corkey Fornof flew his Bede BD-5J Microjet through a hangar for a Toshiba commercial in Japan, and later did the same thing in the opening sequence of Octopussy.
It says that a Corkey Fornof flew his Bede BD-5J Microjet through a hangar for a Toshiba commercial in Japan, and later did the same thing in the opening sequence of Octopussy.
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I fear there are an awful lot of urban myths flying around (unlike Buccaneers which remain Earth-bound unless you're in SA!).
I suspect the "flying through the hangar" story developed from the many low level flights performed over HOSM where (as has been said above) an awful lot of astonishingly low photos were taken. I believe some of the flying over the airfield was quite spirited at times, and I'm sure that a few development aircraft slipped between the hangars. As for flying through, I think that can be safely regarded as a myth. The Buccaneer's a surprisingly bulky aircraft and British hangars are (proportionally) quite small. The odds on getting a Buccaneer safely through a hangar must be about zero and I think it safe to assume that nobody would be crazy enough to even try it.
I suspect the "flying through the hangar" story developed from the many low level flights performed over HOSM where (as has been said above) an awful lot of astonishingly low photos were taken. I believe some of the flying over the airfield was quite spirited at times, and I'm sure that a few development aircraft slipped between the hangars. As for flying through, I think that can be safely regarded as a myth. The Buccaneer's a surprisingly bulky aircraft and British hangars are (proportionally) quite small. The odds on getting a Buccaneer safely through a hangar must be about zero and I think it safe to assume that nobody would be crazy enough to even try it.
Tabs please !
I do recall seeing a head-on photo of a Buccaneer on exercise somewhere hot flying below ground level in a wadi. Could somebody post it please.
