The Lady Who Flew Africa
Quote from Shaggy Sheep Driver:
"The TV programme was a missed opportunity."
I missed it. Can someone tell us what TV channel it was on, and perhaps - even better - provide a link, please?
Re the Tiger Moth plan, I think it's a bit unkind to talk about "all the hype." How should one try to raise the not-inconsiderable amount of money involved? Particularly if you may not be as well-connected as Miss Curtis-Taylor seems to be...
"The TV programme was a missed opportunity."
I missed it. Can someone tell us what TV channel it was on, and perhaps - even better - provide a link, please?
Re the Tiger Moth plan, I think it's a bit unkind to talk about "all the hype." How should one try to raise the not-inconsiderable amount of money involved? Particularly if you may not be as well-connected as Miss Curtis-Taylor seems to be...
It seems that Ms Curtis Taylor may have been proposed for an honour. Those who feel that this might be inappropriate could explain why to:
David Spooner
Honours and Appointments Secretariat
[email protected]
David Spooner
Honours and Appointments Secretariat
[email protected]
Planemike, a Jay Sata posted
on http://www.pprune.org/pacific-genera...-darwin-4.html.
I was wondering what those geographically closer to the mentioned publication have to say.
CC
Looks like she is up for an OBE but the UK main flying magazine forum has locked discussion on her gong and suggestions she cheated.
I was wondering what those geographically closer to the mentioned publication have to say.
CC
Awesome but Affordable
Should the Honours committee think fit to recommend an OBE then truly the definition "Other Buggers Efforts" applies. The lady must be congratulated on her success in gaining lucrative sponsorship, but that is all.
Stearman severely damaged in WAT-related Arizona accident
According to a three-paragraph item in today's paper edition of The Daily Telegraph (my emphasis):
A British adventurer on a round-the-world journey has escaped without serious injury after her 1940s bi-plane crashed in the Arizona desert.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor suffered only bruises to her thigh after the vintage Boeing Stearman aircraft turned upside down after hitting a bush during takeoff at Winslow, where it had stopped for re-fuelling.
Ewald Gritsch, Ms Curtis-Taylor’s Austrian passenger, also escaped unharmed.
However, the same story is continued as follows in the on-line edition (again, my emphasis):
The plane, built in 1942 and known as the Spirit of Artemis, had been bound for Phoenix when the accident happened.
Writing on Facebook, Ms Curtis-Taylor, 53, said the crash had been caused by a combination of high density altitude and a partial lost of power at a height of about 50 feet shortly after takeoff.
“The Spirit of Artemis then started to sink which was not a great scenario with power lines directly ahead but thankfully there was open desert to the south,” she wrote.
“I did a gentle left turn and then levelled off. It hit the ground and rolled forward about twenty feet but then the right wheel struck a dense sage root mound which tore off the right landing gear and threw the plane onto its left wing. It then cartwheeled tail over the nose in a cloud of sand and dust.”
The crash left the aircraft with extensive damage, meaning Ms Curtis-Taylor will be unable to complete her trip across the United States this year, which started when she took off from Seattle last month. She has refused Boeing’s offer of a replacement plane because of her “deep attachment” to the Spirit of Artemis.
Sky News on-line edition states:
"The aircraft, which was part way through a journey from Seattle to Boston in a recreation of the pioneering US postal flights, suffered extensive damage."
It also carries a clear image of the stricken aircraft.
Further photos and background information are available in a slightly longer report here:
The 'Bird in a biplane' Tracey Curtis Taylor survives plane crash in Arizona | Daily Mail Online
"Miss Curtis-Taylor was travelling with Ewald Gritsch, her Austrian passenger for that leg of the journey, when the plane came down."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz48u6PndUj
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
An interview with Ewald Gritsch about the project, and his restoration of the Stearman, is here:
The Stearman « The Aviatrix
One wonders what might have been the total payload, i.e., the combined weight of pilot, "passenger" and any baggage. Presumably this was a daytime take-off, making a low-level inversion less likely?
[EDIT] Just noticed that Jay Sata beat me to it (this news) by over 24 hours with a new thread on the Private Flying forum. Posters have speculated that the selected mixture (fuel/air) ratio might have been too rich for the high density-altitude (hot-high). This aircraft may not have the standard Continental R-670 engine, later versions of which replaced a carburetor with fuel injection. Perhaps someone can tell us whether the pilot controls the mixture or if it is automatic?
A British adventurer on a round-the-world journey has escaped without serious injury after her 1940s bi-plane crashed in the Arizona desert.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor suffered only bruises to her thigh after the vintage Boeing Stearman aircraft turned upside down after hitting a bush during takeoff at Winslow, where it had stopped for re-fuelling.
Ewald Gritsch, Ms Curtis-Taylor’s Austrian passenger, also escaped unharmed.
However, the same story is continued as follows in the on-line edition (again, my emphasis):
The plane, built in 1942 and known as the Spirit of Artemis, had been bound for Phoenix when the accident happened.
Writing on Facebook, Ms Curtis-Taylor, 53, said the crash had been caused by a combination of high density altitude and a partial lost of power at a height of about 50 feet shortly after takeoff.
“The Spirit of Artemis then started to sink which was not a great scenario with power lines directly ahead but thankfully there was open desert to the south,” she wrote.
“I did a gentle left turn and then levelled off. It hit the ground and rolled forward about twenty feet but then the right wheel struck a dense sage root mound which tore off the right landing gear and threw the plane onto its left wing. It then cartwheeled tail over the nose in a cloud of sand and dust.”
The crash left the aircraft with extensive damage, meaning Ms Curtis-Taylor will be unable to complete her trip across the United States this year, which started when she took off from Seattle last month. She has refused Boeing’s offer of a replacement plane because of her “deep attachment” to the Spirit of Artemis.
Sky News on-line edition states:
"The aircraft, which was part way through a journey from Seattle to Boston in a recreation of the pioneering US postal flights, suffered extensive damage."
It also carries a clear image of the stricken aircraft.
Further photos and background information are available in a slightly longer report here:
The 'Bird in a biplane' Tracey Curtis Taylor survives plane crash in Arizona | Daily Mail Online
"Miss Curtis-Taylor was travelling with Ewald Gritsch, her Austrian passenger for that leg of the journey, when the plane came down."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz48u6PndUj
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
An interview with Ewald Gritsch about the project, and his restoration of the Stearman, is here:
The Stearman « The Aviatrix
One wonders what might have been the total payload, i.e., the combined weight of pilot, "passenger" and any baggage. Presumably this was a daytime take-off, making a low-level inversion less likely?
[EDIT] Just noticed that Jay Sata beat me to it (this news) by over 24 hours with a new thread on the Private Flying forum. Posters have speculated that the selected mixture (fuel/air) ratio might have been too rich for the high density-altitude (hot-high). This aircraft may not have the standard Continental R-670 engine, later versions of which replaced a carburetor with fuel injection. Perhaps someone can tell us whether the pilot controls the mixture or if it is automatic?
Last edited by Chris Scott; 17th May 2016 at 12:42. Reason: Minor additions.
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The first woman pilot was Amy Johnson CBE (UK pilot) who flew solo England to Australia in 1930, 19days 11hrs to Darwin, then proceeded to Melbourne with a safety pilot, due to exhaustion. Australian woman pilot, Freda Thompson OBE flew solo England to Australia in 1934. Australian pilot, Lores Bonney 1933 flew solo Brisbane to London in 157hrs 15mins, 20,000km. Later, in 1937 Lores flew Australia to Capetown (first pilot to do so). All included in my aviation history book "First Females Above Australia - first 100 years of Australian Women Pilot Firsts 1909-2009."
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Checklist Charlie
True.
She and her excellent PR team have generated a great deal of press coverage.
In aviation circles, her claims to be flying solo have generated much criticism - because she is not flying solo.
Only in Jay Sata's mind.
It's not true.
I believe Ms Curtis - Taylor is the subject of some discussion in the UK
She and her excellent PR team have generated a great deal of press coverage.
In aviation circles, her claims to be flying solo have generated much criticism - because she is not flying solo.
and some of that discussion is being shut down.
It's not true.
Only in Jay Sata's mind.
It's not true.
It's not true.
G
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Boring!! Too true why is this lady making headlines flying distances that were covered by females 80+ years ago?? 80 years ago it was an achievement!!?? Do people forget this has already been done all these years ago with the most basic of navigational aids!
The best quote was that she has refused the offer from Boeing for a replacement aircraft to complete her route as she like the old one so much??!!
The best quote was that she has refused the offer from Boeing for a replacement aircraft to complete her route as she like the old one so much??!!
Freudian slip?
As a regular listener to BBC Radio 4, often including Libby Purves's Midweek chat-show on Wednesdays (okay, maybe I'm a sad git...), I heard this morning's interview with Tracey Curtis-Taylor.
She demonstrated her well-known and sponsor-attracting ability verbally to promote herself and her claimed exploits in a pleasant, articulate, pseudo-modest delivery. She persuaded her audience that in various respects her flight to Australia was beset with more challenges than were faced by the pioneering predecessor she claims so much to admire. The highlight of her tale, of course, centred around the take-off (WAT-related) accident at Wilmslow, Arizona, the way she had handled it as PF, the resulting damage to the (male) Stearman, and her plans for the repairs in Hungary.
As I see has already been mentioned on our sister thread in the Private Flying forum, however, Ms Curtis-Taylor appeared momentarily and unintentionally to acknowledge the reality of the flight-crew complement at the time of the accident, quickly correcting herself and moving on. The whole programme is, as I write, available on BBC I-player Radio:
BBC Radio 4 - Midweek, Adam Henson, Tracey Curtis-Taylor, Paul Spike, Joe Langdon.
The interview-proper starts at 02:23. Her momentary lapse comes at 12:22.
Bearing in mind that the I-player recording may only be available for a few weeks, and for the benefit of future readers, here is a rough transcript, starting at 12:18:
Curtis-Taylor: "...the only part that is really intact is.. is the fuselage..."
Purves; "And the pilot!"
Curtis-Taylor: "...and the two p... - you know; the pilot, and my.. and my crew, so it was.. it was ter..."
She demonstrated her well-known and sponsor-attracting ability verbally to promote herself and her claimed exploits in a pleasant, articulate, pseudo-modest delivery. She persuaded her audience that in various respects her flight to Australia was beset with more challenges than were faced by the pioneering predecessor she claims so much to admire. The highlight of her tale, of course, centred around the take-off (WAT-related) accident at Wilmslow, Arizona, the way she had handled it as PF, the resulting damage to the (male) Stearman, and her plans for the repairs in Hungary.
As I see has already been mentioned on our sister thread in the Private Flying forum, however, Ms Curtis-Taylor appeared momentarily and unintentionally to acknowledge the reality of the flight-crew complement at the time of the accident, quickly correcting herself and moving on. The whole programme is, as I write, available on BBC I-player Radio:
BBC Radio 4 - Midweek, Adam Henson, Tracey Curtis-Taylor, Paul Spike, Joe Langdon.
The interview-proper starts at 02:23. Her momentary lapse comes at 12:22.
Bearing in mind that the I-player recording may only be available for a few weeks, and for the benefit of future readers, here is a rough transcript, starting at 12:18:
Curtis-Taylor: "...the only part that is really intact is.. is the fuselage..."
Purves; "And the pilot!"
Curtis-Taylor: "...and the two p... - you know; the pilot, and my.. and my crew, so it was.. it was ter..."
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My dog flew a Tiger Moth across the english channel thirty years ago - retracing the route taken by Bleriot.
(Sure, I was in the back seat, and admittedly have a few more hours than him, but why let that get in the way of a good story?)
(Sure, I was in the back seat, and admittedly have a few more hours than him, but why let that get in the way of a good story?)
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Is it a 'solo' flight if you have 'crew' on board, even if they are not a pilot?
'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down by claims that she had co-pilot | Daily Mail Online
'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down by claims that she had co-pilot | Daily Mail Online
