Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Don't think it's a Tiger Moth wing section. According to Wheeler, only Hughes could get it off the ground at White Waltham after some modification; once they extended the wings further and put the 50hp Ardam engine in (VW1600?) it flew very well at Booker. Shame it didn't got to Shuttleworth as well, the Antoinette as well.
Not sure if the pic below is Jean-Pierre Cassal or Derek Piggott!
Not sure if the pic below is Jean-Pierre Cassal or Derek Piggott!
One calm September evening in 1966 (a year after the film premiered), I was doing dual circuits in a Piper Colt at White Waltham. During one downwind leg, we noticed a strange-looking biplane tracking slowly north to south at about 500'.
My instructor took over and we went to have a look. It was the Bristol Boxkite. My instructor tried to formate but could not. The stall speed of a Colt is about 50 mph and the Boxkite's maximum speed was 45 mph!
My instructor took over and we went to have a look. It was the Bristol Boxkite. My instructor tried to formate but could not. The stall speed of a Colt is about 50 mph and the Boxkite's maximum speed was 45 mph!
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Don't think it's a Tiger Moth wing section. According to Wheeler, only Hughes could get it off the ground at White Waltham after some modification; once they extended the wings further and put the 50hp Ardam engine in (VW1600?) it flew very well at Booker. Shame it didn't got to Shuttleworth as well, the Antoinette as well.
Not sure if the pic below is Jean-Pierre Cassal or Derek Piggott!
Not sure if the pic below is Jean-Pierre Cassal or Derek Piggott!
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Correct, one of the mods. Still looks very skinny to me for a Tiger, also the number of ribs are different; they appear to be much more closely spaced. The Tiger has rib noses forward of the spar between each pair of complete ribs; the Demoiselle only has complete ribs.
Mind you, I was astonished at how skinny and delicate Jungmann ribs are when I saw Shuttleworth's unclad!
Mind you, I was astonished at how skinny and delicate Jungmann ribs are when I saw Shuttleworth's unclad!
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All the aircraft that flew in the film were replicas built by Personal Plane Services at White Waltham/Booker, The Hampshire Aeroplane Club at Southampton, Hants and Sussex Aviation at Portsmouth, or Miles at Shoreham.
Shuttleworth's Blackburn Monoplane certainly appeared in the film but didn't fly.
Shuttleworth's Blackburn Monoplane certainly appeared in the film but didn't fly.
Non-Flyer replicas were:
The Picat Orni ornithopter, the Lee Richards Annular, the Dixon Nipper, the Phillips Multiplane, the Picat Bubreuil, and the Walton Edwards Rhomboidal.
I remember delivering bread to remote farms south of Skegness seeing filming over the marshes. The sequences took all day but only produced about 30 secs of film AFAIR. Very fascinating for a young teenager.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Ah, the days when films were done for real, none of this CGI nonsense... sigh...
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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Doug Bianci told me that the wings on the Demoiselle were from a Tiger Moth, and that the aircraft was fine when flown at White Waltham (Bert Goodchild perhaps?) but at the elevation of Booker it was a problem. That is when petite Joan Hughes was called upon. I believe that Harald Best Devereux was also involved in one of the replicas.
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And his twin brother! If you remember Bert you probably remember the most cross eyed instructor I ever flew with, Mac who had some interesting stories to tell, such as the time he knocked the funnel off a steamroller!
Mac who had some interesting stories to tell, such as the time he knocked the funnel off a steamroller!
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Mac was with the ATA and taxying a Wellington on the perimeter track, which was under repair at the time. When he got to the work area he went onto the grass and was being given a clearance OK from a worker that the wing was clear of the steam roller. However while the leading edge did clear the funnel the trailing edge did not and he took the funnel off as he went ahead. Cost him a loss of salary for while!
The Demoiselle was in Melbourne Australia I think for the premier of the film.
My father an Ansett Captain at the time and 6ft 1 was In the middle of a conversion course and as the aircraft was in the Ansett Hangar tried his luck and got into it. Much to his consternation couldn't get out without much assistance and mirth from his fellow pilots.
My father an Ansett Captain at the time and 6ft 1 was In the middle of a conversion course and as the aircraft was in the Ansett Hangar tried his luck and got into it. Much to his consternation couldn't get out without much assistance and mirth from his fellow pilots.
Yup. I recall getting a phone call from someone in Flt Dept. They were after someone who was not carrying too many excess lbs/kg.
Unfortunately Russ was lighter than me (or anyone else on the Seniority List )
Emeritus.
Unfortunately Russ was lighter than me (or anyone else on the Seniority List )
Emeritus.
Boxkite overflight
As a sprog I lived at Kenley in Surrey (in the valley) and was woken at some ludicrous early hour by a loud engine noise that beamed from the sky but seemed stationary. Seconds later the 'Boxkite' hove into view at a very low height and passed overhead at a very slow speed.
I suspect it was 'in transit' back home after an appearance at a Biggin Hill airshow or RAF 'At Home', making good use of the early morning calm, no thermals and low temp, which was needed to defy gravity.
I suspect it was 'in transit' back home after an appearance at a Biggin Hill airshow or RAF 'At Home', making good use of the early morning calm, no thermals and low temp, which was needed to defy gravity.
Did that continue to fly after the film came out or did it only fly during the filming?
There was at least one early microlight about that time (or possibly a bit later) which resembled a Demoiselle. They were very cheap in those days and as far as I recall, training and licensing wasn't mandatory yet. (It still isn't in the USA)
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I have a vague recollection that Shuttle worth do have a modern replica Demoiselle which arrived in recenthe years. Not sure if it was theirs or if it's even still there. Must visit this year.
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And, if you haven't got the DVD you can watch it here for free.
Watch Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines Or How I Flew From London To Paris In 25 Hours 11 Minutes Online | Watch Full Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines Or How I Flew From London To Paris In 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965) Online
Watch Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines Or How I Flew From London To Paris In 25 Hours 11 Minutes Online | Watch Full Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines Or How I Flew From London To Paris In 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965) Online
