Mike Ramsden
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I just enjoyed half an hour wading through a few old copies of Flight, reading S&L...
Came across this gem:
Came across this gem:
The sort of engineers we want these days, it says here a few pages ago, are specialists with "the allroundness of the old de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School apprentice, with a feeling for the practical daily problems of making aeroplanes work . . ." All-roundness? Dear sir, we take grave exception to this libellous remark, which is now in the hands of our solicitors, the fattest in the world. Some of us used to spend the lunch-hour at Hatfield asleep inside the cosily confined aft fuselage of the Sea Hornet. If you can find a Sea Hornet aft fuselage (which I have checked very thoroughly is extinct) I'll prove I can still squeeze in there without splitting the beetle-glued seams.
Captain Camberley Golfcourse, with his terrible problem of leaves in his swimming pool
First Officer R R Meelson
Citizen Lucking- a real person who asked awkward questions of the aviation establishment
Potters Bar International Airport
The prestigious Potters Bar - Keflavik route
The lake at Radlett that contained an intact HP42 (if only!)
"I say, are you married?"
"And by and by a cloud takes all away"
I became an official nephew of Uncle Roger by submitting a press cutting that claimed Baron von Richthofen shot down over eighty British Tiger Moths in World War One; for which I received a small cheque and a signed postcard, the latter of which I still have. I last saw Mike at James Gilbert's memorial service at St Clement Danes. "And by and by a cloud takes all away"
First Officer R R Meelson
Citizen Lucking- a real person who asked awkward questions of the aviation establishment
Potters Bar International Airport
The prestigious Potters Bar - Keflavik route
The lake at Radlett that contained an intact HP42 (if only!)
"I say, are you married?"
"And by and by a cloud takes all away"
I became an official nephew of Uncle Roger by submitting a press cutting that claimed Baron von Richthofen shot down over eighty British Tiger Moths in World War One; for which I received a small cheque and a signed postcard, the latter of which I still have. I last saw Mike at James Gilbert's memorial service at St Clement Danes. "And by and by a cloud takes all away"
Last edited by Hew Jampton; 2nd Aug 2019 at 14:06. Reason: More memories
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Nice to see you Aerohack!
Of course, Mike Ramsden hadn't checked thoroughly enough about the Sea Hornet rear fuselage being extinct, there is the back end of VX250 at Salisbury Hall.
I imagine he'd also be thrilled at the prospect of TT193's vestigial remains acting as the basis for the type's reincarnation by Glyn Powell.
Of course, Mike Ramsden hadn't checked thoroughly enough about the Sea Hornet rear fuselage being extinct, there is the back end of VX250 at Salisbury Hall.
I imagine he'd also be thrilled at the prospect of TT193's vestigial remains acting as the basis for the type's reincarnation by Glyn Powell.Gnome de PPRuNe
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I've just spotted that the pic of the Hornet rear end also includes the missing bit of my garden fence restoration...
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Hi Treadigraph, yes, it's been a long time!
Way back in the early '60s the Civil Defence folk had a large part of a Sea Hornet fuselage in their depot at Westhampnett, neat Goodwood. I don't know if that is the same one? Civil Defence Portsmouth also had the fuselage and wings of an ex-Fleet Air Arm Grumman Wildcat in their yard near the Town Station, but I saw that get burned in a training exercise.
Way back in the early '60s the Civil Defence folk had a large part of a Sea Hornet fuselage in their depot at Westhampnett, neat Goodwood. I don't know if that is the same one? Civil Defence Portsmouth also had the fuselage and wings of an ex-Fleet Air Arm Grumman Wildcat in their yard near the Town Station, but I saw that get burned in a training exercise.
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Very sad news indeed, a great and lovely man.... I joined Fllight from Warton flight test in '74 and Mike was the inspiration for my writing career covering most of the succeeding 40+ years. He was a brilliant writer, a wonderful leader and tutor, and he assembled a superb editorial team, myself excluded!!
One of his mantras was that de Havilland must NEVER start a sentence (as that would mean 'de' with a capital D).
There is a fine obituary on the Fiight web site, but this system doesn't allow me to post it, BAH!!
One of his mantras was that de Havilland must NEVER start a sentence (as that would mean 'de' with a capital D).
There is a fine obituary on the Fiight web site, but this system doesn't allow me to post it, BAH!!
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On the Straight and Level page occasionally was the 'Reginsld S. Potter' award for pieces mainly from national newspapers which got it completely wrong regarding aviation.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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ExWtnFTE, rather to my everlasting shame, the company I worked for was one of the main consultants/contractors on the monstrous students' residences which now sully the the hallowed Hatfield Aerodrome. It was a grim and harrowing battle persuading my colleagues that all written references should be to the "de Havilland Campus" but I persevered, generally won the day and am fairly confident that anything that went out via the marketing team used the lower case "d". Certainly if I got my mitts on it... I suspect something I read in "Straight and Level" some years earlier had stoked the vehemence!
Aerohack, apparently VX250's rear end was rescued from the fire dump at St Davids. I seem to recall that another fairly substantial Sea Hornet wreck survived into the 1960s down at Plymouth or somewhere. Oh for a Stephen Grey/John Romain/Glyn Powell/substantial cheque book back then. TT193's rebuild is based around a fairly substantial centre section recovered from Canada.
Aerohack, apparently VX250's rear end was rescued from the fire dump at St Davids. I seem to recall that another fairly substantial Sea Hornet wreck survived into the 1960s down at Plymouth or somewhere. Oh for a Stephen Grey/John Romain/Glyn Powell/substantial cheque book back then. TT193's rebuild is based around a fairly substantial centre section recovered from Canada.
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In 1965 'Flight' advertised for a trainee journalist. In a fit of enthusiasm, which makes me cringe with embarrassment now, I applied and got an interview. It was one to one, with Mike Ramsden on a grey and depressing day, in the somewhat grey and depressing surrounds of Dorset House, Stamford Street, London E1. During the course of the interview he asked me, given the choice, what would be my favourite aeroplane to fly. 'Flight' had recently exchanged the Gemini for a Beagle Airedale, so - grovel, grovel - I chose the latter. (Support the British aircraft industry against these damned new Cessna and Piper interlopers, eh?) I was briefly informed that, in JMR's opinion, the Airedale was a heap, and the choice had not been his! I didn't get the job, but was interested to see that the Airedale subsequently departed, to be replaced by the Baron G-ASDO.
I think it was after a change of ownership of the magazine, and the move to Tolworth Tower off the A3, that something in 'Straight and Level' caused threat of legal action and the column disappeared for some considerable time. Eventually it came back with the opening line; "Right, as I was saying, before I was interrupted ..."
Sir Charles Boost of Plummet Airlines and his GLOW-PUFF cigar - that was another one.
I think it was after a change of ownership of the magazine, and the move to Tolworth Tower off the A3, that something in 'Straight and Level' caused threat of legal action and the column disappeared for some considerable time. Eventually it came back with the opening line; "Right, as I was saying, before I was interrupted ..."
Sir Charles Boost of Plummet Airlines and his GLOW-PUFF cigar - that was another one.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I was briefly informed that, in JMR's opinion, the Airedale was a heap
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It has often been quoted, and may indeed have come from a piece Mike wrote, that a Beagle-Auster demo pilot -- possibly the late Ranald Porteous whom I was lucky to count as a friend or 'PeeWee' Judge -- would invite journalists to "come and fly the Airedale, we can have lunch during take-off!"
I can post this link
Here's the review of the Airdale in 'Air Pictorial' in late 1962. Its price in 2019 GBP would be approx £110,000.