Firecracker
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,706
Received 343 Likes
on
189 Posts
See the original piston Firecracker met with a landing accident in the US yesterday, gear collapse apparently. Hope it can be repaired.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/277557
Re-reading the above, I also had the pleasure of meeting Desmond Norman, at Goodwood when I was 15; my dad had a short business meeting to explore the possibility of selling the Firecracker to the Kenyan Government I believe - certainly recall him as a very nice bloke, probably a case of "bring the lad along!". The aircraft was hangared at the time and I sat in the cockpit at Des's behest. I think Peter Philips was working for him at the time and I may have met him too, for I recall writing to him at Goodwood later on...
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/277557
Re-reading the above, I also had the pleasure of meeting Desmond Norman, at Goodwood when I was 15; my dad had a short business meeting to explore the possibility of selling the Firecracker to the Kenyan Government I believe - certainly recall him as a very nice bloke, probably a case of "bring the lad along!". The aircraft was hangared at the time and I sat in the cockpit at Des's behest. I think Peter Philips was working for him at the time and I may have met him too, for I recall writing to him at Goodwood later on...
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: UK
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Old thread but a trip down memory lane for me. I worked on the Turbo Fircrackers (two, the 3rd was not completed in the UK) At SFT in Carlisle and later worked for NDN at Rhoose as avionics and systems designer on the production FeildMaster / FireMaster.
Couple of little known facts:
The Turbo Firecracker used a Schweppes SodaStream CO2 cylinder for the undercarriage emergency lowering.
The production FieldMaster main spar was different to the prototype and the intended fuel gauging transmitters would not fit. I designed and built a new system from scratch in about 3 months. Did the tank intrinsic safety by design and analysis rather than test (could not get a test slot in the timescale) apparently a first with the CAA.
Desmond was a nice guy. I learnt a lot from working at NDN. Peter Phillips was the test pilot at that time but at least some flights were done by Neville Duke.
Couple of little known facts:
The Turbo Firecracker used a Schweppes SodaStream CO2 cylinder for the undercarriage emergency lowering.
The production FieldMaster main spar was different to the prototype and the intended fuel gauging transmitters would not fit. I designed and built a new system from scratch in about 3 months. Did the tank intrinsic safety by design and analysis rather than test (could not get a test slot in the timescale) apparently a first with the CAA.
Desmond was a nice guy. I learnt a lot from working at NDN. Peter Phillips was the test pilot at that time but at least some flights were done by Neville Duke.
Definitely incomplete NAC-1 Freenlances at Coventry as in pics on this site:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/thr...h-query.24773/
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/thr...h-query.24773/
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Bournemouth
Age: 66
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Bournemouth
Age: 66
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
