Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II
Chug,
as I recall the rest of the course used to gather to watch as well, especially those nervous co-pilots whose turn it was next. As you say the Hercules was a less demanding a/c to land. Even I managed it in the sim !
as I recall the rest of the course used to gather to watch as well, especially those nervous co-pilots whose turn it was next. As you say the Hercules was a less demanding a/c to land. Even I managed it in the sim !
Chugalug,
Co-pilots did do a solo on the very early Herc' courses - discussed at length on the 'Global Aviation - 60 years of the Hercules' thread - look at the posts around No. 4500.
Regards B48N
Co-pilots did do a solo on the very early Herc' courses - discussed at length on the 'Global Aviation - 60 years of the Hercules' thread - look at the posts around No. 4500.
Regards B48N
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Yes Geriaviator, I would not dispute the Hastings' rugged build quality and indeed the only in-flight accident due to structural failure I can think of occurred late in its life and was due to failure of an elevator hinge bracket. Up to about 1960, when there was a radical (and long overdue) review of some of the exercises required by the continuation training syllabus, accurate performance of steep turns was a prime requirement despite the caution in Pilots' Notes specifying ".........manoeuvres appropriate to a transport aircraft". In the Mk 1 particularly such handling resulted in some pretty positive 'g' being applied, and one does wonder if this contributed to a gradual build-up of fatigue in the affected components.
Thanks for the info Brian48nav. Sounds very disorientating, having to switch seats from the one you are learning!
My Herc flying started August 68 and I heard no mention of Herc CPS. Learning the LHS was quite sufficient thanks. Switching seats would have led to needless complication, in my view. I imagine that much the same conclusion was reached at the time.
Pity though, and well done those Co's who scored P1 time on those early Herc courses.
My Herc flying started August 68 and I heard no mention of Herc CPS. Learning the LHS was quite sufficient thanks. Switching seats would have led to needless complication, in my view. I imagine that much the same conclusion was reached at the time.
Pity though, and well done those Co's who scored P1 time on those early Herc courses.
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harrym
Your post #12565, would that be Hastings TG602, temporarily based at RAF Fayid, on 12th Jan 1953? I understand it was doing an air-test after some tech ;problem. It was carrying (possibly) a number of Paratroops to give them air experience.
Your post #12565, would that be Hastings TG602, temporarily based at RAF Fayid, on 12th Jan 1953? I understand it was doing an air-test after some tech ;problem. It was carrying (possibly) a number of Paratroops to give them air experience.
Copilot Solo was also in vogue in the Argosy force in 1966, when I started, but I've no recollection of any such sortie from around mid-67, when I guess it must have been phased out across the MRT force.
But back to WW2 and the Halifax. The Handley Page history by C H Barnes covers Halifax fin development in detail, and mentions "rudder stalling which caused spiral instability with two engines dead on one side and had led to many crashes on final approach at night." Pretty much as Franek mentioned, above. Several shapes were investigated and that finally used on later Mk IIs and production Mk IIIs had a fin area some 50% larger than on early aircraft.
But back to WW2 and the Halifax. The Handley Page history by C H Barnes covers Halifax fin development in detail, and mentions "rudder stalling which caused spiral instability with two engines dead on one side and had led to many crashes on final approach at night." Pretty much as Franek mentioned, above. Several shapes were investigated and that finally used on later Mk IIs and production Mk IIIs had a fin area some 50% larger than on early aircraft.
The Hastings elevator failure was TG577 on 6th July 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Baldon_air_crash
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Baldon_air_crash
Thanks to Danny42C we all know a lot more about that strange Vultee Vengeance and now this appears....
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-...rdback/p/15263
There have been previous books, so is this a rehash or new material?
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-...rdback/p/15263
There have been previous books, so is this a rehash or new material?
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harrym:
Ref my 12567, ASN report on TG602 states, Quote:
The Hastings transport plane climbed away in steep turns after takeoff. At a height of about 2000 feet the starboard elevator broke away, followed by the port elevator and the tailplane. The aircraft lost control and crashed into the ground.
Investigation revealed that a certain modification which included the installation of increased diameter bolts in the tail section had not been carried out on TG602.
Ref my 12567, ASN report on TG602 states, Quote:
The Hastings transport plane climbed away in steep turns after takeoff. At a height of about 2000 feet the starboard elevator broke away, followed by the port elevator and the tailplane. The aircraft lost control and crashed into the ground.
Investigation revealed that a certain modification which included the installation of increased diameter bolts in the tail section had not been carried out on TG602.
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No ValMORNA , I was referring to the July 1965 accident as quoted in Fareastdriver's # 12658. I had forgotten about TG 602 which anyway appears to have been due to an incorrectly installed mod, for near simultaneous loss of both elevators would unlikely to have been be the result of fatigue - as was definitely the case with TG 577.
Icare9:
Danny mentioned earlier this year that a new edition of Peter Smith's Vengeance book was being produced. I think he provided some material and corrections. Presumably this is the second edition.
Danny mentioned earlier this year that a new edition of Peter Smith's Vengeance book was being produced. I think he provided some material and corrections. Presumably this is the second edition.
Leisure activity at RAF Khormaksar in 1951 included swimming from the one-mile beach on the east side of the peninsula, forbidden due to the risks from shark, sting ray, sea snake and/or sting rays, or turning the tables and attacking the wildlife instead. Airmen from my father's section hooked this unfortunate sting ray beside the salt pans north of the airfield. Found this old pic in attic junk ... The beach is now a tourist attraction with sunbeds etc. but I'm not sure that one could enjoy a relaxing holiday there.
Obituary for Sqn Ldr John M'Kenzie-Hall in today's Telegraph here, but behind a pay wall. He was almost a contemporary of Danny, a couple of years younger, trained in the US and posted as a flying instructor to No1 British Flying Training School at Terrell Air Force Base in Texas. He returned to Britain in July 1944, transferred to the Fleet Air Arm, flying Hellcat fighters with 891 Squadron. He was demobilised in 1947, rejoining the RAF a year later as a flying instructor before transferring to helicopters. He flew with 194 Squadron in Malaya, managing 16 flights in 7 hours in August 1954. He was conducting trials in Cyprus in 1956 when instructed to prepare to fly on to aircraft carriers. He flew the first wave of Royal Marines in the Suez invasion. The following year he set up the helicopter section of the Queen's Flight and commanded it for the next seven years. I'm sure he would have had some interesting stories.
Talk of flying Hastings and Hercs single pilot reminds me of one day at Perth (W.A.) Airport in early 1965 when an Ace Air Freighters 749 Constellation pulled up on a very quiet freight apron. After shutting down, the front door opened. Then a character, who put me in mind of how I imagined 'Screwball' Beurling was in his heyday, let down a light collapsible ladder. After shutting the door he descended the ladder and set off with a battered leather bag slung over his shoulder in the direction of the cab rank. In those days I was a rather shy and retiring, wet behind the ears sprog commercial pilot, flying a clapped out Cessna 182 for an earth-moving outfit, whereas if it were today, I would not hesitate to attempt to engage him in conversation.
Last edited by Fantome; 25th Dec 2018 at 03:57.
JENKINS at #12538 -
Maybe that is why Danny/Dennis did not like his given name 'Joseph'. This he mentioned once to me in a PM.
Pretty sure that I may have divined the classical bent in the posts of the 42C. His school, judging from notes we exchanged, was Saint Joseph's College Blackpool. 'Joe's Jailhouse,' as once broadcast on Radio Luxembourg, with the broadcast leading to expulsions from the Roman Catholic establishment I am told.
A Merry Christmas to all the occupants of our trusty old Nissan hut crew room. Drawn together by those who have gone before, we now treasure their memories and give thanks for the technology, in stark contrast to the rusty paint-peeled corrugated iron and mismatched battered armchairs, that enabled them to tell their individual stories of those dangerous years now receding so fast into history. Just as they could recall those years with such amazing clarity, so we will always remember them.
Fantome, the same Ace Freighters Connie (or perhaps its sister) was immobilised on the Changi Western Dispersal for some weeks, with the cowling of the #2(?) engine removed and various bits of the engine removed. Evidently the replacement bits were on order but days passed and none came. The seasonal rains in the meantime gradually washed off the Ace of Spades insignia from the fins, revealing an Aer Lingus Shamrock beneath. In the end the various parts that had been removed were replaced, the engines started, and trailing copious amounts of oily smoke from the said engine she taxied past our Sqn HQ to the Rwy 20 holding point, a brief runup and mag check, line up and then take off. As soon as it was airborne that prop was feathered and the engine shut down, the a/c setting heading for its next destination (Madras I think). Just another day at the office...
Fantome, the same Ace Freighters Connie (or perhaps its sister) was immobilised on the Changi Western Dispersal for some weeks, with the cowling of the #2(?) engine removed and various bits of the engine removed. Evidently the replacement bits were on order but days passed and none came. The seasonal rains in the meantime gradually washed off the Ace of Spades insignia from the fins, revealing an Aer Lingus Shamrock beneath. In the end the various parts that had been removed were replaced, the engines started, and trailing copious amounts of oily smoke from the said engine she taxied past our Sqn HQ to the Rwy 20 holding point, a brief runup and mag check, line up and then take off. As soon as it was airborne that prop was feathered and the engine shut down, the a/c setting heading for its next destination (Madras I think). Just another day at the office...
I don't know if it was an Ace Freighters aircraft, but there was a tale around when I got to Khormaksar in September 1966 about a charter Connie that had been shutting down engines as it came down the Red Sea sometime in the previous year, and was nearing the end of its tether as Aden hoved into view. The hydraulics must also have been affected as a wheels-up landing was inevitable. The pilot was said to have been aware that the Company was on its uppers, with its future depending on keeping this airframe serviceable so, on final approach, any remaining engines were feathered with the props motored to minimise damage on impact. He landed on the sand by the runway, satisfied he'd done all he could ...... until the intervention of the RAF fire crew who attacked the fuselage with axes to get the crew out from this stricken aircraft.
I've often wondered how true that story was, but I offer it anyway in the spirit of Christmas!
I've often wondered how true that story was, but I offer it anyway in the spirit of Christmas!
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A link I noticed in the Telegraph regarding a WW2 Lancaster crewman. [Blenheim shown in the video]......https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...elet-74-years/
