Spit or Swallow?
Ab
Interest declaration - I was involved in the production of the program in a small background role.
Glad you liked it...
Strange, because at no point did JM ever step in one...
It wasn't a science program, it was 'entertainment'. Sorry it didn't fit your idea of that genre. A quick surf around various forums, as well as this one, seems to indicate you might be in a minority...
Interest declaration - I was involved in the production of the program in a small background role.
Superficial, trivial, juvenile and a total waste of time.
a contrived vehicle for an over-indulged presenter to have a good play in helicopters
It wasn't a science program, it was 'entertainment'. Sorry it didn't fit your idea of that genre. A quick surf around various forums, as well as this one, seems to indicate you might be in a minority...
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It wasn't a science program, it was 'entertainment'. Sorry it didn't fit your idea of that genre. A quick surf around various forums, as well as this one, seems to indicate you might be in a minority...
It was a skillful balance of 'entertainment' and 'aviation interest'. Something James does very well.
Last edited by Shaggy Sheep Driver; 26th Dec 2012 at 18:19.
Thread Starter
SSD - precisely!
Nige321, thank you for your contribution to a very entertaining science-based programme.
Nige321, thank you for your contribution to a very entertaining science-based programme.
Last edited by BEagle; 26th Dec 2012 at 21:46.
A link for people outside the UK:
NEW James May's Toy Stories Flight Club - Video Dailymotion
And another link:
NEW James May's Toy Stories Flight Club - Video Dailymotion
And another link:
Last edited by sablatnic; 26th Dec 2012 at 21:26.
Beagle - Thank you, kind words...
While chatting with JM, the conversation inevitably turned to Top Gear.
It would seem he's not that bothered about cars, his passions are motor cycles and aviation. He's really keen on all things flying, hence his desire to do this show.
It might not have come across during the film, but he was very hands on, and really keen to do as much of the model building himself -an awful lot of material, (film and balsa...!) was left on the floor...
Someone mentioned a 'script' - I never saw one, and virtually every piece to camera was done once, with no Autocue, no script, and no prompts, just a genuine interest and enthusiasm for the subject...
Was he enjoying himself? Absolutely...
While chatting with JM, the conversation inevitably turned to Top Gear.
It would seem he's not that bothered about cars, his passions are motor cycles and aviation. He's really keen on all things flying, hence his desire to do this show.
It might not have come across during the film, but he was very hands on, and really keen to do as much of the model building himself -an awful lot of material, (film and balsa...!) was left on the floor...
Someone mentioned a 'script' - I never saw one, and virtually every piece to camera was done once, with no Autocue, no script, and no prompts, just a genuine interest and enthusiasm for the subject...
Was he enjoying himself? Absolutely...
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Cracking vid.
I've had the pleasure of a real Swallow back in 1980 or thereabouts in the GSA at Detmold.
Lovely aircraft and a cracking roll rate with those big ailerons.
(sorry that's two- now THREE crackings in one post!)
I've had the pleasure of a real Swallow back in 1980 or thereabouts in the GSA at Detmold.
Lovely aircraft and a cracking roll rate with those big ailerons.
(sorry that's two- now THREE crackings in one post!)
Last edited by AtomKraft; 26th Dec 2012 at 23:53.
Thread Starter
Nige321, did the 'scale' team who built JM's first Swallow model take Reynolds No / Scale effect into account?
It was obviously quite difficult to balance the programme so that it included sufficient information to keep anoraks happy, yet not so much that the intellectually challenged 'Strictly Come Dancing Out Of The X Factor Jungle' mental pygmies weren't totally ostracised.....
A pleasure to see a good BBC programme after weeks and weeks of lowest common denominator rubbish.....
It was obviously quite difficult to balance the programme so that it included sufficient information to keep anoraks happy, yet not so much that the intellectually challenged 'Strictly Come Dancing Out Of The X Factor Jungle' mental pygmies weren't totally ostracised.....
A pleasure to see a good BBC programme after weeks and weeks of lowest common denominator rubbish.....
Last edited by BEagle; 27th Dec 2012 at 07:26.
Nige321, did the 'scale' team who built JM's first Swallow model take Reynolds No / Scale effect into account?
The Brunel students decided on more efficient NACA wing sections, which actually entailed moving the existing tip section to the root, then using 6412 for the tip. I then did the CAD drawings for the new wing, and laser cut the parts. The CAD gives a perfect blend of sections from root to tip, and I also built in washout in the outer part of the panel.
All the following models used this new wing.
Now if Slingsby had access to computers in the 50s...
Yes the real Swallow was not much of a glide performer,but quite a pretty little thing.
I never did fly one with the ATC as at that time one had to be a C cat to fly them,but some years later I flew one in Africa,I was quite comfy with it as had done quite a bit of open cockpit flying with the ATC.
Anyway the airfield was an old Rhodesian (RATG) Observer school site and flying from the 'wrong' end meant if you had a low cable break then you would have to land in the very rough and crumbled old rwy intersection area.
So I self briefed myself that if I had a low break then I would turn left 20 degrees and land on the old main rwy which was very smooth grass (but unusable because of a large storage building added post war).
Anyway wouldnt you know it - 'Twang' at 200' (we used fencing wire for the winch
) so I curved round to the left and gradually fed in a tiny amount of airbrake and hey presto a nice arrival...what a great way of giving all the 'Vultures' on the ground a heart attack (you know the vultures...the whole gliding club waiting for you to fork it up LOL)
Those were the days...got to fly the Skylark 3b shortly after that
I never did fly one with the ATC as at that time one had to be a C cat to fly them,but some years later I flew one in Africa,I was quite comfy with it as had done quite a bit of open cockpit flying with the ATC.
Anyway the airfield was an old Rhodesian (RATG) Observer school site and flying from the 'wrong' end meant if you had a low cable break then you would have to land in the very rough and crumbled old rwy intersection area.
So I self briefed myself that if I had a low break then I would turn left 20 degrees and land on the old main rwy which was very smooth grass (but unusable because of a large storage building added post war).
Anyway wouldnt you know it - 'Twang' at 200' (we used fencing wire for the winch
) so I curved round to the left and gradually fed in a tiny amount of airbrake and hey presto a nice arrival...what a great way of giving all the 'Vultures' on the ground a heart attack (you know the vultures...the whole gliding club waiting for you to fork it up LOL)Those were the days...got to fly the Skylark 3b shortly after that
Last edited by longer ron; 27th Dec 2012 at 11:15.
Thread Starter
Now if Slingsby had access to computers in the 50s...
Don't tell today's elfn' safety tarts about the unsupervised use of surgical steel scalpel-bladed craft knives, Brtifix 66 cement and cellulose dope which went on back then....
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It wasn't just the construction, either...but the fuel mixes for model diesels would give them palpitations, too! I recall a friendly pharmacist who would sell us the necessary fluids...one year we were stopped by the Police en route from Chemists to our Mixing Laboratory (my chum's conservatory). "What have you got there, lads?" said the Constable. "Two gallons of anaesthetic ether and a quart of amyl nitrate" I replied.
A brief silence followed.
"Er...what are you going to do with that?"
My chum replied "We have a long and difficut operation to perform, Officer!"
Then I explained about model aircraft diesel fuel......
A brief silence followed.
"Er...what are you going to do with that?"
My chum replied "We have a long and difficut operation to perform, Officer!"
Then I explained about model aircraft diesel fuel......
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I enjoyed the programme. good to see the designer of the new wing comments on here. Not suprised about how anal the French were. Oh how times have changed! I built a few keil Craft and Frog Triumph balsa models. Over wound the rubber to get more umph and collapsed the logerons! Yes, lots of cuts and fingers stuck together. How the price of electronics has come down making this autopilot stuff affordable. Almost about to buy a quadcopter with Go Pro 3 having been inspired by the programme. The MoD would pay £60K for same!!
I had a remembery about why the 'Swallow' was named thus...
From the T53 thread of a couple of years ago and posted by an ex slingsby test pilot (Golf Bravo Whisky)
From the T53 thread of a couple of years ago and posted by an ex slingsby test pilot (Golf Bravo Whisky)
The Swallow was intended to be called Sparrow but when Slingsbys
general manager John Reussner was flying the prototype at low level along the hill at Sutton Bank for Fred Slingsby to take photographs he finished up suspended in the telephone wires !
This brought forth the comment from Fred Slingsby:
'It's joined the Swallows ready for migration' and the name stuck !
The damaged aircraft was aquired and repaired by John Reussner with an extra metre added to each wing root and an extended rear fuselage.
In this form it was named 'Swift'
Golf Bravo Whisky
general manager John Reussner was flying the prototype at low level along the hill at Sutton Bank for Fred Slingsby to take photographs he finished up suspended in the telephone wires !
This brought forth the comment from Fred Slingsby:
'It's joined the Swallows ready for migration' and the name stuck !
The damaged aircraft was aquired and repaired by John Reussner with an extra metre added to each wing root and an extended rear fuselage.
In this form it was named 'Swift'
Golf Bravo Whisky
