RAF / RN Chinagraph Pencils (Cold War era) for Kneeboards
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,691
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About a year later I was posted to Northern and didn't need one as the T82 tracked with store dots, then I went to Border and had to learn to write sideways, from both sides, on a huge flat top display. Writing backwards was easy, and I never had to do it apart from at Shawbury, but sideways...
At ERD we used the on-screen chinagraph cross. C/s top left, heading bottom left, FL bottom right and Type top right, with store dot number at the top of the cross. Or something like that. The Assistant, IIRC, kept track [in parallel] on a flight strip with the same data, for subsequent filing.
Avoid imitations
I remember getting many false "BIM" captions - and one very notable one which wasn't false...we were extremely lucky that blade didn't fracture - only the front part of the main D spar was left and "on it's way"; everything else aft of that was cracked through.
We're up to Post #100 and still no one has mentioned how absolutely essential a chinagraph pencil was when performing tracking of helicopter main rotor blades after maintenance. Each blade tip was liberally marked with a different colour chinagraph, then with the rotors turning at normal RPM, a "tracking flag" was slowly - very slowly - moved to gently "kiss" each blade tip in turn. This left a coloured mark on the flag corresponding to the vertical position of each blade relative to the others. From this adjustments could be made to get the blades "in-track" which helped, but didn't guarantee, that the helicopter would be smooth in flight.
Only one chinagraph seems to have survived our last house move; hopefully 819 don’t want their knee board back!
North Sea hacks may remember the deviousness of having multiple rigs with the same NDB frequency, and also the Decca chain fixes?
North Sea hacks may remember the deviousness of having multiple rigs with the same NDB frequency, and also the Decca chain fixes?
Thread Starter
Many thanks to all who have helped contribute to this thread, and the kind donations of pencils and refill leads! 
I have now updated the web page on them, please see here: British Aircrew Chinagraph Pencils | ScottBouch
Any errors in the web page, please do let me know so I can improve it!
Cheers, Scott.

I have now updated the web page on them, please see here: British Aircrew Chinagraph Pencils | ScottBouch
Any errors in the web page, please do let me know so I can improve it!
Cheers, Scott.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,691
Received 97 Likes
on
45 Posts
Glad to have helped with leads.
Everyone should have a hobby
Everyone should have a hobby
