PPRuNe Forums - Cold War, Hot Jets BBC2 2100 Friday

PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/)

- Military Aviation (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation-57/)

- - Cold War, Hot Jets BBC2 2100 Friday (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/527059-cold-war-hot-jets-bbc2-2100-friday.html)

Plunge baths were also de rigeur on Lightning squadrons as Avpin was a tadge nasty on bare skin.

The upside was that during summer beer calls at Guetersloh the crates of "charlie" could be placed into the plunge bath and the water kept icy cold with liberal blasts from a LOX hose!

Quote:

covered with table tennis balls to keep in the heat.

I don't understand. TT balls INCREASE the effective area of the water, being continuously wetted over the whole of their surface area, thus increasing evaporation and also the direct transfer of heat to the air. Surely a load of balls?

Why would they be continually wetted? That would only occur I if they were moving, being hollow they would be trapped air and a good insulator. Depends how many layers deep too

Strikes me that the biggest problem would be running round catching the buggers after they had all blown away.

You could weight them :E

Thanks for posting these links.
Wonderful programme - and personally, I like the music.
Captures the feeling of flying in a fast jet.
There is nothing like it and you have to experience it to realise why.
You feel like you own the sky.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NutLoose

Depends how many layers deep too

That's avery good point. As ever, it's what we don't know that matters.

As we should expect from a Met wallah, langleybaston also makes a very good point. Pingpong balls have sufficient diameter to leave open surface gaps if in a single layer. We also need to know the thickness and coefficient of conductivity of the pingpong ball's shell, its radius, and the dryness of the gas (air?) it contains. Ballance that against the coefficient of radiance of the water.

Physics is our friend; it lets us fly (except bloody Gravity).

Regarding the programme, I enjoyed it. It was certainly better than sod all. It was great seeing glimpses of so many long forgotton types. I may have blinked but I missed the Sturgeon, though.

We saw the FD1 and the FD2 but I missed reference to its significance as "faster than the Sun".

I agree that little credence was given to the relevance of tactical "cold warfare". Similarly, little significance was given to the turboprop/shaft and its contribution to Naval warfare and the Transport element of war. War without Logs is usually defeat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU (Post 8162533)

. . . little significance was given to the turboprop/shaft and its contribution to Naval warfare and the Transport element of war.

Clue? Jets?

Basically a huge canvas and the Beeb only commissioned a very small segment.

HTP was nasty stuff. It would combust in contact with clothing, which made it bad news.

To inject a near contemporary reference to the use of HTP by the dark blue, this reminds me precisely why the experimental HTP submarine HMS EXPLORER was commonly known as HMS EXPLODER, vide the following abbreviated quote from the MODUK website:

" High Test Peroxide proved difficult to the point of being dangerous, and there was more than one contemporary report of explosions onboard, and at least one instance when the entire crew was forced to stand on the casing to avoid the noxious fumes, which had suddenly filled the boat. The high-test peroxide was a very volatile substance and was carried in special bags outside the pressure hull. Occasionally there would be a 'whoomph' as one of them exploded. Looking into the engine room, which was unmanned when under way, one could see flames dancing along the top of the combustion chamber. The crew did not look upon her as being dangerous.and took the bangs and fires as a matter of course. Fire drill became a very practised affair'."

I knew the second CO in later life, and recall how he said that the EXPLODER's crew were always easily recognisable by their charred footwear and ovies!http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...milies/eek.gif

Jack

I made the assumption that, except in calm conditions, one's balls would usually be in motion, and therefore wetted. Not sure what capillary action of water on one's balls would be, either.
If we are trying to keep water warm, increasing its surface area by any means is a no no.
Just as saucering tea/ coffee when in a hurry.

However, I might just be wrong! Look at:
Halfbakery: Ping Pong Reservoir

All metmen know that "when I'm right no-one remembers, when I'm wrong no-one forgets.

LB, serious deviation but you are wrong.

1963, Stradishall, Met lecture on a Friday morning. Asked if any of us planned to go home that weekend. He then told us to ask our course commander for an early stack as Norfolk would be in deep snow by tea time. It was.

1969, Coningsby, beautiful day, 96m miles viz, no wind, definitely no coats weather. Enter Met man for morning prayers, he was wearing coat, scarf, hat, gloves and announced to the sceptical audience that there would be no flying that day. It was going to be deep in snow. It was. Indeed it started snowing before the end of the brief.

Mind you, he cheated, he had looked out the window before coming across to the brief.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pontius Navigator

Clue? Jets?

Good point; I had a flash back to the '50s Farnborough displays that announced the arrivals of Viscounts, Britannias and Gannets as prop-jets.

GBZ, and of course there was another jet from the early 70s that carried on for 40 years and was as operational as the Javelin and Lightning. :}