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I agree the raft could be carried by the chase plane.
However I doubt they carried fuel as Avgas is available everywhere in that part of the world. The question is where would you put any additional fuel tanks on the Stearman to extend the range? Had she flown solo a ferry tank could have gone in the front seat but the ABC video shows two on board when it landed in Darwin. |
Originally Posted by Jay Sata
(Post 9424306)
The question is where would you put any additional fuel tanks on the Stearman to extend the range? Had she flown solo a ferry tank could have gone in the front seat but the ABC video shows two on board when it landed in Darwin.
In flight refuelling....?!!!! :D:D |
Thanks for the Plane & Pilot specs and your calculations, abdg.
Specs for Stearmans seem to vary - depending on where you look. This, of course, is just an academic exercise and without the proper specs for Ewald's Stearman, we can only speculate. Despite TCT's claims that the 'Spirit of Artifice' is original, it strikes me that it is really closer to one of Ewalds's "Super Stearmans" - just minus the upper-wing ailerons. As to where the additional tankage might be placed, it strikes me that, in order to keep the CG within reasonable limits, the extra 35 or so gallons would have to be contained within the inner wings - both top and bottom. Any other ideas? |
Under the seat? If TCT is light, immediately behind her seat?
You can get a fair amount of fuel in a small space - 120 litres is 50cm cubed |
The Stearman « The Aviatrix
During the ground up restoration of this airplane a number of modifications and improvements had been installed to cope with the special challenges of this adventurous trip. To cover the long distances across Africa this airplane was fitted with two additional fuel tanks, doubling the range of the airplane. |
Would the two tanks go in the rear lockers?
http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/44/70/72.../1024x1024.jpg I like the caption to this picture from a Seattle newspaper. Ewald Gritsch, an Austrian engineer who helped restore Tracey Curtis-Taylor's 1942 Boeing Stearman, grabs bolts while reassembling the plane at the Historic Flight Foundation in Mukilteo, Friday, Mar. 18, 2016. Gritsch has tagged along on Curtis-Taylor's flights all over the world, performing maintenance, repair, and reassembling the plane when it's shipped, as it was to Mukilteo. |
JS,
I'd reckon the rear locker would be pretty full with all of Tracey's make-up kit. |
I had a couple of amusing quotes from Tracey emailed to me today which pretty much endorse that quip Stanwell. I can't use them yet.
Thanks for highlighting the extra tanks and double fuel range Deefer. That contradicts what she said on the BBC Radio 4 Midweek programme a fornight ago. She claimed Amy Johnson's DH had double the fuel range of the Spirit of Artemis. |
JS,
I don't have the figures to hand, but Amy Johnson's DH-60 did some pretty long hops - and, it had only a 100hp Gipsy to feed. Besides, regular 'comfort stops' would be more Tracey's style, I'd think. . |
I have just managed to find this from Amy Johnson's log book that confirms what you say Stanwell.
It must have been hard work and look how inexperienced she was. Less than 100 hours when she left the UK. Could any man or woman match her achievment in a similar aircraft today? http://www.mylearning.org/learning/y...Close%20up.jpg http://www.mylearning.org/learning/y...detail%202.jpg http://aerosociety.com/Assets/Images...nson%20map.jpg |
As the Stearman is N registered there must be an STC for any modifications that would entail extra fuel carriage. The STC listings are here - http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Gu...e?OpenFrameSet
A bit of searching will provide the answer. |
Amy Johnson's longest leg was apparently 675 nautical miles so it's possible that even with the extra tanks, the Stearman had half her range.
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Jay Sata (#558)
...I am not an engineer so how could you increase the range given the extra weight of the fuel required to have a margin for headwinds and weather?... But the extra weight and drag from these rough and ready things was so great that the aircraft got no further with them than it did without them ! - you just used a lot more fuel for the same distance. Back to the drawing board ! Wouldn't swear to the story. (#576) Very interesting ! Any chance to see TCT's Log for her trip ? And who countersigned it ? Danny45C. |
I can't help you with the TCT log but I have seen some flight plans that cite two crew.
I also heard a saying she used a number of times. “I think Lady Heath had it much easier than me on this trip” |
Less than 100 hours when she left the UK. Could any man or woman match her achievment in a similar aircraft today |
This? Australia to Oshkosh '99
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Many thanks for that link.
I have just read his fascinating story. Just three years flying experience and 250 hours logged when he embarked on his adventure. It took Ike Bartlett 155 hours flying time to go around the world in his Mustang II during the summer of 1999. By himself he crossed the Pacific going from southeast to northwest through Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, Midway, and up the Aleutian Islands. He crossed the Atlantic in much shorter, easier legs from Newfoundland, to Greenland, Iceland, and into Europe. From there he flew through Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and then on to Asia. From India he flew to Indonesia and then turned south, finally returning to Western Australia. Crossing the Pacific he faced the difficulties of very long flights over open water and in the second part of his trip through Europe and Asia he faced political boundaries that prevent an easy direct flight. All of this he did with only three years flying experience and without an IFR rating. On July 19th, 1999 Ike left Perth and started east across the Australian continent for Queensland and the northeast coast. This leg alone was well over 2000 miles. He made his first night landing in his Mustang at Tennent Creek in the Northern Territories. This is in the center of Australia. The next day he landed at Horn Island Resort in the Torres Straight, North Queensland and prepared for his first overwater leg. On the 21st he departed Australia and crossed Papua New Guinea at 12,500 feet to get over the mountains. After refueling he then flew 13 hours over water to Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Most of his flying was below 10,000 feet at 50-60% power for best fuel economy. With 9 hours to go before reaching the Majuro Atoll his voltage regulator failed. This left him with a handheld radio and his battery powered GPS. "The GPS batteries died at 30 miles out, just when I needed it most. I had been flying at 9,000 feet when I approached a great wall of cloud. I had been able to go around the rest, but not this one. I descended to 2,000 feet and tried to go under it, but the base just kept getting lower and lower. At 800 feet I was in rain but could see the water below and then it was gone. MMC became IFR without electric's. Me not being real happy at 800 feet, I climbed to 2,500 feet. As a virgin cloud flyer, I kept MMC basically level but had changed direction 30 degrees. After correcting that, I broke out of the clouds and there was the atoll. That was the worst bit of flying I have ever experienced. I really thought about putting MMC in a box and shipping it home. My handheld radio is not connected through the headset, so the guy at the tower must have thought I was a raving lunatic. I was yelling to speak over the noise of the engine and he had to say everything three or four times. I was shaken, but once on the ground I just focused on sorting out the electrical fault. Perth-Oshkosh |
What experience and qualifications did Clive Canning have when he flew his Thorpe T-18 VH-CMC to the PFA Rally in 1976, (gosh 40 years ago!!!)? Did he fly back to Australia? The PFA honoured him, quite rightly so, no controversy over that award!!
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I can't find much on Clive Canning but of course like many of these unsung genuine adventure flyers they did their trips for personal achievment not false glory.
Australian Jon Johanson is worth a mention.He has achieved what no other homebuilder has. He flew around the world, not once, but three times in 1995, 1996, and 2000 in an RV4 In 2003 he made the first solo flight in a single-engine home-built aircraft over the South Pole. However after landing at the McMurdo Scott station he became stranded when the base, not wishing to encourage future private flights, refused to sell him fuel.After a fuel donation by Polly Vacher , he was able to fly on to Australia, via New Zealand. Stranded adventurer offered three flights home - www.smh.com.au http://www.southpolestation.com/news/rv4/rv41.jpg |
Clive Canning published a book "Charlie Mike Charlie" about his exploits in the T-18... I was thinking about buying a second hand copy recently, but it was slightly too expensive for my wallet!
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However after landing at the McMurdo Scott station he became stranded when the base, not wishing to encourage future private flights, refused to sell him fuel. |
I've been looking in on this rather bemusedly for the past few weeks. I don't really understand the background or who 'the main players' on this forum are but this popped up this morning:
'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down by claims that she had co-pilot | Daily Mail Online |
Thanks for that link, clareprop.
It was only a matter of time before the mainstream media picked up on it. I think she really sealed her fate when she started bad-mouthing Sam Rutherford last year (who, up till then, had kept publicly quiet). She was just so high on the idea that her deceits had sucked in 'everybody that mattered' that her self-delusion knew no bounds. Even that caveat that she'd recently plastered on the front page of her website is again one big lie from start to finish. Just a modified lie, that's all. That woman has no shame. "The Spirit of Artifice", indeed. |
Amy Johnson she ain't: 'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down to earth by claims that she had co-pilot and flew just four of her 36 round-the-world legs on her own Tracey Curtis-Taylor, 54, re-creating the solo exploits of Amy Johnson But it has emerged the self-styled ‘Bird in a bi-plane’ may have had co-pilot Man who planned one journey said she ‘embellished the truth’ about flights By DAVID JARVIS and TOM WITHEROW FOR THE DAILY MAIL Read more: 'Solo' flying poster girl is brought down by claims that she had co-pilot | Daily Mail Online Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook They used the Sydney arrival,picture with Ewald clearly in the front seat. I am still puzzled why she needed him on board for the last leg of the journey when there was clearly the risk he would be seen. I suspect from what I have heard it was for navigational reasons. I must say it actually took quite a lot of effort to get this story published and credit must go to Dave Jarvis for his tenacity. Ewald was quite open and honest in his conversation with Dave Jarvis and admitted he was onboard throughout both the Africa trip and London to Sydney. Gritsch admits he was in the forward cockpit for ‘the majority’ of the flights from Cape Town to Goodwood and Farnborough to Sydney. He said: ‘The situation was that it was not a solo flight.’ But in a statement Miss Curtis-Taylor said: ‘For the avoidance of doubt, I have always been the sole pilot’, despite Mr Gritsch saying ‘it was not a solo flight’. The take-off point for the first manned and powered flight in Great Britain will be commemorated with a new monument unveiled by pilot Tracey Curtis–Taylor. The monument, a joint project between the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) and the Farnborough Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), will mark Cody’s achievement as well as commemorate 150 years since the foundation of the RAeS. Tracey even had a go at piloting Cody’s plane on a simulator at the FAST Museum. She told Get Hampshire : “It was very hard - I crashed it. |
Thanks also to Jay Sata - whose perseverance in the face of many, many people saying 'it's not important'.
Actually, it is important. |
Well, blow me down!
Seems she'd managed to draw even the RAeS into her web of deceit as well. I'd say there's going to be a bit of forehead-smacking and harrumphing going on in various hallowed halls over port and cigars tonight. At the same time, certain dribbling old fools are going to be noticeable for their low profile for a little while, too, I'd think. Or ... are they going to try to brass it out, as well? And, of course, our mysterious MurielMary is going to have to put in a bit of overtime. Sharpen your pencil, sweetie. . |
Credit to the mods of pprune for letting this run so the truth emerged.
Not a word on the other forum where normally they are quick to paste aviation stories that appear in the press. It will be interesting to see if she fronts up at the Farnborough Air Show with the rebuilt Stearman. https://s31.postimg.org/ufsd3pqff/image.jpg |
It's news to DM readers but is hardly a story we haven't heard hundreds of times before, though, is it?
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Maybe I have the wrong end of the stick, but......
I'm struggling to see the "professionalism" in Sam keeping quiet for so long.
This revelation, so long after the event, seems a bit, well, misplaced. I'm pleased that he found his bottle, but it's a shame that it took so long for him to go looking for it. If he had spoken up earlier, she might not have got the sponsorship to go this far, with our without a co-pilot. I'm reminded of the whore who tells the police that she's been raped. When asked for details she said it was a week ago, and is reporting it now because she's only just found out that the guy's cheque has bounced. As for Sam warning TCT that he would go public if she didn't stop lying, that's hardly a million miles away from her position. She's the bigger crook here, but not the only one. There might have been quite a few people who knew this was a fraud, and went along with it while the going was good. |
I can't imagine a better case of piss poor planning. Did he not have it arranged, or did they renege on the deal? |
Jon Johanson deserves credit for what he achieved.
A true lone pioneer and adventurer. In 2004 Johanson was awarded the FAI Gold Air Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI); it is one of the organisations highest awards. At the time he held 47 FAI world records. In 2004, Johanson was also named the Adventurer of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society. He knew he would not get permission but what could they say when he radioed to land. At least he was solo and had no entourage. Maybe it was a flight to 'celebrate' Roald Amundsen or Captain Scott:ok: As a friend of mine is always saying you are judged by your results. |
@airpolice
Please don't believe everything you read - it was on the 15th June 2015 (almost a year before the crash) that I first went public with my concerns - and I'll post my warning/request email to her in a moment. No redaction apart from to remove her email address. There is an element of client confidentiality which is important. Did I wait too long, perhaps - but I certainly wasn't expecting her to start getting awards (even to the extent of being proposed for a Birthday honour). In any event, my warnings/requests were completely ignored - and even the statement recently placed on her website perpetuates a similar gap between fiction and reality. Did I do enough, soon enough, perhaps not (we'll never know)? |
From: Sam Rutherford [mailto:sam then the obvious then prepare2go.com]
Sent: 09 January 2015 13:35 Subject: Telling it straight Dear Tracey, I read today of your Bill Woodhams Trophy award. This follows some months of hearing second-hand your version of how I/we performed during the flight from Cape Town. We, on the other hand, have been maintaining a professional silence about your performance until now. Firstly, let me clarify that due to our reputation in the industry being considerably better than yours, most of your comments reflect badly on you (rather than casting us in a bad light, which is presumably your intention). That being said, if we receive solid information that our business has been damaged (potential or actual contracts lost) due to malicious defamation – we will sue. Secondly, the Bill Woodhams Trophy is awarded for feats of navigation. I can only assume that you didn’t tell them that: • You flew all but four of the African legs with your 20K+ hours instructor. • That on two of the four solo legs, you actually asked the ‘chase plane’ to lead you in as you were unsure of your ability to find them by yourself. I was surprised and disappointed by this award: 1. That clearly no due-diligence was done by the LAA before it was presented to you. 2. That the runner-up missed out on this (well-deserved in their case) recognition. 3. You had the gall to accept it. What’s done is done, but please be advised that if I hear of further awards presented on the basis of an incomplete picture of your ‘achievement’ then I will make my concerns public. So perhaps consider supplying a full, complete and correct version of events should anything else be offered? Lastly, could I ask you to stop using the words: • Solo (as not true) • I had it harder than Lady Heath (as not true, and also an insult to her achievement) Sam Rutherford. |
I first saw this thread a few weeks ago and browsed with a modicum of interest. I didn't know much about the lady in question, her flying or many of the various organisations and institutions who were recognising her achievements. I then came to comments from some well-respected members who were querying whether this was becoming a witch-hunt or indeed, libellous. It would now appear the story was neither a witch-hunt, exaggerated or untrue. To me, it has brought home the sort of difficulties whistle-blowers must face. It's not only those who have done wrong who try to denigrate the person making the accusation or those who are embarrassed to have been 'taken in' but also people who just cannot believe such cheating would take place. From what I see, some large corporations, charities and professional aviation institutions need to take a look at the positions they have previously taken on this saga and make their feelings known before the Mail story gets wider attention.
http://web.archive.org/web/201502042...om/operations/ |
Two points if I may Sam.
(1) Anybody can nominate anybody else for an honour - frankly, even if true, it's an irrelevance. For all we know, you and I have both been nominated for OBEs by colleagues with an inflated view of our achievements, and Buck House turned us down because we didn't deserve them. It is certainly I'm sure true of numerous other people that neither of us know. (2) If I were you, I'd remove your email address, and anybody else's, from these posts as it's just an invitation to spambots. G |
Hi GE,
1. Not irrelevant if she had been awarded one (whilst not at that level, the Masters Medal is an extremely prestigious award that will be awarded to her in October). 2. Thank you, done. I didn't want to tamper with it, but good advice... Safe flights, Sam. |
I see there is plenty of e cleaning occuring on google.
Someone (not me) has also been trying to post references to today's Mail article to update her wiki entry which was quickly removed. |
Genghis,
It's all very well for somebody to have been nominated, and even considered, for an award. Hopefully, just hopefully, there are checks and balances in place to ensure that such awards are properly considered and appropriate - rather than simply "at the discretion of ...". How the Light Aircraft Association arrived at the conclusion that TCT merited their Bill Woodhams Trophy for a noteworthy "Feat of Navigation", I'd like to know. Then, we have the Honourable Company of Air Pilots who, I understand, propose to bestow their Master's Medal at their annual awards night in October. As a number of us saw earlier on this thread, TCT had been, gushingly, invited to be present at that event. Just so it's clear to all, I'll quote from their Terms of Reference for Awards: "The Master's Medal Awarded to any person in aviation, at any time, for an act or other achievement in aviation considered worthy of the Medal, as soon as the facts of the event are clear. (My bold). This is intended to be an immediate award, made at the discretion of the Master and on the advice of the Trophies and Awards Committee." We'll see, shall we? Now I see in a post above, The Royal Aeronautical Society has been graciously honoured to have had that most distinguished Aviatrix, TCT, consent to unveil a monument to Britain's first 'solo aviator', Samuel Cody. Aww ... Isn't that just so appropriate? p.s. Guess where that unveiling was .... Yes, Farnborough... Does that come close to answering your earlier question, JS? pps. I should add that the award SHE previously picked up at Farnborough was for Ewald's restoration of the Stearman. Enough, I say! |
Personally, I'm outraged at the lack of outrage. :)
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I have not read online one person in a forum who has even slightly attempted to defend TCT's apparent behaviour. Honour? I can't find a way to defend the "honour" she has demonstrated in respect of misrepresentation, self aggrandizement, and accepting awards seemingly undeserved for the Stearman flying. I have no knowledge nor comment about other piloting she may have undertaken. Airmanship? Chopped up a parked R44? Crashed on a planned departure over what appeared to be more or less level ground? Reported as requiring assistance in navigation while reported as using a GPS? I guess that other flights accomplished which were unremarkable are defendable, but then lots of pilots perform those every day, and without "history", so I'd rather defend them first. Promotion of GA? Well, maybe. She's drawing attention to GA. Embarrassing attention in my opinion, but some say any press is good press. If so, maybe we can thank her for making the rest of us look better by comparison, while reminding the public that little planes can fly big places. The big benefit from all of this? Quietly, some organizations are likely rethinking how awards and accolades are presented. That's a good thing - the people who most likely deserve them are more likely to receive them. |
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