Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.
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Wonwings diary-A walk around my local airfield.
Wellesbourne 29-07-2006
Fortunate that we have a friendly local airfield,there is always something new to see and you cannot beat getting up close to see aircraft and record the detail.
G-AYMO Piper Aztec minus port engine seen outside the maintenance hangar.
The Aztec is quite a geriatric twin and seems to have made a comeback in popularity with enthusiasts.
Irish Robinson R-22 EI-DKI,the two Irish R-44's have now departed over the Irish sea to their new owners.
G-AYKK R-44 in a smart blue/white scheme.
Another new Robinson R-44 G-DYCE with Heliair in green with gold trim.
Active with the flying school is G-FOGY R-22.
On loan with Heliar from Tatenhill is G-VEYE R-22.
G-KTOL R-44 Clipper with its inflatable pontoons packed away above the skids.
Wellesbourne 29-07-2006
Fortunate that we have a friendly local airfield,there is always something new to see and you cannot beat getting up close to see aircraft and record the detail.
G-AYMO Piper Aztec minus port engine seen outside the maintenance hangar.
The Aztec is quite a geriatric twin and seems to have made a comeback in popularity with enthusiasts.
Irish Robinson R-22 EI-DKI,the two Irish R-44's have now departed over the Irish sea to their new owners.
G-AYKK R-44 in a smart blue/white scheme.
Another new Robinson R-44 G-DYCE with Heliair in green with gold trim.
Active with the flying school is G-FOGY R-22.
On loan with Heliar from Tatenhill is G-VEYE R-22.
G-KTOL R-44 Clipper with its inflatable pontoons packed away above the skids.
Wonwings diary-Alex Henshaw Percival Mew Gull replica earmarked for Cosford.
I have been informed that the static Percival Mew Gull replica of G-AEXF that Tony Ditheridge is producing for Alex Henshaw will probably not now be ready for display until the Spring of next year.
It will still go on display at Hendon, but it is ultimately destined for the new museum at Cosford.Personally, I hope it stays at Cosford too,as far too much stuff has been filched from Cosford for Hendon.Frankly, there is just too much concentrated at Hendon now with very little space available there,over concentration of exhibits is not a good idea.
I have been informed that the static Percival Mew Gull replica of G-AEXF that Tony Ditheridge is producing for Alex Henshaw will probably not now be ready for display until the Spring of next year.
It will still go on display at Hendon, but it is ultimately destined for the new museum at Cosford.Personally, I hope it stays at Cosford too,as far too much stuff has been filched from Cosford for Hendon.Frankly, there is just too much concentrated at Hendon now with very little space available there,over concentration of exhibits is not a good idea.
Wonwings diary-A walk around my local airfield.
G-SWEL Hughes 369 visiting Wellesbourne on 27-07-2006,note that the centre of the airfield is used for crops,some silly regulation that stops grass operations from the airfield,years ago there used to be some really good air rallies held here,however the compulsary crops have ended all of that.
N818Y American egistered Twin Comanche now appears to be based at Wellesbourne.
Transitting through Wellesbourne were these Jetstream propellers which are going for overhaul,they came down from Humberside.
G-SWEL Hughes 369 visiting Wellesbourne on 27-07-2006,note that the centre of the airfield is used for crops,some silly regulation that stops grass operations from the airfield,years ago there used to be some really good air rallies held here,however the compulsary crops have ended all of that.
N818Y American egistered Twin Comanche now appears to be based at Wellesbourne.
Transitting through Wellesbourne were these Jetstream propellers which are going for overhaul,they came down from Humberside.
Wonwings diary-A plastic bucket manufacturer that changed the modelling world.
The advent of what must today seem crude moulding equipment back in the fifties, was set to change the face of modelling forever,overnight boxes of roughly shaped wooden parts which were the basis of building up scale model aircraft would be obsolete,a small company that supplied plastic utensils such as buckets,mops and combs was set to change the way scale models were made by the masses,the aptly named 'Airfix' company were taken aback when a tiny pale blue Spitfire,sold by the million in only a few weeks of being offered for sale in plastic bags at all branches of F.W.Woolworths stores throughout the UK,special counter displays were allocated for the new kits,with a built up example directly in line with your eyes,quickly Airfix paints in awkward screw top bottles,paintbrushes and cement were on offer in order to complete your own personal masterpiece.
The subject matter just grew and grew into four engined bombers that nobody had ever attempted in kit form before,Airfix quickly became a multi million pound success story within weeks,months,years gradually producing a range of kits un-equalled ever before in modelling history.
Whilst design staff worked from a small shed in Bridlington producing brass masters ( not at the main factory ),artists elsewhere were hard at work doing the evocative kit header paintings and later box artwork to meet the demand,Airfix were quick to realise that including bombs and rockets would vastly increase sales !
The magic figure of 2/- two bob was enough to make a considerable profit,without putting off the pocket money brigade of young lads ( and lasses ) gradually a 3/- three bob range was added,then the bombers at a whopping 7/6 seven bob six pence.
As the model shops demanded that Airfix sell the kits to them as well,Woolworths fought hand and tooth to secure the first batches of kits,something that they did for many years before gradually other outlets managed to secure supplies to meet the ever increasing demands,slowly Woolworths lost total control over a very powerful Airfix company, who by now had made a move away from their old factory at Haldane Place where the first little grey Massey Ferguson premiums had evolved.
A small selection of original kits from Wonwings collection.
During the nineteen fifties a small factory based at Haldane Place,London called Airfix,was making plastic utensils and buckets for F.W.Woolworths,one day a company called Massey Ferguson contracted Airfix to make small scale models of their famous little grey tractors to give away as gifts for publicity purposes at sales centres,Airfix responded with a super little kit which was to be their very first venture into kit production and never really intended for direct sales to the public,shortly afterwards they made a 1=72nd scale kit of a Supermarine Spitfire ( said to have been copied from an Aurora kit ) moulded in pale blue plastic with abnormally thin wings and not representing any particular mark of the machine,this was quickly followed by a Gloster Gladiator,Supermarine S.6B,DH.88 Comet Racer,Sopwith Pup and a Westland Sikorsky S-55 helicopter in B.E.A markings,then some galleon kits,the models were a knockout and sold in their millions at branches of F.W.Woolworths who had a special counter for this product,every weekend thousands of schoolboys would flock to Woolworths clutching 2/- two old shillings for the smaller kits,3/- for the twins,and later 7/6 seven shillings and sixpence for the Lancaster,it is said that if you had invested heavily in Airfix at that time then you would have probably been very wealthy later on,in fact the company went from strength to strength producing an amazing range of model kits which quickly became an household name lilke 'Kodak' and 'Meccano' the range in fact became top heavy and some kits sold very badly such as the Fairey Rotadyne and the Bristol 192 helicopter,the successful designs carried the inevitable lemons which dragged on for many years.
As these words are written Airfix are part of a large company but still producing kits abroad striving to bring a new image and a brand new range of kits of exceptional detail.
The advent of what must today seem crude moulding equipment back in the fifties, was set to change the face of modelling forever,overnight boxes of roughly shaped wooden parts which were the basis of building up scale model aircraft would be obsolete,a small company that supplied plastic utensils such as buckets,mops and combs was set to change the way scale models were made by the masses,the aptly named 'Airfix' company were taken aback when a tiny pale blue Spitfire,sold by the million in only a few weeks of being offered for sale in plastic bags at all branches of F.W.Woolworths stores throughout the UK,special counter displays were allocated for the new kits,with a built up example directly in line with your eyes,quickly Airfix paints in awkward screw top bottles,paintbrushes and cement were on offer in order to complete your own personal masterpiece.
The subject matter just grew and grew into four engined bombers that nobody had ever attempted in kit form before,Airfix quickly became a multi million pound success story within weeks,months,years gradually producing a range of kits un-equalled ever before in modelling history.
Whilst design staff worked from a small shed in Bridlington producing brass masters ( not at the main factory ),artists elsewhere were hard at work doing the evocative kit header paintings and later box artwork to meet the demand,Airfix were quick to realise that including bombs and rockets would vastly increase sales !
The magic figure of 2/- two bob was enough to make a considerable profit,without putting off the pocket money brigade of young lads ( and lasses ) gradually a 3/- three bob range was added,then the bombers at a whopping 7/6 seven bob six pence.
As the model shops demanded that Airfix sell the kits to them as well,Woolworths fought hand and tooth to secure the first batches of kits,something that they did for many years before gradually other outlets managed to secure supplies to meet the ever increasing demands,slowly Woolworths lost total control over a very powerful Airfix company, who by now had made a move away from their old factory at Haldane Place where the first little grey Massey Ferguson premiums had evolved.
A small selection of original kits from Wonwings collection.
During the nineteen fifties a small factory based at Haldane Place,London called Airfix,was making plastic utensils and buckets for F.W.Woolworths,one day a company called Massey Ferguson contracted Airfix to make small scale models of their famous little grey tractors to give away as gifts for publicity purposes at sales centres,Airfix responded with a super little kit which was to be their very first venture into kit production and never really intended for direct sales to the public,shortly afterwards they made a 1=72nd scale kit of a Supermarine Spitfire ( said to have been copied from an Aurora kit ) moulded in pale blue plastic with abnormally thin wings and not representing any particular mark of the machine,this was quickly followed by a Gloster Gladiator,Supermarine S.6B,DH.88 Comet Racer,Sopwith Pup and a Westland Sikorsky S-55 helicopter in B.E.A markings,then some galleon kits,the models were a knockout and sold in their millions at branches of F.W.Woolworths who had a special counter for this product,every weekend thousands of schoolboys would flock to Woolworths clutching 2/- two old shillings for the smaller kits,3/- for the twins,and later 7/6 seven shillings and sixpence for the Lancaster,it is said that if you had invested heavily in Airfix at that time then you would have probably been very wealthy later on,in fact the company went from strength to strength producing an amazing range of model kits which quickly became an household name lilke 'Kodak' and 'Meccano' the range in fact became top heavy and some kits sold very badly such as the Fairey Rotadyne and the Bristol 192 helicopter,the successful designs carried the inevitable lemons which dragged on for many years.
As these words are written Airfix are part of a large company but still producing kits abroad striving to bring a new image and a brand new range of kits of exceptional detail.
G
Barry, What an amazing collection of kits that bring back so many memories. I really appreciate you sharing them with us and certainly look forward to seeing them in some sort of period setting.
I have always seriously thought about collecting these old bagged kits as well but I am now put off by the current prices of them. I don't see them as a monetary value more of a museum item that I can relate to as they are such a significant part of my past.
I have always seriously thought about collecting these old bagged kits as well but I am now put off by the current prices of them. I don't see them as a monetary value more of a museum item that I can relate to as they are such a significant part of my past.
G
I remember these kits hanging up in their plastic bags. It was something I could afford to buy as a lad. The last one I built was a yellow Zero or the american fighter that looks just a bit like it. Great days.....
Martin
Martin
G
Having now received my copy of Janes I have had a quick look through the models and found out the following:
1) This would not seem to match up with anything from Janes WWII offerings. The two funnels should narrow it down to Renown, King George V or Vanguard classes and none of them have that gun configuration.
2) Once again these don’t correspond to any configuration in Janes. I do think though that with the very vertical funnels and only a single turret fore and aft, they may be WWI period rather than WWII.
3a) This does tend to indicate a WWI vintage again as there were no four funnel ships in WWII in the Royal Navy.
3b) I think this is possibly correct although I haven’t found a picture yet but an armament layout matches the HMS Cardiff launched in 1917 and was a Ceres Class Light Cruiser. Just found a picture but not very clear, however the long slim hull configuration is definitely WWI so I think this is the second HMS Cardiff.
4) I think I have this one, mainly as it is an old WWI vessel still around for WWII. The configuration of this one matches up with WWI Queen Elizabeth Class of which there was HMS Malaya and HMS Barham still active in WWII. As the Barham is probably the more famous by being filmed exploding after being torpedoed if it was meant to be a specific vessel I would opt for that one.
5) Nothing obvious here again as the twin funneled vessels in WWII, mainly cruisers with two forward and one aft turret all had their crane between the funnels. There also wasn’t a vessel with the forward funnel larger than the aft with this turret configuration so my guess would be WWI again.
6) Although in profile this ship is very similar to the Uganda Class and the Swiftsure Class they both had multi-barreled turrets so no luck here either.
7) This does actually look quite close to a cruiser of the Devonshire/Suffolk/Norfolk Class and seems to match up to all the configuration points. It is also very similar to a Kent Class cruiser but I think the first choice is closest.
8) The most distinctive feature of this one seems to be the gun between the funnels which would make it HMS Faulknor, an Admiralty type destroyer, if we assume the blobs after the aft funnel and the aft superstructure are torpedo tubes.
9) I’m afraid I can’t find anything that matches up with this one.
So at the end of the day not what you would call a resounding success however two very positive things have come out of it. One is that I think the majority of these vessels are from WWI so a book dealing with that era would probably produce more matches and the second is that I have bought a superb book, which is a wealth of reference material and it cost me next to nothing. The original published price in ’89 was $80.00 and it cost me about seven pounds!!
1) This would not seem to match up with anything from Janes WWII offerings. The two funnels should narrow it down to Renown, King George V or Vanguard classes and none of them have that gun configuration.
2) Once again these don’t correspond to any configuration in Janes. I do think though that with the very vertical funnels and only a single turret fore and aft, they may be WWI period rather than WWII.
3a) This does tend to indicate a WWI vintage again as there were no four funnel ships in WWII in the Royal Navy.
3b) I think this is possibly correct although I haven’t found a picture yet but an armament layout matches the HMS Cardiff launched in 1917 and was a Ceres Class Light Cruiser. Just found a picture but not very clear, however the long slim hull configuration is definitely WWI so I think this is the second HMS Cardiff.
4) I think I have this one, mainly as it is an old WWI vessel still around for WWII. The configuration of this one matches up with WWI Queen Elizabeth Class of which there was HMS Malaya and HMS Barham still active in WWII. As the Barham is probably the more famous by being filmed exploding after being torpedoed if it was meant to be a specific vessel I would opt for that one.
5) Nothing obvious here again as the twin funneled vessels in WWII, mainly cruisers with two forward and one aft turret all had their crane between the funnels. There also wasn’t a vessel with the forward funnel larger than the aft with this turret configuration so my guess would be WWI again.
6) Although in profile this ship is very similar to the Uganda Class and the Swiftsure Class they both had multi-barreled turrets so no luck here either.
7) This does actually look quite close to a cruiser of the Devonshire/Suffolk/Norfolk Class and seems to match up to all the configuration points. It is also very similar to a Kent Class cruiser but I think the first choice is closest.
8) The most distinctive feature of this one seems to be the gun between the funnels which would make it HMS Faulknor, an Admiralty type destroyer, if we assume the blobs after the aft funnel and the aft superstructure are torpedo tubes.
9) I’m afraid I can’t find anything that matches up with this one.
So at the end of the day not what you would call a resounding success however two very positive things have come out of it. One is that I think the majority of these vessels are from WWI so a book dealing with that era would probably produce more matches and the second is that I have bought a superb book, which is a wealth of reference material and it cost me next to nothing. The original published price in ’89 was $80.00 and it cost me about seven pounds!!
Richard,you have excelled in my opinion and there are still more to come,see the latest offerings on posting #557 the fact that they are of WW1 vintage makes them even more special,so do not despair all that we need now is a period WW1 Janes to do the rest,I would like to thank you for taking the valuable time and trouble in sorting a least this first batch out,no easy task.
Wonwings diary-Vintage Diecast Ship Models needing identification.
Warship#12
Dinky Toy HMS Delhi,sadly fatigued
See how the metal just pushes itself outwards,the model will crumble into dust,this is why early Dinky Toys in good condition are scarce,there is nothing that can be done to save them.
Warship#13
Warship#12
Dinky Toy HMS Delhi,sadly fatigued
See how the metal just pushes itself outwards,the model will crumble into dust,this is why early Dinky Toys in good condition are scarce,there is nothing that can be done to save them.
Warship#13
Wonwings diary-First new production Blackhawk helicopter delivered.
With a new airframe, avionics and propulsion system, the UH-60M is the latest and most modern in a series of Black Hawk variants that Sikorsky has been delivering to the army since 1978.
The UH-60M will provide reduced pilot workload, increased lift, better protection and enhanced survivability,Jeff Pino,a retired U.S. Army Master Aviator with 26 years combined active, reserve and National Guard duty outlined the facts on this new generation combat helicopter. The new UH-60M Black Hawk is ideally suited for its mission and provides a safer, more responsive, deployable, versatile and effective weapon system for the army.
The army currently has more than 1,500 Black Hawk variants with more than 4.6 million combined flight hours in inventory, constituting the world's
largest and most battle-tested Black Hawk fleet. The UH-60M variant is slated to replace older Black Hawks and form the foundation of the army's future utility aircraft fleet.
The Black Hawk is a great aircraft, the nation's battlefield transport of choice,With the UH-60M, the army and Sikorsky are ready to build upon that tradition and ensure the Black Hawk will continue in that role for generations to come.
The UH-60M is currently in Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), the final phase in a defense acquisition program before a full-rate production decision is made. A decision by the Pentagon and army to enter full rate production of 1,200 or more UH-60M Black Hawks is scheduled for 2007. Exact procurement numbers year-to-year and across the life of the program will be determined by budget authorizations and specific contract awards.
The initial LRIP aircraft delivered today is the second 'new-build' UH-60M Black Hawk. Seven of the eight UH-60Ms produced in the previous Integration
and Qualification phase of the program were made from older aircraft taken from the fleet and rebuilt to the new UH-60M configuration. The eight IQ aircraft have compiled more than 850 flight hours since September 2003.
The first and second LRIP aircraft along with four of the IQ aircraft will enter army Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) in October. The army plans to equip a combat unit with the UH-60M shortly after completion of OT&E.
The UH-60M provides additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, improved survivability, and improved producibility.
The UH-60M's new composite spar wide-chord blade will provide 227 kg (500 lb) more lift than the current UH-60L blade. The new General Electric T700-GE-701D engine will add more horsepower and allow additional lift during external lift (sling load)operations.
The new cockpit contains four Rockwell Collins' multi-function displays providing primary flight, navigation, and tactical information including a fully integrated digital map, Blue Force Tracking, Stormscope lightning sensor, radar/laser warning system and a fully coupled autopilot. The narrower cockpit instrument panel will also significantly improve chin
window visibility.
The UH-60M represents the army's third standard baseline Black Hawk version in the 28-year production history of the program. Sikorsky delivered the UH-60A Black Hawk from 1978 until 1989. Sikorsky has been delivering the UH-60L since 1989 and is nearing the end of production of that variant for the army as it transitions to the UH-60M.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacturing and service. United Technologies Corp of Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
With a new airframe, avionics and propulsion system, the UH-60M is the latest and most modern in a series of Black Hawk variants that Sikorsky has been delivering to the army since 1978.
The UH-60M will provide reduced pilot workload, increased lift, better protection and enhanced survivability,Jeff Pino,a retired U.S. Army Master Aviator with 26 years combined active, reserve and National Guard duty outlined the facts on this new generation combat helicopter. The new UH-60M Black Hawk is ideally suited for its mission and provides a safer, more responsive, deployable, versatile and effective weapon system for the army.
The army currently has more than 1,500 Black Hawk variants with more than 4.6 million combined flight hours in inventory, constituting the world's
largest and most battle-tested Black Hawk fleet. The UH-60M variant is slated to replace older Black Hawks and form the foundation of the army's future utility aircraft fleet.
The Black Hawk is a great aircraft, the nation's battlefield transport of choice,With the UH-60M, the army and Sikorsky are ready to build upon that tradition and ensure the Black Hawk will continue in that role for generations to come.
The UH-60M is currently in Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), the final phase in a defense acquisition program before a full-rate production decision is made. A decision by the Pentagon and army to enter full rate production of 1,200 or more UH-60M Black Hawks is scheduled for 2007. Exact procurement numbers year-to-year and across the life of the program will be determined by budget authorizations and specific contract awards.
The initial LRIP aircraft delivered today is the second 'new-build' UH-60M Black Hawk. Seven of the eight UH-60Ms produced in the previous Integration
and Qualification phase of the program were made from older aircraft taken from the fleet and rebuilt to the new UH-60M configuration. The eight IQ aircraft have compiled more than 850 flight hours since September 2003.
The first and second LRIP aircraft along with four of the IQ aircraft will enter army Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) in October. The army plans to equip a combat unit with the UH-60M shortly after completion of OT&E.
The UH-60M provides additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, improved survivability, and improved producibility.
The UH-60M's new composite spar wide-chord blade will provide 227 kg (500 lb) more lift than the current UH-60L blade. The new General Electric T700-GE-701D engine will add more horsepower and allow additional lift during external lift (sling load)operations.
The new cockpit contains four Rockwell Collins' multi-function displays providing primary flight, navigation, and tactical information including a fully integrated digital map, Blue Force Tracking, Stormscope lightning sensor, radar/laser warning system and a fully coupled autopilot. The narrower cockpit instrument panel will also significantly improve chin
window visibility.
The UH-60M represents the army's third standard baseline Black Hawk version in the 28-year production history of the program. Sikorsky delivered the UH-60A Black Hawk from 1978 until 1989. Sikorsky has been delivering the UH-60L since 1989 and is nearing the end of production of that variant for the army as it transitions to the UH-60M.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacturing and service. United Technologies Corp of Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
G
Well Barry, you've got a lot to answer for here, I've now got the bug and so consequently bought a copy of:
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921
from Amazon USA today.
Once again second hand but a bit steeper this time at $56.00 but still a bargain compared to a new one. Anyway lets see if this volume can shed any further light on some of the missing ships!! I don't know how I'm going to get the things home as the first one weighs a ton!!
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921
from Amazon USA today.
Once again second hand but a bit steeper this time at $56.00 but still a bargain compared to a new one. Anyway lets see if this volume can shed any further light on some of the missing ships!! I don't know how I'm going to get the things home as the first one weighs a ton!!
I was just thinking the same yesterday,could this be the start of 'Bunkers Ocean waves library' ?
Was quite surprised to hear that you had them delivered on ship,they do weigh a ton,the book was still a steal even at that price,thank you for the assistance with the identification,more pictures to come.
Was quite surprised to hear that you had them delivered on ship,they do weigh a ton,the book was still a steal even at that price,thank you for the assistance with the identification,more pictures to come.
Wonwings diary-Swing or sink ? When action could save your life.
A while back we showed a photograph of a pilot standing on the wheel of his Piper J.3C Cub and tinkering with the engine,the picture appeared in our ever popular 'Captions quiz' section and brought forth some very interesting suitable captions,apparently the idea of craking over the propeller of a Cub in flight is nothing new,in fact only recently Maurice Kirk on his England to Australia flight had his engine quit over the sea,he unstrapped himself and opened the door and with his feet on the tyre pulled the engine over,it thankfully burst into life,something he says was possible because the bores on the engine were so sloppy ! anyway the incident propbably saved his life and those of others who have attempted this trick,here is another story related to swinging Cub props in flight-
Not many years ago, an ex-marine named Walter 0. Geary was up in a PiperCub for his final check ride before becoming a civilian pilot, his instructor, Roland Maheu, in the front seat. As a marine, Geary naturally had lived an adventurous life, and, as far as he was concerned, Maheu was just another pilot who couldn't possibly know what real danger and excitement were. The engine suddenly stopped, and there they were, 2,500 feet up over a sea of green forest near Auburn, Maine, with no place to land.
"What'll we do?" Geary yelled.
"Get out and crank it!" Maheu grinned back at the Marine.
"I'm serious!" Geary retorted. His flight test forgotten, he was visualizing what would happen when the Cub came down in the midst of a clump of pines."Well," Maheu replied, "so am I!"
As the marine watched in amazement, Maheu unfastened his safety belt,flipped the door open and swung out, balancing on the landing gear and holding onto the wing strut with one hand. Then with the other he reached forward and gripped the propeller blade from behind.
"Contact!" he yelled.
Geary turned on the ignition switch, Maheu snapped down on the prop and in a moment it was purring in a steady rhythm. Maheu climbed back inside,and after admonishing his student pilot to be sure to use carburetor heat next time he started a glide on a humid day, to prevent icing, they flew back to the airport and landed.
As shocking as the stunt appeared, it was old stuff to Maheu, who had been doing it for years as a barnstorming act. Only once did he find himself in a tight spot, and that was when the propeller came to rest in a vertical position, out of reach. By turning over and reaching his leg out as far as he could, he caught the top blade with his foot and pulled it through until the engine came to life."
A while back we showed a photograph of a pilot standing on the wheel of his Piper J.3C Cub and tinkering with the engine,the picture appeared in our ever popular 'Captions quiz' section and brought forth some very interesting suitable captions,apparently the idea of craking over the propeller of a Cub in flight is nothing new,in fact only recently Maurice Kirk on his England to Australia flight had his engine quit over the sea,he unstrapped himself and opened the door and with his feet on the tyre pulled the engine over,it thankfully burst into life,something he says was possible because the bores on the engine were so sloppy ! anyway the incident propbably saved his life and those of others who have attempted this trick,here is another story related to swinging Cub props in flight-
Not many years ago, an ex-marine named Walter 0. Geary was up in a PiperCub for his final check ride before becoming a civilian pilot, his instructor, Roland Maheu, in the front seat. As a marine, Geary naturally had lived an adventurous life, and, as far as he was concerned, Maheu was just another pilot who couldn't possibly know what real danger and excitement were. The engine suddenly stopped, and there they were, 2,500 feet up over a sea of green forest near Auburn, Maine, with no place to land.
"What'll we do?" Geary yelled.
"Get out and crank it!" Maheu grinned back at the Marine.
"I'm serious!" Geary retorted. His flight test forgotten, he was visualizing what would happen when the Cub came down in the midst of a clump of pines."Well," Maheu replied, "so am I!"
As the marine watched in amazement, Maheu unfastened his safety belt,flipped the door open and swung out, balancing on the landing gear and holding onto the wing strut with one hand. Then with the other he reached forward and gripped the propeller blade from behind.
"Contact!" he yelled.
Geary turned on the ignition switch, Maheu snapped down on the prop and in a moment it was purring in a steady rhythm. Maheu climbed back inside,and after admonishing his student pilot to be sure to use carburetor heat next time he started a glide on a humid day, to prevent icing, they flew back to the airport and landed.
As shocking as the stunt appeared, it was old stuff to Maheu, who had been doing it for years as a barnstorming act. Only once did he find himself in a tight spot, and that was when the propeller came to rest in a vertical position, out of reach. By turning over and reaching his leg out as far as he could, he caught the top blade with his foot and pulled it through until the engine came to life."
Wonwings diary-Building and improving a Spitfire kit.
Jewels from a sour purse.
Having just completed the group build Spitfire that should have been completed back in April 2006, it was time to reflect on exactly what has been achieved with what is probably the most spartan of all Sitfire kits currently on the market,many would probably have consigned the heavy clydside rivetted mouldings to the trash bin without even considering the hard work getting rid of those rivet heads alone ! the Israeli company Starfix are not exactly known for the best kits available today in an intense detailed scale model marketplace,but always one for a challenge I set about with a few sheets of wet and dry paper and a razor saw to see what could be made of this model,and above all make something a bit different.
The kit came cheap as chips all of £1.50 together with another Spit kit and a Me.109 for the same price,so even if things went bottoms up I would loose very little,so the long job of rubbing off those rivets came about,two weeks of it in fact working on and off with other projects on the go,inspection of the cockpit showed very little detail whatsoever,well there was a seat of sorts ? so before glueing the fuselage halves together I set about making instrument panel and bezels,control column,throttle lever,rudder pedals and dummy former where the instrument panel was anchored on the full sized machine,pizza dish metal cut with a pair of nail scissors was used to fabricate most of the bits ala as commercial etched fittings except this little lot cost me a delicious real Italian pizza as a by product to get the metal and not an arm and a leg !
You can simulate rivets,fold it over onto itself easily and above all bend and stick it easily with a miniscule drop of cyno,and when painted up it looks excellent,the cockpit work took me about another week working from a photograph in an old wartime publicity publication,the cockpit canopy benefited from a dunk in Johnsons Klear/Future to give it that real optical look after first trimming carefull with Swiss files to get it to fit,framework was masking tape pre-painted onto a piece of glass and cut into strips with a razor blade,then sealed again with more Future,a now time proven way of getting the right effect.
The awful gun shrouds which were not even in line were ground away with a Dremel tool and then polished out with fine wet and dry,a few blemishes sorted out with Squadron green putty,the undercarriage legs needed extending a little with fine brass tube pushed over the ends of the legs and trimmed off with the razor saw and given the correct rake,the wing is as good as I could get it after reshaping the root ends to bring the wings in line,at one stage I almost resorted to making new wings it would have probably been easier in the long run but I got there in the end.
After weeks sitting unpainted I decided to make the colours a bit different on this one,everyone builds R.A.F Spits,I have plenty of those so opted for a blue example when in service with the Royal Thai Air Force,well why not be a bit different ? after all nobody else would be mad enough to rework a Starfix kit so lets celebrate the occasion with a colourful model ! so I found the right shade of blue in my Tamiya stock and applied a precious set of decals obtained as a door give-away at a long gone and forgotton IPMS nationals meeting,you just cannot beat cherry picking and mixing your decals from the spares box,so here are the results of my labours,probably a unique model of a Spitfire 21,another one for the collection,which despite the hard work was enjoyable to see what could be achieved,she is far from perfect but hopefully conveys the clean lines of this beautiful aircraft,there are plenty of other blue painted Spits to model,including the THUM Flight ( Thermal & Humidity research ) aircraft that were based at R.A.F Woodvale,those were the well known PRU Cerulean blue of a dark hue,those were to be the last Spitfires in Royal Air Force service.
You do not get many Spitfires over my house but here I have created one,the building just visible in the background is an old prison.
Jewels from a sour purse.
Having just completed the group build Spitfire that should have been completed back in April 2006, it was time to reflect on exactly what has been achieved with what is probably the most spartan of all Sitfire kits currently on the market,many would probably have consigned the heavy clydside rivetted mouldings to the trash bin without even considering the hard work getting rid of those rivet heads alone ! the Israeli company Starfix are not exactly known for the best kits available today in an intense detailed scale model marketplace,but always one for a challenge I set about with a few sheets of wet and dry paper and a razor saw to see what could be made of this model,and above all make something a bit different.
The kit came cheap as chips all of £1.50 together with another Spit kit and a Me.109 for the same price,so even if things went bottoms up I would loose very little,so the long job of rubbing off those rivets came about,two weeks of it in fact working on and off with other projects on the go,inspection of the cockpit showed very little detail whatsoever,well there was a seat of sorts ? so before glueing the fuselage halves together I set about making instrument panel and bezels,control column,throttle lever,rudder pedals and dummy former where the instrument panel was anchored on the full sized machine,pizza dish metal cut with a pair of nail scissors was used to fabricate most of the bits ala as commercial etched fittings except this little lot cost me a delicious real Italian pizza as a by product to get the metal and not an arm and a leg !
You can simulate rivets,fold it over onto itself easily and above all bend and stick it easily with a miniscule drop of cyno,and when painted up it looks excellent,the cockpit work took me about another week working from a photograph in an old wartime publicity publication,the cockpit canopy benefited from a dunk in Johnsons Klear/Future to give it that real optical look after first trimming carefull with Swiss files to get it to fit,framework was masking tape pre-painted onto a piece of glass and cut into strips with a razor blade,then sealed again with more Future,a now time proven way of getting the right effect.
The awful gun shrouds which were not even in line were ground away with a Dremel tool and then polished out with fine wet and dry,a few blemishes sorted out with Squadron green putty,the undercarriage legs needed extending a little with fine brass tube pushed over the ends of the legs and trimmed off with the razor saw and given the correct rake,the wing is as good as I could get it after reshaping the root ends to bring the wings in line,at one stage I almost resorted to making new wings it would have probably been easier in the long run but I got there in the end.
After weeks sitting unpainted I decided to make the colours a bit different on this one,everyone builds R.A.F Spits,I have plenty of those so opted for a blue example when in service with the Royal Thai Air Force,well why not be a bit different ? after all nobody else would be mad enough to rework a Starfix kit so lets celebrate the occasion with a colourful model ! so I found the right shade of blue in my Tamiya stock and applied a precious set of decals obtained as a door give-away at a long gone and forgotton IPMS nationals meeting,you just cannot beat cherry picking and mixing your decals from the spares box,so here are the results of my labours,probably a unique model of a Spitfire 21,another one for the collection,which despite the hard work was enjoyable to see what could be achieved,she is far from perfect but hopefully conveys the clean lines of this beautiful aircraft,there are plenty of other blue painted Spits to model,including the THUM Flight ( Thermal & Humidity research ) aircraft that were based at R.A.F Woodvale,those were the well known PRU Cerulean blue of a dark hue,those were to be the last Spitfires in Royal Air Force service.
You do not get many Spitfires over my house but here I have created one,the building just visible in the background is an old prison.
Wonwings diary-Building a model time warp-The Percival Proctor.
Percival Proctor
This model of a Percival Proctor was modified from a Frog kit,the kit is basically modelled around a military Proctor 5 which the Royal Air Force used as radio and navigation trainers during World War 2,the bulky radio set was stowed behind the front seats and took up a lot of room,this particular mark of aircraft was designed by Percivals in response to a military requirement to get radio operators through the course as quickly as possible,in order to get the order through the aircraft used the same wings as the pre war Vega Gull but there the difference ended ,where as the Vega Gull was a beautiful touring aeroplane with docile handling characteristics the extra weight of the radio gear in the military version made her tricky to handle and a few were lost in spinning accidents.
A much nicer aircraft was the Proctor 3 which was virtually akin to the pre war Vega Gull except for a new wider more roomier cockpit,my model depicts an aircraft dear to my heart as I used to maintain this particular machine G-ANPP owned by pet shop owner Harry Fanshawe who flew her all over including an epic flight from the UK to South Africa and back,Harry told me that the Gipsy Queen engine never missed a beat the whole of the trip and he loved this aircraft which served him well,on another occasion whilst on a flight to France from the UK he hit fog near Le Bourget and had to put her down in a field,when the fog cleared the next day the aircraft was literally feet away from a ditch ! he had to hire a lorry and a crane to lift her and with a gendarme escort trucked the Proctor to a proper airfield to take off again,as the lorry took the aircraft through the streets he sat in the cockpit waving to the French public looking at the strange site in curiosity.
So back to my model,the decision to use the Proctor 5 kit and do my best to make her into a Proctor 3 was taken,with a bit of slicing and filing plus the inevitable filler, she evolved into my own miniature model and is a passable likeness to G-ANPP as I once knew her,with this aircraft I worked late into the night to keep her flying for her proud owner,she was made from plywood and spruce covered in fabric,that is the way that they built them then as the pressed aluminium aircraft had yet to arrive on the scene.
Anyway here she is in all her glory in flight once again over my house here ! it is just like turning the clock back 45 years with these re-enactments in miniature.
You can hear that Gipsy Queen,G-ANPP flying at low level,what a pretty colourscheme.
Duck ! off again on another cross country trip.
Percival Proctor
This model of a Percival Proctor was modified from a Frog kit,the kit is basically modelled around a military Proctor 5 which the Royal Air Force used as radio and navigation trainers during World War 2,the bulky radio set was stowed behind the front seats and took up a lot of room,this particular mark of aircraft was designed by Percivals in response to a military requirement to get radio operators through the course as quickly as possible,in order to get the order through the aircraft used the same wings as the pre war Vega Gull but there the difference ended ,where as the Vega Gull was a beautiful touring aeroplane with docile handling characteristics the extra weight of the radio gear in the military version made her tricky to handle and a few were lost in spinning accidents.
A much nicer aircraft was the Proctor 3 which was virtually akin to the pre war Vega Gull except for a new wider more roomier cockpit,my model depicts an aircraft dear to my heart as I used to maintain this particular machine G-ANPP owned by pet shop owner Harry Fanshawe who flew her all over including an epic flight from the UK to South Africa and back,Harry told me that the Gipsy Queen engine never missed a beat the whole of the trip and he loved this aircraft which served him well,on another occasion whilst on a flight to France from the UK he hit fog near Le Bourget and had to put her down in a field,when the fog cleared the next day the aircraft was literally feet away from a ditch ! he had to hire a lorry and a crane to lift her and with a gendarme escort trucked the Proctor to a proper airfield to take off again,as the lorry took the aircraft through the streets he sat in the cockpit waving to the French public looking at the strange site in curiosity.
So back to my model,the decision to use the Proctor 5 kit and do my best to make her into a Proctor 3 was taken,with a bit of slicing and filing plus the inevitable filler, she evolved into my own miniature model and is a passable likeness to G-ANPP as I once knew her,with this aircraft I worked late into the night to keep her flying for her proud owner,she was made from plywood and spruce covered in fabric,that is the way that they built them then as the pressed aluminium aircraft had yet to arrive on the scene.
Anyway here she is in all her glory in flight once again over my house here ! it is just like turning the clock back 45 years with these re-enactments in miniature.
You can hear that Gipsy Queen,G-ANPP flying at low level,what a pretty colourscheme.
Duck ! off again on another cross country trip.
Wonwings diary-Fairey Fulmar,Fairey Swordfish & Westland Wapiti.
Fairey Fulmar
This model of the Fairey Fulmar was built from a Vac-Form kit,I believe it may have been Rareplanes now long since out of production,these old vac form kits can sometimes be picked up for a few pounds in those boxes that appear underneath the tables at model meets,usually unloved and with tatty packaging and a bit dusty,the amount of extra work in my opinion is well worth it,to see how they are put together then see the tutorial that was done a while back on the subject,place Vacforms in the search box and various material will emerge from our trusty and well used archives.
Fairey Swordfish.
This one is the original Airfix offering,it came in a box of bits looking very sorry for itself with broken wings and no undercarriage,so I made up a scratch built undercarriage,built up a jig to re-glue the wings and generally tidied up the paintwork,so the model was saved from the scrap bin,probably not the most fine of Swordfish models but one with great historical significance.
Westland Wapiti.
This model was built around the bits from a Frog Westland Wallace,the fuselage is scratch built from Plastikard,wire and bits from the scrap box,it is my second attempt at this important subject.
Fairey Fulmar
This model of the Fairey Fulmar was built from a Vac-Form kit,I believe it may have been Rareplanes now long since out of production,these old vac form kits can sometimes be picked up for a few pounds in those boxes that appear underneath the tables at model meets,usually unloved and with tatty packaging and a bit dusty,the amount of extra work in my opinion is well worth it,to see how they are put together then see the tutorial that was done a while back on the subject,place Vacforms in the search box and various material will emerge from our trusty and well used archives.
Fairey Swordfish.
This one is the original Airfix offering,it came in a box of bits looking very sorry for itself with broken wings and no undercarriage,so I made up a scratch built undercarriage,built up a jig to re-glue the wings and generally tidied up the paintwork,so the model was saved from the scrap bin,probably not the most fine of Swordfish models but one with great historical significance.
Westland Wapiti.
This model was built around the bits from a Frog Westland Wallace,the fuselage is scratch built from Plastikard,wire and bits from the scrap box,it is my second attempt at this important subject.
G
Lovely models Barry and the photo's do them justice. They make me want to start making some planes again but I can't allow myself to be distracted from my steam ship yet!!
When I think though of the number of model planes I have made over the years. When I was a teenager I gave a carrier bag of them to a neighbours young son to play with!!
When I think though of the number of model planes I have made over the years. When I was a teenager I gave a carrier bag of them to a neighbours young son to play with!!
G
Barry it may be no ways near your amount but i worked it out between the ages of 8 untill 14 i built 204 model kits mostly airfix and frog 1/72 what is so very sad is each one ended up either given away or shot up with a .22 air rifle
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