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With no apologies to Dame Vera Lynn for changing the words of her song from "bluebirds" to "Spitfires"...
I'm posting this for John, aka gamekeeper, and in remembrance of my late father's passing 11 years ago as he was a Flight Chief for Spitfires on the RAF's Eagle Squadron base in Debden before the Yanks in the 8th Air Force took over.
( Click on image to enlarge )
Spitfire 11.jpg
Oh my, what a beautiful plane!
Old No7
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Tha's a beautiful picture. Sounds like he was one of the Tough Ones.
Hopefully there are enough kids in high school sports, or who are growing up on farms or otherwise doing hard jobs as kids, that we have that much toughness when we need it the next time.
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Yes, truly a great plane. But, a plane with out a man is just so much steel and aluminum. Had the perfect marriage of man and machine not come together the Battle of Britain would have had a much different outcome. Most Americans have either forgotten or never learned that for a significant period during WWII it was Britain alone against the Axis.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
Thanks Darryl, beautiful picture beautiful aeroplane. We in old England plus the rest of the civilized world owe an awful lot to men like your late father, a debt we can never repay.
It is always a GREAT thrill to see and hear a Spitfire in the sky above Blighty......
If more men loved and cherished their wives as much as I love bacon the world would be a much better place.
jeepnik wrote: ↑Sun Feb 03, 2019 10:48 am
Yes, truly a great plane. But, a plane with out a man is just so much steel and aluminum. Had the perfect marriage of man and machine not come together the Battle of Britain would have had a much different outcome. Most Americans have either forgotten or never learned that for a significant period during WWII it was Britain alone against the Axis.
Before the USA joined the fray, there were American, Canadian, Australian, Polish and myriad other nationalities flying for England. Don't forget the thousands of lives and hundreds of ships we lost in the Lend Lease convoys that supplied the British and Soviet military, and the USA pilots that ferried aircraft made in America to the front lines.
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
Don’t knock aviation plywood. Made right it’s strong, flexible and easy to repair. If you think about it, today’s composites are laminated material not all that different ( manufacturing wise) than plywood.
There was this fellow Howard that made one heck of a big airplane out of wood. Some solid some plywood.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
I wasnt knocking plywood, it was a brilliant solution to the war effort.
As for the Spruce Goose yes it looks like an airplane BUT it never got out of ground effect so it didnt actually fly... still an accomplishment for the time.
GunnyMack wrote: ↑Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:06 pm
I wasnt knocking plywood, it was a brilliant solution to the war effort.
As for the Spruce Goose yes it looks like an airplane BUT it never got out of ground effect so it didnt actually fly... still an accomplishment for the time.
It flew...just not very far. A mile, but I think that's because it ran out of room in the bay.
GunnyMack wrote: ↑Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:06 pm
I wasnt knocking plywood, it was a brilliant solution to the war effort.
As for the Spruce Goose yes it looks like an airplane BUT it never got out of ground effect so it didnt actually fly... still an accomplishment for the time.
Well, it "flew" a heck of a lot further that the boys at Kitty Hawk did and that was considered flight so...
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
Not a distance thing it's an elevation thing. Wilber & Orville gained altitude. The Goose didnt get high enough for the wings to make enough lift to climb, it stayed in ground effect( the cushion of air under the wings) so technically not flight.
I know what ground effect is. However, the thing left the surface of the earth due to the aerodynamic effect of the relative wind over the surfaces of the airplane's wings, which was created by forward motion induced by the thrust produced by propellers powered by the plane's engines. Sounds like flying to me, ground effect or not!
All you smart educated guys have me bewildered... that's like saying a fanny burp is not a pelosi when in reality it is as the particles that come out are pelosi. The damm thing flew..it was in the air.
Always liked WW 2 fighters...the P-38 is my favorite as it shot down that jap admiral.---6
1st. Gen. Colt SAA’s, 1878 D.A.45 and a 38-55 Marlin TD
Yes it "flew" in ground effect. Sure the simulations say it could fly but it did not get out of ground effect so I did NOT technically fly! I am not disagreeing its was a technological feat. It was also ridiculously expensive and Hughs more or less went nuts because of it.
In the governments eyes it was a FAILURE for the taxpayers, military and the country.
I'm sure you're correct, it's just that in 20 something years of aviation experience, I was never exposed to the concept that an airplane can be off the ground, in controlled flight under it's own power, but not be flying. Never too old to learn something new!
The Tribute is fully intact. Gunny and I both honored his contribution. Settle down.
A Brit Officer wrote this march in honor of Eagle Squadron.. You can hear vestages of our National Anthem written into it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32lL_DO71vE
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
Well this did get off track from the high level intent to a separate point that turned argumentative on a lower standard. At the request of action from the OP I have removed the part he considered offensive. At his request I have also locked the topic. The flight/no flight discussion was interesting until it turned. Feel free to restart that discussion on a different thread.
In the High Desert of Southern Calif. ..."on the cutting edge of going back in time"...
