In my mail today

[Deskpilot]

Subject: Gloom

 

Hi Doug

 

Just a quick note. I've been out of circulation for just under 4 weeks wandering around Canada and New England. Anyway I thought that you'd appreciate this. Grace and I were wandering around one of the open spaces in Toronto when and interesting noise caused me to look up. There wandering acdross the sky at less than a 1000 feet was a Lancaster. Have you ever had one of those incongruous moments when your eyes are seing something but you brain isn't registering, like seeing someone you know in an unlikely situation.........then, "Bloody 'ell it's a Lanc". There followed a mad dash into the rucksack for my camera but by the time I had it out the Lancaster had dissappeared behing one of the buildings leaving a healthy roar of four Merlins in it's wake.

 

I was devastated. There are only two air worthy Lancasters in the world and I knew one was in Canada and I missed it. I'll never get that chance again, not in this lifetime anyway. Total Gloom.

 

You know the other thing that surprised me.......... I was the only one to look up!

 

All the Best

 

Taff

 

 

[Tomo]

I think if you are feeling exceptionally rich, you can pay for a ride in a Lancaster over there...

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Deskpilot, I can understand your gloom. As a young boy growing up in Townsville I loved watching the Avro Lincolns from 10 Sqdn turning onto downwind around my house. They were close enough to Lancasters to me, with the same cockpit structure and the four throbbing Merlins. If they were low enough you could even see the crew in the cockpit as they banked. Four Merlins sure sounds a lot better than one, and one sounds delightfull !. I hope you get another chance one day. Cheers.............................

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Bummer! you really missed the moment. This Lanc is only allowed 50 hours a year flight time.

 

 

[Deskpilot]

Hey Guys, re-read my mail. I received this from my mate Taff. His Gloom, not mine. He and I were first introduced to Lancs during our air-borne radar training at RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire, UK. If I remember correctly, they had a Lanc' in the training hanger and I remember skinning my shin on the climb up to the cockpit. For those who haven't been in one, the wing main spar goes right through the fuselage and has to be climbed over.

 

 

[planedriver]

Hey Guys, re-read my mail. I received this from my mate Taff. His Gloom, not mine. He and I were first introduced to Lancs during our air-borne radar training at RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire, UK. If I remember correctly, they had a Lanc' in the training hanger and I remember skinning my shin on the climb up to the cockpit. For those who haven't been in one, the wing main spar goes right through the fuselage and has to be climbed over.

Hi Doug,

I was lucky enough to have a short ride in one God knows how many years ago at Biggin Hill. I can only guess that it must have been around 40-45yrs ago and it had been flown to the UK from either Australia or NZ, and arrived flying on 2 or 3 remaining good engines.

 

My Dad was involved in supplying camoflage paint for its restoration, it was then granted a special certificate of airworthiness to fly on to near Derby, where RR were going to overhaul the Merlins.

 

When I climbed up into the thing, I felt a bit claustrophobic as I first made my way to the rear gunners turret almost crawling throught a small tunnel for a look around, because all the other space was taken up for it's bomb load.

 

I only had a flight of about 5 or 10 minutes prior to to departing to Derby, but can remember the engines almost deafening me. I had a couple of photos laying around somewhere, taken with the old bakelite cased Kodak brownie 127 camera which I have'nt seen in ages.

 

If I come across them, i'll scan them and post them on the forums just out of general interest.

 

Presumeably the Lanc is still around, and it was being taken care of by the Historical Aircraft Society, I think it was called.

 

Memories!

 

Regards

 

Alan

 

 

[Yenn]

Alan. that was possibly the plane that had a book written about it. From memory "The Last Lanc" I got it from the library many years ago.

 

 

[planedriver]

That would have to be the one for sure. Was able to read a page from the book on an internet site, but that was all I got.

 

Can't wait to get my hands on a copy, as I did'nt even know the book existed.

 

Many thanks.

 

Alan