Phil Perry

Peter, I've no doubt that any of us here could have collated, edited and constructed that article in a far more professional manner. . .and we're only Amateurs ! I had to giggle a bit at the 'Descriptions' of photographs which you are looking at anyway, good for those unsighted readers I guess. . .'Here we see a smashed up plane on the ground on fire with it's tail intact,. . Er, yeah, . . .I can See that mate. . . but at least Sometimes these DM historical pieces are quite good, with the people in the photographs actually named, which needs a bit of research and good editing. But others,. . .well, after all, this IS an advertisement for a Book release really,. . .perhaps the author didn't bung them enough ? . . . The most thought provoking part I thought was the mention of the two Vampire collision at an air show, where Both pilots ejected, but the Navigators didn't or couldn't. . . and were helpless witnesses to their own doom. . . Very Sad that. Some more black and whites for my Archive anyhow. .

The article has a few editorial errors regrettably, in subject and syntax. One sayng that the Acceleration was not that good, and following this with the statement lower down the page saying tht the Acceleration was 'Generous' ? ? The worst 'Boo Boo' being the video at the end showing what is purported to be a DH Vampire, but is obviously a USAF Propeller driven Lightning. . . They do not seem to have any aviation savvy copywriters at the DM. OR, they slapped it together in a hurry ! Some nice pictures though. Pictures show iconic British fighter jet the Vampire | Daily Mail Online

I know EXACTLY what you mean Soul Brother. . . .though I think we are a rapidly vanishing breed of Hunter Gatherers and protectors of the status quo mate. . . . .

1) If the Ladiees who read comments upon this site live in Australia, . . .then they KNOW what we blokes are like ( Generally ) 2) If they were in any way concerned about the way we discuss things,. . . .then I feel sure that they would have complained about us Neanderthal mysogonist, sexist pigs by now, and complaimed to the management .. . . . Most of the Ladies I've seen on here are pilots themselves, and terrific human beings too. Please do not Pre-empt what 'They' might see as 'Sexist'. . . .and denigrating them as people. None of the Ladies that I personally know ever do this. . . .only Pink / green haired, recently 'Indoctrinated' ladies at universities with nose piercings and an indoctrinated Anti-Male attitude, who have no real life experience whatsoever, . . . . ever say crap like that.

We on his forum will not accept filth Sir. . . . Be advised. . . .

I flew a Gyrocopter from a Welsh coast airfield ( CAERNARFON ) to my base airfield over Ten years ago., at the behest of a friend who had purchased it, but had not yet had any training. ( WHY do people do this ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ) Why buy a car if you have never had any driving experience ?. . . OK, we'll leave that for a moment. . . . They are not exactly difficult to fly. . . even women with big, largely uncovered boobies can do it. . . ( See other threads ) The aircraft was a Two seat Gyro, and I had got over 30 hours on Gyros at the time, ( Plus 298 Hrs on assorted Helicopters, spread over 35 years ! ) ) BUT I didn't know that my PPL did NOT cover that type of toy flying machine at the time. I know, I know. . .I should have checked. . . ..easy to say after the fact innit ? I flew the toy back to base ( 170 NM ) with only one refuelling stop and no drama.. . .any decent pilot with a half brain can fly these things. . .with certain caveats in mind that is. . . .( ie, keep the rotor positively loaded at all times, you are flying due to constant autorotation. NEVER make a control input which could slow the rotor speed ( ie, push the stick forward ! ) Maintain this autorotative condition and you can fly in weather that would ground anything else that you've ever flown. I think that they are terrific fun. . . .I am sorry that our airfield had banned them due to the Helicopter training school we had. . .causing so much bloody grief with the neighbours, due to hovering practice at the wrong end of the field, right next to a housing estate, against an agreement not to do so. . . Problem is,. . .Joe Public thinks that anything with rotors is a Helicopter,. .. and since the local council have banned Helos, they don't know the difference between helicopters and gyros. . .so our management have, reluctantly had to ban them as well. . . .( Bollox ) I am very unpopular with the management with regard to my objections to this Gyroban. . . .I MAY get banned from the site. . . .which would be ironic in a way,. . .since I started the place off in the first instance. in 1991 . . Matey finally found a training organization who were prepared to teach him to fly,. . but it was Eighty five nautical South of our field. Following my 'Ferry' job, when the local CFI told me that I needed a 'G' licence to even sit in the thing,. . . .a 40 Hour course, even though I had helicopter and PPL/I R ( aeroplanes) and Wobbly wing toys as well. . .there is NO exemption nor allowance towards the 'G' licence.. .( What a load of total Bollox ) . . .I said 'Feck that mate' and I refused to fly it to his training base, and regrettably, the training base refused to send someone to come and fetch it. End of story ?. . .he sold it on Ebay for a fraction of what he paid for it.. . .Sad really. He COULD have bought some sort of trailer and taken it by road to the Gyro training place,. . .but he obviously was not that committed. . . I really don't mind helping folks a bit, ( Especially when I get to ferry other peoples flying appliances and they're paying for the gas. . .tee hee ) . . .I had help when I started flying. . .but if they don't want to make a bit of effort to help themselves then I give up.

S'alright OT. . .I know what you mean really. . . !. (. . )

Oh dear, . . it takes a couple of days just to walk around Wittman Field. . .and about ten minutes to walk around ours ! ! hope you won't be too disappointed !

Got an early phone call yesterday morning, a Film / Media company wanted to make a documentary / educational Prog involving some schoolkids. They had been informed that we have a 7/8ths scale SE5A on the site and asked if they could include it in their production. I had a word with the Airfield manager, - he who owns the SE5A,. . and he agreed to let them come and see what we could do for them at the Club airfield . . .Good Publicity ?. . .who knows. . . A minibus arrived in the morning, loaded with 15 schoolkids of mixed gender, by the look of them, around 11 years of age. They were all dressed in WW1 period costume / Military uniforms and supervised by a female and a bloke teacher. We dragged out the SE5, and they took lots of footage over then next four hours, of every one of the kids in turn sitting in the SE5 chocked with engine running at idle, with leather helmet, goggles and a silk scarf blowing in the propwash. . . I asked the Manager about the safety angle here, and he said he'd locked the throttle with a piece of folded ally, and a 'Wizz' pin holding it in place, which he always employed when hand swinging the Rolls Royce engine himself prior to flying. . ( Got to admit that I really wasn't happy about this. . .but that's just me - not with lots of NON -PILOTS in the cockpit of a single seat aircraft with the engine running. . .) and he'd banged a 3 ft star spike into the ground and fastened the tailskid to this with a steel chain.. basically, that aircraft was going nowhere. But I said, as Airfield Safety Officer. "Are you Sure ?". . .he looked worried ! . . . The film company finally packed up their kit and the whole process took around five and a half hours, they had multiple cameras working, but I decided NOT to take any photographs for you lot, as, taking pictures of young kids CAN. . .be misinterpreted these days. . .! We are waiting now to see the final production, and when possible, I will post it here for your enjoyment. . .

I often wondered if losses could have been fewer if the Lancs had two pilots and dual controls A La B-17. . . I imagine that we shall / can never know Turbs. . . . ***Edited to add * * * 'Chalkie' told me his 'Best Pilot' was a nickname he had from his RAF friends who just Couldn't believe his 'Luck' He made the 'Best Pilot' comment with tongue firmly pressed into cheek . . .He was one of the few who really did not mind talking about his experiences. . . I liked the one where he was 'Corkscrewing' to get out of a searchlight cone over some target at around 25,000 feet, I think he said 'Mannheim' ? and after he lost the searchlights, he pulled up too hard in pitch darkness and stalled. . he managed to get the Lanc to actually 'Spin' . . which was NOT his intention. He said that I would not understand this, ( ? ) but he had to use engine thrust on one side and throttle back on the other. . ( assymetrics ? ) to recover it, as most of his twin rudder surfaces had been peppered by Flak. . . Damn, the chap could have written a book ! But he was not the 'Eddificated' sort, his lineage being a long line of Coal face workers in Cannock chase pits. . .( there were 27 of them around here during the Forties ) The saddest news was when I asked his Son if I could have his logbooks if the family didn't wish to keep them. His Son waved away my request, saying that . . " Oh, I don't know what's happened to them' . . . .( A$$hole ) He had not visited his Dad for 20 years. . . Grrrrr.

My Mate 'Chalkie' down at the 'Dog and Duck' pub. . .now renamed. . ( And Chalkie's funeral was nearly 3 years ago. . .) .used to tell me that HE was one of the Best pilots in WW2, ( 1943 to 45 ) as he Never got shot down, and all his Lancasters returned to England,.although not always at the same base ( ! ) with very few dead crew, and never had to crash land. He then operated in the Berlin Airlift flying Dakotas. I feel sad that I never asked if he'd ever barrel rolled a Lanc. . .( ! )

That sounds rather risque,. . . . ( got a link ? ) SERIOUSLY NOW. . . .There are Gay people who fly, and use this forum along with us hairy butch he - men.. I am sure that Gay people are not all as self-deprecating, and possessed of an evil sense of humour as my Brother in Law. I do NOT see why the pi$$ should be taken. . .

I had not seen this before,. . .this bloke could fly anything it seems. . . Shame about the annoying music track !

Titisee indeed. . .YES. . .I've seen all of her vids. . .I was wondering how long it would be before someone noticed that obvious bit of useful innuendo. . .!

I was taught to land like that by my Ex-Hurricane pilot 'Uncle George' in a DH82A in the very early 1960s. . He said that's the way we did it in the RAF so It's good enough for you. It certainly works for many types of taildragger anyway. I can only assume he was referring loosely to the RAF 'Run - in - and - break' method of down wind to final in a 180 deg curved approach. . .Our Flexwing Instructor at Otherton, Mike Bailey, prefers this 'DownBaseFinal 'Curve' approach for basic students,. . .then later, he teaches them to fly oblongs, so that places like Shobdon, Fivepee Green etc, don't get on their case post landing, for sloppy flying ! They like 'Square' circuits at most GA fields nowadays anyhow. It's nice to be adaptable though isn't it ?. . I always fly the curve in my Gemini Flash 2, or indeed ANY weightshift, where it is possible, without upsetting the 'Squareheads' . . . ( Gordon Faulkner,. .Of whom I assume you have heard . . . used to do the same with ab initio students. . ) Phil.

I was well taught, . . .by an Ex-RAF Hurricane pilot, and later, in Australia, by the Wonderful Alan Basket. at Berwick in a C-150. On Base leg, 1500 RPM and 'Half land - Half Sky' in the window lad . .. he said. . ."AND WATCH YOUR BALANCE AND DAMN AIRSPEED LIKE A HAWK ON THAT FINAL TURN !" Oddly Enough, my Hurricane instructor in the Tigger in England said something very similar many years earlier. . . . David Squirrell. . .a lovely instructor I met following basic training with Alan B, and my reintroduction to Tigger flying in VH-TIG ( DH82A ) had a little poetic ditty which went like,. . . 'I saw 'Im Spin. . .I saw 'Im Burn. . he Held off Bank. . on 'is Final Turn. . .' ( He got TOO SLOW as well really,. . .but that doesn't rhyme. . . ! ) Odd how you tend to remember little things like that. . .

I COULD. . .post my 'Filth' sticker. . . .but I det här fallet kommer jag att ge dig nytta av tvivel Marty.

"I will ask my CFI to cover up the ASI and Alt in my next session. Thanks for the idea". You may well find that your CFI might not respond well to that idea Rog. . . covering those instruments will mean that HE / She can't see them either, this means that He ' She is then responsible if something goes badly wrong. I have had this rejection as a 'Bloody stupid idea' from Two instructors in the UK during revals. Mind you,. . they WERE expecting perfectly rectangular circuits. . . Personally, I prefer the semicircular approach,, but it just isn't possible, nor acceptable; at most provincial airfields here. . .

Now be fair mate !. . .she's a GYRO pilot. . .they don't have 'Proper' wings to tread upon incorrectly to access the office. . . her other videos are quite good, although not very well edited. and YES. . . she flies those in a similarly (un)dressed manner . . . Also, I think she could be from Sveden. . . only Swedish word I know is 'Recklam' which is the bin in which you place your recyclable tat. . .

So many brave young men. . . . . .

Acting Flight Sergeant Arthur Louis Aaron, D.F.M.,(5th March 1922 – 13th August 1943) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 218 Squadron. Air Ministry, 5th November, 1943. The King has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned airman in recognition of most conspicuous bravery: 458181 Acting Flight Sergeant Arthur Louis Aaron, D.F.M., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 218 Squadron (deceased). On the night of 12 August 1943, Flight Sergeant Aaron was captain and pilot of a Stirling aircraft detailed to attack Turin. When approaching to attack, the bomber received devastating bursts of fire from an enemy fighter. Three engines were hit, the windscreen shattered, the front and rear turrets put out of action and the elevator control damaged, causing the aircraft to become unstable and difficult to control. The navigator was killed and other members of the crew were wounded. A bullet struck Flight Sergeant Aaron in the face, breaking his jaw and tearing away part of his face. He was also wounded in the lung and his right arm was rendered useless. As he fell forward over the control column, the aircraft dived several thousand feet. Control was regained by the flight engineer at 3,000 feet. Unable to speak, Flight Sergeant Aaron urged the bomb aimer by signs to take over the controls. Course was then set southwards in an endeavour to fly the crippled bomber, with one engine out of action, to Sicily or North Africa. Flight Sergeant Aaron was assisted to the rear of the aircraft and treated with morphia. After resting for some time he rallied and, mindful of his responsibility as captain of aircraft, insisted on returning to the pilot's cockpit, where he was lifted into his seat and had his feet placed on the rudder bar. Twice he made determined attempts to take control and hold the aircraft to its course but his weakness was evident and with difficulty he was persuaded to desist. Though in great pain and suffering from exhaustion, he continued to help by writing directions with his left hand. Five hours after leaving the target the petrol began to run low, but soon afterwards the flare path at Bone airfield was sighted. Flight Sergeant Aaron summoned his failing strength to direct the bomb aimer in the hazardous task of landing the damaged aircraft in the darkness with undercarriage retracted. Four attempts were made under his direction; at the fifth Flight Sergeant Aaron was so near to collapsing that he had to be restrained by the crew and the landing was completed by the bomb aimer. Nine hours after landing, Flight Sergeant Aaron died from exhaustion. Had he been content, when grievously wounded, to lie still and conserve his failing strength, he would probably have recovered, but he saw it as his duty to exert himself to the utmost, if necessary with his last breath, to ensure that his aircraft and crew did not fall into enemy hands. In appalling conditions he showed the greatest qualities of courage, determination and leadership and, though wounded and dying, he set an example of devotion to duty which has seldom been equalled and never surpassed. http://www.historyanswers.c...

BBC Claims MH17 Was Shot Down By Ukrainian Fighter Jet ( possibly yournewswire anti-bbc propaganda - consume with pinch of salt )

Quite true Rgm. . . the clocks and dials are put there for a very good reason ! . . . Additional 'Physical' clues are also useful of course. . . ( Unless you're flying in IMC ! )

I am GLAD that you are around to keep a sense of perspective in this regard Mr. Kasper Sir. . . .Being 3 axis trained from an early age ( 7 ) and having an old Mainair Geminii Flash2 as well ( 1300 hours in that one ) Flying by attitude comes naturally now. OK if I was flying an Airbus A 321 or B 777, then I would defer to the flight manual. . . but there is a lot of tosh spoken about glueing ones eyes to the ASI, when you should have your head up keeping a good lookout. . .