From The Guardian…
One of seven Saudis due to be put to death on Tuesday by crucifixion and firing squad for armed robbery, speaking over a smuggled mobile phone from his prison cell, has appealed for help to stop the executions.
Nasser al-Qahtani told Associated Press from Abha general prison on Monday that he was arrested as [...]
Posts under ‘Aviation’
Total Fucking Barbarians…
Yet Another Mail Fail.
This is the opening of a Fail article on the restoration of an aircraft…
150 V1 rockets were fitted with cockpits so they could be steered into targets before pilots attempted to bail out.
And this is the end…
The rocket is 28ft long, has a wingspan of 22ft and is fitted with an Argus 109-014 pulse jet [...]
Kill Devil Hills 17/12/1903.
Just over a century ago there was a race on…
It was won on this day in 1903 by two bicycle makers from Ohio. And not with a bicycle. Although that does matter and I shall get onto why later.
I could write (!) a lot on this but sometimes a picture says a thousand words…
This is [...]
Delta.
Back in 1996 (around this time of year) I was in NYC. Now I had to get back to Atlanta. A naive person might imagine since the invention of the aeroplane this is a minor detail. I was indeed booked on a 9.30am Delta flight from La Guardia to Hartsfield. Do I need to add [...]
Two bad cases of the DTs
From The Telegraph on the subject of the predecessor to the Bloodhound SSC project…
Thrust SSC was, at 4m wide and 10 tonnes – powered by twin Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, more commonly found beneath the wings of an F-4 Phantom II jet aircraft – an unwieldy beast. Rather than simply tweak its design, Noble and [...]
Heroes of the Day…
In a daring raid intended to boost the morale of the French [hmm...], Wing Commander Ken Gatward flew just feet off the ground to put the wind up the Germans.
After dropping a huge French flag on top of the Arc de Triomphe, the British pilot headed towards the Gestapo headquarters which he raked with 20mm [...]
Push-me Pull-me justice
If you’ve been paying attention over the last few years, it is clear how the elite see the rest of us. We are little more than farm yard animals to be cajoled and compelled and banned from doing things, lectured and hectored at will, and above all taxed. We maybe shot if it suits the government [...]
“That Damn Swede Can See Air”.
Only quite recently did the Typhoon FGA4 hit anything like FOC (full operational capability - I get the distinct impression they had to rush JDAM capability to bloody Ghadaffi’s nose. Before that it was very much a case of flying low and flicking them the bird or what the RAF called a “robust air-to-ground capability”). [...]
Adolph for the Tenner…
The ten pound note has to be replaced soonish. There would appear to be a serious rick-rolling of Alan Turing here which made me think “Who else?”. Now don’t get me wrong. Alan Turing would be fine with me. As would, in principle, James Maxwell (a man who is nowhere near as publically honoured as [...]
Zambonauts!
My parents taught in Zambia in the early ’70s. My Dad told me this story so respect to Infidel753 for reminding me of one of the less reported candidates in the Space Race. In the early sixties space was the big thing. Yuri had taken a trip and newly independent British colonies wanted a piece [...]
Jeremy Clarkson - my thoughts
Following Clarkson’s recent outburst much Sturm und Drang has followed.
I have just one thing to say on it (I should have said this earlier perhaps but I was curious to see if I’d read it elsewhere…)
I haven’t so here goes.
Jeremy Clarkson is a very wealthy man who writes books and newspaper columns so [...]
Interview of the Week
The great French philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote: “All human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room.” By that token, I suggest to Michael O’Leary, he is one of the world’s most evil men, enticing millions of hitherto stay-at-home Brits and other Europeans to jet around their continent, [...]
Industry Against An Evil Tax. BBC readers not sure…
I have mentioned the iniquity of APD (air passenger duty) before…
This is excellent news and long overdue.
But the BBC comments are a cracker…
No one forces you to fly, so stop moaning and pay up, stay in the Uk or travel by road, rail or ferry.
I’ve choosen to stay in the UK for holidays for the [...]
You can take the skies away from us…
Not only can but already have done.
Passengers will have to pay up to 55 per cent more tax on flights from Monday when the Air Passenger Duty hike comes into effect.
Despite protests from airlines and countries who believe the tax banding system is unfair, the increase will come into effect, potentially pushing the price [...]
Backwards
I should love this (places like Duxford or the NASM in DC and the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Annex in Virginia are cathedrals to me): de Havilland Dragon Rapide, Douglas DC-3, Vickers VC-10, Boeing 747 and Concorde. These are the names of progress, these are iconic. Except for Concorde. Nobody (apart from the military) does Mach-2 [...]
