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Plane Tales

Capt Nick

The View from Our Side of the Cockpit Door

leisure aviation

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20:09

Sailing Off to Hawaii

Plane Tales ·

2023/04/16

Hawaii became the most recent state to join the union in 1959 and is now the third wealthiest. Following it’s annexation, Hawaii became an important naval base for the US Navy so it is hardly surprising that they should be the first to attempt a flight from the US mainland to the island. Aviation had already arrived at the islands in 1910 courtesy of Bud Mars, the Curtiss Daredevil. The Hawaiian Archipelago The annexation of Hawaii J C Mars Commander John Rodgers Rodgers in the

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20:32

Crash Investigation is No Accident

Plane Tales ·

2023/04/16

It was the 13th of May 1912, a Monday, when a Flanders F3 Monoplane took off from Brooklands in Surrey, a county of England. The pilot was the aviation pioneer Edward Victor Beauchamp Fisher and his passenger the American millionaire Victor Mason. Fisher had an Aviator’s Certificate, the 77th to be issued, had learned to fly at Brooklands and was a flying instructor there. He had also worked with both A V Roe (the founder of Avro) and Howard Flanders, whose monoplane he was flying at the time.

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21:56

The Twelve Crashes of Christmas

Plane Tales ·

2023/04/13

The 12 days of Christmas are generally thought to run from the 26th of December to the 6th of January and is an important period of religious celebration or for those of us who observe Christmas in a more secular manner, it’s more likely to be a traditional time of recovery following our holiday excesses and to welcome in the New Year. Of course, those of us in the Aviation industry often remember dates by events that occurred on a particular day and the most memorable are often the most tragic.

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19:22

Around the World in 20 Days

Plane Tales ·

2023/02/20

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier was one of two men who left the earth's surface and flew in Montgolfier's balloon for the very first time. He also designed a type of balloon that was given his name that flew using a combination of a lifting gas and hot air. More than 200 years later, his design would be used in the balloon that made the first non stop round the world flight. A Rozièr balloon Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier in a Montgolfier balloon De Rozièr perishes in a baloon crash over

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18:27

Only a Flat Tyre

Plane Tales ·

2023/02/17

Each year upwards of 2 million of the faithful make the journey to follow the path of the profit Muhammad to a number of holy sites before their pilgrimage rites are considered complete. Muslims from around the world make this journey which, in modern times, is often completed using air travel, as it was in 1991 when Nigeria Airways wet leased a Douglas DC8 operated by Nationair Canada to help them cope with the season’s increase in passenger traffic due to the Hajj. Under the hot sun of the Arabian

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21:21

Higher, Faster

Plane Tales ·

2023/02/17

They were the pioneers who trod the territory beyond the sound barrier… a place no man had ever been before and which had killed many who attempted the journey. The rocket powered, winged bullet first flew only 42 years after man’s first powered flight, an achievement that still astounds me. To think that a toddler around at Kitty Hawk who saw one of the Wright Brothers first flights, could have heard the world’s first man made sonic boom before they reached the ripe old age of 50 is a true

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18:44

RAF Form 414, Vol 18

Plane Tales ·

2023/02/17

It's time for another of my flying logbook tales and it’s May 1987 and I’m on the Australian FA18 No 2 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Williamtown starting the final phase on course 1 of 87 before moving onto No 77 Squadron which was to be my home for the next few years. An FA/18B with a pair of BDU33 practice bomb carriers The Salt Ash bombing range A practice bomb strikes the centre of the target The CCIP aiming symbology Mk 82 500lb General Purpose bombs RAAF

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17:33

Sherman Smoot – A Tribute

Plane Tales ·

2023/01/19

A tribute to Sherman Smoot, friend of the APG Show, who died doing what he loved best... flying. Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Capt Nick Anderson.

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19:46

The Battle Above the Somme

Plane Tales ·

2023/01/19

The First World War battle of the Somme continues, to this day, to fascinate and appal in equal measures. Much has been written about the ground war the first day of which saw the greatest number of British casualties than had occurred before in the entire history of the British Army… 19,240 were dead and 38,230 injured. The fighting over a 16 mile front lasted almost 5 months, after which the Allied troops had advanced about 6 miles. The butchers bill of casualties was horrendous. The combined

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20:27

Batman and Robin

Plane Tales ·

2023/01/16

Robin Olds was a hard drinking, hard working man who led from the front in a way that inspired his men to become a great fighting force. He only became frustrated when he saw mistakes being made by those above him who should have known better and he went out of his way to make his feelings known. He defined what it meant to be a fighter pilot, not only in the air but on the ground with the stunningly beautiful Hollywood actress, Ella Raines, the first of his 4 wives. The court-martial of General

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20:14

The Grade 2 Listed Centrifuge

Plane Tales ·

2023/01/16

A recent news programme caught my eye when I realised it involved our great friends at the Farnborough Aviation Sciences Trust museum. It reminded me of the group of sadistic so-called doctors who populated the Institute of Aviation Medicine and tortured generations of unsuspecting and innocent RAF aircrew in machines such as the one the article featured, a centrifuge! This aforementioned device which resembles a vast witch’s ducking stool crossed with an iron maiden, first operated in 1955 but was

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19:07

RAF Form 414, Vol. 17

Plane Tales ·

2022/11/28

The story of my military flying career continues with the new challenge of flying the FA/18 Hornet round the beautiful skies of Australia. The official crest of No 77 Sqn RAAF with its Grumpy Monkey The 77 Sqn Mirages The helmet fitting An FA/18A cockpit Sunset The Head Up Display The location of RAAF Williamtown Firing the gun Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Nick Anderson and Google Earth.

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19:26

Oh Canada, Our UFO

Plane Tales ·

2022/11/28

Featured in a Scientific magazine which offered a first look inside the USAF's new jet fighter, the F-89 Scorpion was to have an interesting history which involved the Battle of Palmdale and a top secret Canadian UFO! A Scientific Magazine cutaway drawing The Fly-off competitors The Northrop F89 Scorpion The 437th Fighter Interceptor Squadron An F6F Hellcat red drone Mighty Mouse rockets 1st Lt Moncla The Canadian UFO The official USAF report Images under

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20:20

The Wing That Broke Jack Northrop

Plane Tales ·

2022/08/29

Arguably one of the most talented and innovative aircraft developers of his time, John Knudsen Northrop had long sought an aircraft design that could start a revolution… a craft with minimum drag and a level of lift unachievable in any other form. Jack, as John Northrop was usually known, pursued his dream of building a pure flying wing strategic bomber that would exceed the capabilities of anything else his less imaginative competitors were designing. The gliders of Otto Lilienthal The

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19:08

The Eager Beavers

Plane Tales ·

2022/08/29

It was an unpopular aircraft because, well… a lot of aircrew were superstitious. They were renown for carrying lucky charms, doing things a certain way and never daring to change the habit because it worked for them last time. Their machine was a B17 nicknamed Old 666 taken from the last 3 digits of its tail number 41-2666 and they were the Eager Beavers! Old 666 The Martin B-26 Marauder The B-17 bombing Japanese shipping North of Australia The B-17's waist guns The route for

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18:28

RAF Form 414, Vol. 16

Plane Tales ·

2022/08/29

The conclusion of one of the hardest flying courses in the Royal Air Force, the QWI course. What faced us was the culmination of all our efforts over the past months of flying in the form of a week of intense work, drawing together everything we had learned. We had to fly a series of missions against all comers, demonstrating our level of leadership, control, tactics, formation management, aggression and skill. These sorties were complex and demanding, involving tactics we devised to allow us to

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19:07

Amy, Wonderful Amy

Plane Tales ·

2022/08/29

The 1920’s and 30’s were times of radical societal changes, particularly in the freedoms that women then demanded. The suffragette movement, the contributions made by women in the first world war and other dramatic events had clearly shown that forward looking women were no longer going to be content with the roles that men decided they were suited for. Aviation played its part in allowing women the freedom to tackle challenges that were previously denied to them, a fight for equality continues to

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18:26

Captain Anderson – The Crash!

Plane Tales ·

2022/08/29

An air hostess calmly walked through the crashing airliner telling the passengers, “Please fasten your safety-belts. Keep your seats.” Then she returned to the galley near the tail, sat herself down… and waited. One of the passengers had seen oil spurting from an engine and on the flight deck, Captain Anderson was nursing his aircraft in. The engine had failed not long after takeoff following that massive oil leak and this aircraft didn’t have a good reputation for single engined flying. An Airwork

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19:32

The Ugly Ducklings

Plane Tales ·

2022/07/04

Whilst we are discussing quaint idioms, many of us trust that old American adage, “If it looks good, it’ll fly good” attributed to both Neil Armstrong and Bill Lear and is something that all pilots understand. There is something about a fine looking aircraft that makes it appear trustworthy and gives one confidence that it will perform well. Sadly, I know of one company, however, who seem to have looked at their aircraft through bottle bottom glasses… or perhaps they never got the memo. The Dunne

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20:05

The Fall of American One

Plane Tales ·

2022/05/05

The aircraft was named ‘Flagship District of Columbia’ and was only the 12th Boeing 707 ever made. It was delivered to American Airlines in February 1959 so at the time America was taking its first steps into the void of outer space it was a mere 3 years old. It hadn’t long been out of it’s periodic inspection and with less than 8,000 hours on the airframe N7506A was expected to have a long and productive life ahead… a wish that would be dashed in a few short minutes. The New York skyline An

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