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Merlin Ashtray
- Thread starter Nickodell
- Start date
Nickodell
Donation Time
No, but a guy bought a Harrier jump jet on ebaY last month for $20,000. No engine, but a great garden conversation piece. Cost the British govt. some $70 million originally. Interestingly, although the British military took out the engine and some expensive avionics, they left the 30mm cannon (although without shells). Here's the news report:
Neil Banwell, 39, said: "I was 14 when the war broke out and used to watch them flying out on the news every night. I was so disappointed when they stopped flying them last year - but I couldn't believe it when I saw one on eBay so I jumped at the chance.
"It was my daughter Jess's 14th birthday and she put the bid on for me. We then went out to a barbecue and the next morning we found out we owned a Sea Harrier."
Banwell has taken delivery of ZX494 - which on 1 May 1982 with Lt Cmdr Andy Auld at the controls deposited cluster bombs on Port Stanley airfield - complete with two 30mm cannon but missing its Pegasus power plant and computer systems "due to regulations which prevent it being flown in the UK".
ZX494 is now sitting in a hangar near Banwell's home in Wedmore. He hopes to restore the aircraft, and is looking to get a second-hand engine from BAE Systems. He won't, however, have to scour car boot sales for the original ejector seat: it's still in place, minus its explosive charge.
Aviation notes and trivia:
Without the revolutionary Harriers, Britain would never have taken back the Falkland Islands from the Argentines in 1982. When the task force was being made ready for the 8,000 mile trip they only had two aircraft carriers, the Ark Royal which was on its way to the scrapyard, and the Invincible, which had been sold to Australia and was about to sail down under. Neither was equipped with working catapults any more, and only the VSTOL (vertical and short takeoff and landing) Harriers could operate from them.
The US Marines bought a load of Harriers in the 70s and 80s and modified them.
When Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine (don't even suggest von Ohain; he simply read Whittle's patent disclosure and, as Hitler's Germany wasn't exactly a bastion of ethics, stole the idea) reached his 80th birthday, the celebration included a flypast of a formation of Concorde SSTs, and then a Harrier approached his seat on the reviewing stand, hovered at about 50ft., and tilted forward in a bow.
No Harriers were lost in aerial combat (two were brought down by antiaircraft fire), and they shot down a score of Argie supersonic Mystere and Super Etandard fighter bombers.
Neil Banwell, 39, said: "I was 14 when the war broke out and used to watch them flying out on the news every night. I was so disappointed when they stopped flying them last year - but I couldn't believe it when I saw one on eBay so I jumped at the chance.
"It was my daughter Jess's 14th birthday and she put the bid on for me. We then went out to a barbecue and the next morning we found out we owned a Sea Harrier."
Banwell has taken delivery of ZX494 - which on 1 May 1982 with Lt Cmdr Andy Auld at the controls deposited cluster bombs on Port Stanley airfield - complete with two 30mm cannon but missing its Pegasus power plant and computer systems "due to regulations which prevent it being flown in the UK".
ZX494 is now sitting in a hangar near Banwell's home in Wedmore. He hopes to restore the aircraft, and is looking to get a second-hand engine from BAE Systems. He won't, however, have to scour car boot sales for the original ejector seat: it's still in place, minus its explosive charge.
Aviation notes and trivia:
Without the revolutionary Harriers, Britain would never have taken back the Falkland Islands from the Argentines in 1982. When the task force was being made ready for the 8,000 mile trip they only had two aircraft carriers, the Ark Royal which was on its way to the scrapyard, and the Invincible, which had been sold to Australia and was about to sail down under. Neither was equipped with working catapults any more, and only the VSTOL (vertical and short takeoff and landing) Harriers could operate from them.
The US Marines bought a load of Harriers in the 70s and 80s and modified them.
When Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine (don't even suggest von Ohain; he simply read Whittle's patent disclosure and, as Hitler's Germany wasn't exactly a bastion of ethics, stole the idea) reached his 80th birthday, the celebration included a flypast of a formation of Concorde SSTs, and then a Harrier approached his seat on the reviewing stand, hovered at about 50ft., and tilted forward in a bow.
No Harriers were lost in aerial combat (two were brought down by antiaircraft fire), and they shot down a score of Argie supersonic Mystere and Super Etandard fighter bombers.
Nickodell
Donation Time
I couldn't tell you about the A4s. The Harrier had a combat manouver that conventional planes couldn't match, called Vector in Forward Flight (always called Viffing by the pilots) where they could scoot up, down and even sideways while in level flight. This made if difficult to get a missile lock on them, and almost impossible for guns. They could also, of course, fly backwards. To give the Argentines their due, they were skilled and brave pilots just doing their jobs, but had to come in fast at low altitude and either let go their French Exocet sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, or bombs, then high-tail it out with strict instructions not to engage in dogfighting. They lost several more to Brit. army land-based SAMs.
The Harriers (actually, mostly the Sea Harrier version) flew defensive patrols and got radar warning from the picket ships, enabling them to be in the right position to let go their (American) air-to-air missiles.
There was no defense against the Exocet. Once you saw it on radar you had at most 30 seconds before it hit, and with the image clutter in San Carlos bay mostly they remained unseen until too close, and when the missile was seen visually, you had about 6 seconds to kiss your ass goodby. The ships had chaff dispensers that could have protected them, but these were designed for the open sea where you had plenty of radar warning. The French had technicians helping the Argies to perfect the Exocet while the battle was going on, just one more reason for the 1000-year-old antipathy between the Brits and the Frogs.
A lot of stuff happened in this conflict that had not been forseen. The British destroyers and frigates had an effective radar-controlled antiaircraft missile system. It would lock onto an incoming plane and after that there was no escape for it. Unfortunately, the designers had not considered what would happen if two planes came in abreast. The radar hunted between one and the other, then as the software had no imagination and couldn't decide which to lock on to, it simply shut down. Several ships were lost that way. That's what happens when non-flyers design such things.
For the Argies, they had problems with their bombs going straight through the superstructure of some of the ships without exploding, or rather exploding in the sea afterwards. The fusing delay in milliseconds had been designed for steel targets, but the British destroyers and frigates had alumim(i)um superstructures. Unfortunately, one or two embedded correspondents, keen to get a scoop, radio'd this back to their newspapers, with the result that a couple of the tabloids had headlines like STUPID ARGIES DON'T KNOW HOW TO FUSE THEIR BOMBS and then the details. From that point on, the Argies reset their fuse delays and several more ships and a couple of hundred sailors, marines and soldiers were lost. Makes you want to strangle someone.
I may have told you that Mark, my wife's nephew, was a crewman on the QEII. This ship was very quickly (a matter of days) commandeered and converted to carry helicopters by fixing steel plates to the decks. The regular crews were told that they didn't have to sail on what may have been a one-way trip (it was, of course, the Argentines' # 1 target and would, apart from the loss of life, have been a tremendous propaganda victory for them, and demoralizing loss to Britain). However, Mark said he wouldn't miss it for anything, and has since told us several stories of Prince Andrew (third in line to the throne, and known as "Randy Andy" because of his reputed c*cksmanship) operating as a helicopter pilot from the ship.
(Although I'm anti-royalty by philosophy, I have to admit that they have never evaded front-line service. Prince Michael, also 3rd in line at that time, was killed serving in the RAF in WWII, and several other nobles served (e.g. Lord Lovatt who led the Royal Marine Commandos at D-Day), and some were killed. And the King, Queen and two princesses never left London during WWII, even in the height of the Blitz. Buckingham Palace was hit twice, one time blowing the windows in on them at dinner. The King said "now I can look the people of the East End in the face.")
The whole war was, of course, stupid. The Falklands, which were very important strategically in both World Wars, from 1945 were just inhabited by a few score people, mostly sheep farmers. An Argentine writer characterised the war as "two bald men fighting over a hairbrush." However, it was British sovereign land. You have to make a stand somewhere.
The Harriers (actually, mostly the Sea Harrier version) flew defensive patrols and got radar warning from the picket ships, enabling them to be in the right position to let go their (American) air-to-air missiles.
There was no defense against the Exocet. Once you saw it on radar you had at most 30 seconds before it hit, and with the image clutter in San Carlos bay mostly they remained unseen until too close, and when the missile was seen visually, you had about 6 seconds to kiss your ass goodby. The ships had chaff dispensers that could have protected them, but these were designed for the open sea where you had plenty of radar warning. The French had technicians helping the Argies to perfect the Exocet while the battle was going on, just one more reason for the 1000-year-old antipathy between the Brits and the Frogs.
A lot of stuff happened in this conflict that had not been forseen. The British destroyers and frigates had an effective radar-controlled antiaircraft missile system. It would lock onto an incoming plane and after that there was no escape for it. Unfortunately, the designers had not considered what would happen if two planes came in abreast. The radar hunted between one and the other, then as the software had no imagination and couldn't decide which to lock on to, it simply shut down. Several ships were lost that way. That's what happens when non-flyers design such things.
For the Argies, they had problems with their bombs going straight through the superstructure of some of the ships without exploding, or rather exploding in the sea afterwards. The fusing delay in milliseconds had been designed for steel targets, but the British destroyers and frigates had alumim(i)um superstructures. Unfortunately, one or two embedded correspondents, keen to get a scoop, radio'd this back to their newspapers, with the result that a couple of the tabloids had headlines like STUPID ARGIES DON'T KNOW HOW TO FUSE THEIR BOMBS and then the details. From that point on, the Argies reset their fuse delays and several more ships and a couple of hundred sailors, marines and soldiers were lost. Makes you want to strangle someone.
I may have told you that Mark, my wife's nephew, was a crewman on the QEII. This ship was very quickly (a matter of days) commandeered and converted to carry helicopters by fixing steel plates to the decks. The regular crews were told that they didn't have to sail on what may have been a one-way trip (it was, of course, the Argentines' # 1 target and would, apart from the loss of life, have been a tremendous propaganda victory for them, and demoralizing loss to Britain). However, Mark said he wouldn't miss it for anything, and has since told us several stories of Prince Andrew (third in line to the throne, and known as "Randy Andy" because of his reputed c*cksmanship) operating as a helicopter pilot from the ship.
(Although I'm anti-royalty by philosophy, I have to admit that they have never evaded front-line service. Prince Michael, also 3rd in line at that time, was killed serving in the RAF in WWII, and several other nobles served (e.g. Lord Lovatt who led the Royal Marine Commandos at D-Day), and some were killed. And the King, Queen and two princesses never left London during WWII, even in the height of the Blitz. Buckingham Palace was hit twice, one time blowing the windows in on them at dinner. The King said "now I can look the people of the East End in the face.")
The whole war was, of course, stupid. The Falklands, which were very important strategically in both World Wars, from 1945 were just inhabited by a few score people, mostly sheep farmers. An Argentine writer characterised the war as "two bald men fighting over a hairbrush." However, it was British sovereign land. You have to make a stand somewhere.
skywords
Donation Time
I like that two bald men fighting over a hairbrush. I never could see much point in the Royalty in England either but I suppose it is a soarce of great national pride and like you say they are not draft dodgers like some of our leaders. The Harrier suffers from hot air ingestion in low level hover and is prone to compressor stall. Lockheed sure fixed that with that new joint strike fighter. The compressor shaft drives a gearbox that runs a large horizontal fan that provides the VTOL lift in the forward fuse. keeping the hot gases away from the inlets.
A customer of mine who lives in San Diego sold me a very well built Rans S-12 experimental. I picked it up for a mere 5K and since it was built by him an engineer I couldn't resist. I flew it home and while I was approaching Yuma AZ a marine facility with many Harriers based there one of my coolant lines ruptured and I told approach of my delema and no matter how I assured the controller that I was fine and could land on any of the dirt roads next to the cotton fields he was distraught. I told him I would call on the radio as soon as I fixed it and was back in the air. It was a small 1/4" hose that split and I had no spare so I robbed a section of airspeed hose refilled with my drinking water and flew home with no airspeed indicator. Anyway while I was fixing this thing the controller sent five Harriers my way and they kept buzzing me and providing my own private airshow which I'm sure cost all of you tax payers a bundle. Thanks tax payers
A customer of mine who lives in San Diego sold me a very well built Rans S-12 experimental. I picked it up for a mere 5K and since it was built by him an engineer I couldn't resist. I flew it home and while I was approaching Yuma AZ a marine facility with many Harriers based there one of my coolant lines ruptured and I told approach of my delema and no matter how I assured the controller that I was fine and could land on any of the dirt roads next to the cotton fields he was distraught. I told him I would call on the radio as soon as I fixed it and was back in the air. It was a small 1/4" hose that split and I had no spare so I robbed a section of airspeed hose refilled with my drinking water and flew home with no airspeed indicator. Anyway while I was fixing this thing the controller sent five Harriers my way and they kept buzzing me and providing my own private airshow which I'm sure cost all of you tax payers a bundle. Thanks tax payers
Nickodell
Donation Time
Only you, Rick, could land on a dirt road, fix your plane by cutting something else off, and take off again. Sounds like something out of the barnstorming 1920s. I swear that in a pinch you could perform a running repair in flight. I hope you didn't give the GC your registration number, or the FAA would, I think, have had a gentleman knocking on your door. There is a very large shopping area near here which used to be closed on Sundays in the days of the old Blue Laws of the 1970s. A guy in a Cessna 150 landed on the parking lot, out of gas, and was returning with a couple of 5-gallon cans of Sunoco 260 (100 octane, leaded) with the intention of tanking up and taking off again, until the cops arrived. In the end he had to have it dismantled and towed away on a flatbed.
In answer to your question: Here is a contemporary account from Time Magazine. Apparently the Argentine Air Force had more A-4B's than any other single type - 47 of them. By the way, I erred: The second aircraft carrier was the Hermes, not the Ark Royal, and the Argentines used more Mirage fighter-bombers than the other types:
That Magnificent Flying Machine
Monday, Jun. 07, 1982.
Trying to retake the Falklands, the British task force needed three kinds of warplanes: a naval interceptor to protect the fleet, a ground-attack aircraft to soften up enemy defenses on the islands, and an agile troop-support plane to cover British forces as they advance from their bridgehead toward the main Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. All those roles have been filled by what the British regard as their magnificent flying machine: the Sea Harrier, a vertical short-takeoff and landing jet whose maneuverability and advanced avionics have made it more than a match for the land-based attack aircraft that Buenos Aires has launched against the British fleet. British Defense Ministry sources estimate that the Harriers have been responsible for two-thirds of the 69 Argentine planes and helicopters London destroyed, while none of the six lost Harriers have been shot down by enemy planes.
With a maximum cruising speed of only 690 m.p.h., the Sea Harrier would seem to be at a disadvantage against Argentina's faster Mirage III-EAs. But in the Falklands, the Mirages have to sacrifice speed as, heavily loaded, they come in low to try to get under the radar. The Harrier can stop in midair, hover, veer off sharply in new directions and land on almost any flat surface. Armed with 1,000-lb. cluster bombs for ground attack, and 30-mm guns and U.S.-built AIM-9L Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles, the Sea Harrier has an advanced avionics and radar system that allows it to fly day or night in any weather, unlike Argentina's Mirages and Skyhawks. Says a Harrier flyer: "It's a pilot's dream."
The British task force set sail for the Falklands with 20 Sea Harriers. After a few losses to accidents and ground fire, three replacements were hastily dispatched, and additional reinforcements of 18 Harriers arrived in time for the San Carlos landing. These planes have provided the task force's only cover against an Argentine force that numbered some 230 planes at the outset of hostilities.
The same devices that give the Harrier its ability to take off vertically also permit it to outmaneuver conventional aircraft by using a technique known as "viffing" (from Vector in Forward Flight). By adjusting his exhaust nozzles to reverse the thrust, the pilot can cause his plane to decelerate rapidly and veer to the side. "You want to smash through the canopy, but the harness tightens over your shoulders, holds you down at the waist. You think you are stopping at 12,000 ft.," wrote British Journalist John Edwards, who was given a demonstration ride in a Harrier last week. In combat, a sudden viff usually causes a pursuing fighter to overshoot. Explains one veteran Harrier pilot: "From being the attacking aircraft, it becomes the attacked."
In answer to your question: Here is a contemporary account from Time Magazine. Apparently the Argentine Air Force had more A-4B's than any other single type - 47 of them. By the way, I erred: The second aircraft carrier was the Hermes, not the Ark Royal, and the Argentines used more Mirage fighter-bombers than the other types:
That Magnificent Flying Machine
Monday, Jun. 07, 1982.
Trying to retake the Falklands, the British task force needed three kinds of warplanes: a naval interceptor to protect the fleet, a ground-attack aircraft to soften up enemy defenses on the islands, and an agile troop-support plane to cover British forces as they advance from their bridgehead toward the main Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. All those roles have been filled by what the British regard as their magnificent flying machine: the Sea Harrier, a vertical short-takeoff and landing jet whose maneuverability and advanced avionics have made it more than a match for the land-based attack aircraft that Buenos Aires has launched against the British fleet. British Defense Ministry sources estimate that the Harriers have been responsible for two-thirds of the 69 Argentine planes and helicopters London destroyed, while none of the six lost Harriers have been shot down by enemy planes.
With a maximum cruising speed of only 690 m.p.h., the Sea Harrier would seem to be at a disadvantage against Argentina's faster Mirage III-EAs. But in the Falklands, the Mirages have to sacrifice speed as, heavily loaded, they come in low to try to get under the radar. The Harrier can stop in midair, hover, veer off sharply in new directions and land on almost any flat surface. Armed with 1,000-lb. cluster bombs for ground attack, and 30-mm guns and U.S.-built AIM-9L Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles, the Sea Harrier has an advanced avionics and radar system that allows it to fly day or night in any weather, unlike Argentina's Mirages and Skyhawks. Says a Harrier flyer: "It's a pilot's dream."
The British task force set sail for the Falklands with 20 Sea Harriers. After a few losses to accidents and ground fire, three replacements were hastily dispatched, and additional reinforcements of 18 Harriers arrived in time for the San Carlos landing. These planes have provided the task force's only cover against an Argentine force that numbered some 230 planes at the outset of hostilities.
The same devices that give the Harrier its ability to take off vertically also permit it to outmaneuver conventional aircraft by using a technique known as "viffing" (from Vector in Forward Flight). By adjusting his exhaust nozzles to reverse the thrust, the pilot can cause his plane to decelerate rapidly and veer to the side. "You want to smash through the canopy, but the harness tightens over your shoulders, holds you down at the waist. You think you are stopping at 12,000 ft.," wrote British Journalist John Edwards, who was given a demonstration ride in a Harrier last week. In combat, a sudden viff usually causes a pursuing fighter to overshoot. Explains one veteran Harrier pilot: "From being the attacking aircraft, it becomes the attacked."
Road side fix
Not that it's on the same level but back in the early 70's I was riding my BMW R60US from LA to Monterey and while running thru the Salinas Valley it began to run a little rough and I felt my left foot cool. I looked down and noticed gas flowing out of the left carburator. I shut down the fuel petcock and let the engine run dry and pulled to the side. There was a threaded cap on the bottom part of the carb that had apparently vibrated off. It was on the supply side of the float bowl and you were supposed to occasionally take this cap off to clear out any debris in the fuel.
Didn't have a spare. Ended up cutting up a 35mm film canister and duct taping it to the carb. Next day I got a replacement and spare from the dealer in Monterey. Although I never had that problem come up again, I carried spare caps and gaskets until I sold the bike....
Nice save Rick!
Not that it's on the same level but back in the early 70's I was riding my BMW R60US from LA to Monterey and while running thru the Salinas Valley it began to run a little rough and I felt my left foot cool. I looked down and noticed gas flowing out of the left carburator.
I shut down the fuel petcock and let the engine run dry and pulled to the side. There was a threaded cap on the bottom part of the carb that had apparently vibrated off. It was on the supply side of the float bowl and you were supposed to occasionally take this cap off to clear out any debris in the fuel. Didn't have a spare. Ended up cutting up a 35mm film canister and duct taping it to the carb. Next day I got a replacement and spare from the dealer in Monterey. Although I never had that problem come up again, I carried spare caps and gaskets until I sold the bike....
Nice save Rick!
Nickodell
Donation Time
How's this for a roadside fix? Please note that the magazine changed some of the wording. We were not "draftees" - a term unknown in the RAF, or indeed in Britain - we were all volunteers going through screening before (unless we washed out) becoming aircrew cadets at the RAF academy, Cranwell. I guess the Car & Driver sub-editor it was given to had no idea what I was talking about, hence draftees.
However, let us hope that does not detract from this true anecdote:
However, let us hope that does not detract from this true anecdote:
Wombat
Donation Time
Nickodell
Donation Time
Nickodell
Donation Time
I Thought you'd like this magnificent painting Airstrike Over West Falklandby Robert Taylor, a print of which hangs on my wall. Commander Nigel "Sharkey" Ward, from the carrier Invincible, shoots down an IAI Dagger of Grupo 6 de Caza, flown by Lt. Jorge D. Senn, with an AIM-9L Sidewinder missile. In the same fight, Ward's wingman, Flt. Lt. Steve Thomas downed two other Daggers. (All three Argentine pilots ejected safely).
(I wonder why the Falklands air battles are not shown on the History Channel's Dogfight series?
skywords
Donation Time
Nick that's a great print. I still have the F-86 and Mig print over my desk at home Thanks again.
Heres a movie of Bob Hoover flying a F-86 pure magic. I have seen him in a white F-86A a couple of times at Reno do a similar performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRt6UnNzR6I
Heres a movie of Bob Hoover flying a F-86 pure magic. I have seen him in a white F-86A a couple of times at Reno do a similar performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRt6UnNzR6I
Nickodell
Donation Time
I remember Hoover doing all that in the Shrike Commander in the early 1970s at Cape May, N.J., before the start of the National Air Races (the only time in decades that it was run outside Reno, and undoubtedly the last time, due to two fatalities) where he was pace plane pilot. I gaped in disbelief then, at his loops and 16-point hesitation rolls with both engines off and feathered props, then the one wheel/other wheel landing, and taxi up to the announcer's stand.
And that was some 35 years ago! Guy must be over 80: How can he still be up to it?
And that was some 35 years ago! Guy must be over 80: How can he still be up to it?
skywords
Donation Time
The guys amazing, I used to work on his stuff when Evergreen sponsored him. His Mustang and Shrike where in the Evergreen colors. A good friend of mine worked for Rockwell when they were writting his checks and he said Bob could wreck some airplanes. He has a reputation of being able to crash better than anyone alive or dead. He says "never stop flying, fly it all the way thru the crash". Have you seen the clip where he is pouring iced tea while he rolls the Shrike? It's all in the rudder, note the use of top rudder in the rolls of the F-86 you have to look close.
An article in Flying Magazine years ago written by a piston engine pilot flying a T-33 for the first time said " Rolls were effortless requiring little rudder but a little was required making all you jet types suspect".
An article in Flying Magazine years ago written by a piston engine pilot flying a T-33 for the first time said " Rolls were effortless requiring little rudder but a little was required making all you jet types suspect".