Gonflyin

  David,   Three more for the mixer...   de Havilland Mosquito.         A tribute to Air Chief Marshall Sir Wilfrid Freeman.  Had it not been for his                                                             foresight and tenacity the Mosquito, and indeed the Merlin too, might never                                                           have happened.         Hawker Sea Fury.                 Because however fast you fly it, you might still be within scale.   English Electric Canberra.  A long operational life.  Is it possible that someone, somewere, is                                                                             still flying one of these?                                                                                       Peter Beeney.                                 

David, May I suggest that these things are Digital Multi-Meters (DMMs). A 10A voltmeter is a bit of an unknown quantity. Peter Beeney. 

Hello David, Apologies if this has been covered before. Alan Bramson and Neville Birch, the authors of a delightful book, the ‘Tiger Moth Story’ related some interesting facts about the Queen Bees. For safety reasons these radio controlled planes were operated from ships at sea and so were generally fitted with floats. They were catapulted from the deck, (pull that bungee back another ten paces, lads), then used for gunnery practice. They seemed to have been remarkably sophisticated, with automatic take off and landing plus safety devices in case control was lost! They were also quite difficult to shoot down too.  I remember reading an account, again in the dim and distant past, of a Naval demonstration that was arranged for High Ranking Officers from the other Services, plus other Visiting Dignitaries. The Bee was flown as slowly and as straight as possible, up and down past the ship, many times, serenely sailing (?) through everything that was thrown at it, until at last, in order to salvage some remnants of credibility of the Senior Service, the pilot was ordered by the Officer In Charge, in no uncertain terms whatsoever, to crash it into the sea!   Shades of Dad’s Navy, I reckon. They would fly around an average of twenty flights before being shot down. (Do we know a quicker way I ask myself? They were on 160-180 kHz.) In1924 a radio controlled full size Bristol Fighter made a successful take off, circuit and landing. I have a feeling that the Tiger on the box would not be attacking anything in that garb. I’d have thought that the war time paintwork would have been much more drab. I also have a  very hazy recollection of a Tiger/battleship story but I can’t remember anything about it at the moment. And it might have been only a sighting anyway. I’ve read the Jackaroo story slightly different from Peter Burry’s but I can add one little tale from Ireland. A Jackaroo was damaged in a take off accident and then rebuilt as a Tiger Moth. It’s owner called it a Tigeroo! Finally, I think we really ought to mention the Tiger Club. Worth a whole episode on it’s own. Casually formed in 1956, later based at Redhill and currently at Headcorn, they’ve done it all. Alan Bramson was CFI for a while. A good template to base one’s model flying on. Please count this as my entry.                                                Peter Beeney.