BBC 4 tonight. Jet. When Britain Ruled the Skies
Discussion
Parabola said:
One of the best programs I've ever seen on television.
Do examples of all the planes showed still exist anywhere in the world?
Any still flying like the mighty Vulcan?
Vulcan is the only V bomber flying. Lightnings exist but are not flown (used to be for hire in South Africa but have been grounded IIRC). Canberra was with the RAF until 2006! and several are flying privately. Gloster Meteors have several flying examples including two still used by Martin Baker for ejector seat testing. Harriers obviously US, India, Spain and Italy. Hunters, vampires, vixens also all fly.Do examples of all the planes showed still exist anywhere in the world?
Any still flying like the mighty Vulcan?
Edit: I suppose technically a flying Victor exists as this 'accidentally' happened in 2009 during a high speed taxi run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3HaeYVlBw8
Edited by gazapc on Wednesday 22 August 22:23
gazapc said:
Parabola said:
One of the best programs I've ever seen on television.
Do examples of all the planes showed still exist anywhere in the world?
Any still flying like the mighty Vulcan?
Vulcan is the only V bomber flying. Lightnings exist but are not flown (used to be for hire in South Africa but have been grounded IIRC). Canberra was with the RAF until 2006! and several are flying privately. Gloster Meteors have several flying examples including two still used by Martin Baker for ejector seat testing. Harriers obviously US, India, Spain and Italy. Hunters, vampires, vixens also all fly.Do examples of all the planes showed still exist anywhere in the world?
Any still flying like the mighty Vulcan?
Edit: I suppose technically a flying Victor exists as this 'accidentally' happened in 2009 during a high speed taxi run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3HaeYVlBw8
I had no idea they built so may Lightnings. I'm going to pop into The Manchester Museum of Science & Industry' this weekend to have a proper look at the prototype.
Another terrific documentary from BBC4.
But one that makes you terribly sad. Britain was a such different country back then. As they said, no one would have dreamed of suing Farnborough or De Havilland after that accident, everyone just got on with it. A society that valued achievement and bravery.
And now we've pissed it all away....
There are some people (some of them who were high up in the services) who believe that Harold Wilson was a Soviet agent. Maybe one day we will learn the whole truth about the TSR2 and the Saunders Roe SR.177 cancellations. But of course always no British politician would ever,ever take a bribe to stop a project, would they?
I mean only German, Dutch, Japanese and Greek politicians would accept bribes to approve the purchase of an inferior aircraft to the SR that had been rejected by the Americans and potentially threatened to bankrupt Lockheed.
No British Member of Parliament has ever been motivated by gaining personal wealth from their position. Surely if we have learned one thing from the last few years its that they are all in office just for the good of the people and I'm sure it was like that back in the 50s & 60s too....
Oh and 'Project Cancelled' is a brillant book too if you can pick it up. But it will make you marvel and annoyed in equal measure, so many missed chances.
But one that makes you terribly sad. Britain was a such different country back then. As they said, no one would have dreamed of suing Farnborough or De Havilland after that accident, everyone just got on with it. A society that valued achievement and bravery.
And now we've pissed it all away....
There are some people (some of them who were high up in the services) who believe that Harold Wilson was a Soviet agent. Maybe one day we will learn the whole truth about the TSR2 and the Saunders Roe SR.177 cancellations. But of course always no British politician would ever,ever take a bribe to stop a project, would they?
I mean only German, Dutch, Japanese and Greek politicians would accept bribes to approve the purchase of an inferior aircraft to the SR that had been rejected by the Americans and potentially threatened to bankrupt Lockheed.
No British Member of Parliament has ever been motivated by gaining personal wealth from their position. Surely if we have learned one thing from the last few years its that they are all in office just for the good of the people and I'm sure it was like that back in the 50s & 60s too....
Oh and 'Project Cancelled' is a brillant book too if you can pick it up. But it will make you marvel and annoyed in equal measure, so many missed chances.
Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Wednesday 22 August 22:34
I didn't know the Lightning could go supersonic vertically. Great footage, especially the 3-ship formation takeoff.
They said the TSR2 was scrapped because it tried to do too many things. But they made the Tornado (Multi Role Combat Aircraft) work.
One anorak point: The Vulcan wasn't the first 'big bomber' to be rolled; Henshaw rolled a Lancaster.
They said the TSR2 was scrapped because it tried to do too many things. But they made the Tornado (Multi Role Combat Aircraft) work.
One anorak point: The Vulcan wasn't the first 'big bomber' to be rolled; Henshaw rolled a Lancaster.
As the originator of the original thread 
, I have to say that was pretty excellent.
I am usually very picky about such programmes - but this was almost completely faultless. I say "almost" because I did spot one factual error - the Canberra was not the world's first jet bomber. That honour goes to the Arado Ar234 Blitz - which was German.
, I have to say that was pretty excellent. I am usually very picky about such programmes - but this was almost completely faultless. I say "almost" because I did spot one factual error - the Canberra was not the world's first jet bomber. That honour goes to the Arado Ar234 Blitz - which was German.
Simpo Two said:
They said the TSR2 was scrapped because it tried to do too many things. But they made the Tornado (Multi Role Combat Aircraft) work.
And they would have made the TSR-2 work as well - if they had been prepared to throw more money at it. By the time the Tornado was flying, aviation and avionics had moved on a decade and what had been extremely difficult to do in 1964 had become somewhat less difficult by 1974.
gazapc said:
RegMolehusband said:
Damn, I missed this! and it doesn't seem to be on iPlayer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01m81f5/Jet!... and it doesn't seem to be on iPlayer. There's a Cold war jet's fast run open day at Bruntingthorpe this Saturday if anybody's in the area http://www.vulcantothesky.org/news/386/82/Cold-War...
What would be an interesting follow-on series would be a programme or set of programmes which compared and contrasted aeronautical developments in the 1950s in Britain with where the state of the art was in other countries, particularly in the US, the Soviet Union and France. I think if you do examine the whole aviation scene at that time you will find that the British were not as advanced as they thought they were.
It was good that they interviewed James Hamilton-Paterson, the author of the excellent book "Empire of the Skies". It si a very dispassionate look at what was going on in UK aviation in the 1950s and a sober reflection on how the UK aviation industry sowed the seeds of its own demise in that era.
Other books worth reading are -
"Project Cancelled" - by the late Derek Wood
"Plane Speaking" - by Bill Gunston
"Back to the Drawing Board" - also by Bill Gunston
Next week's episode will be looking at the civil aviation scene - which is another sad story worth telling in a dispassionate way.
It was good that they interviewed James Hamilton-Paterson, the author of the excellent book "Empire of the Skies". It si a very dispassionate look at what was going on in UK aviation in the 1950s and a sober reflection on how the UK aviation industry sowed the seeds of its own demise in that era.
Other books worth reading are -
"Project Cancelled" - by the late Derek Wood
"Plane Speaking" - by Bill Gunston
"Back to the Drawing Board" - also by Bill Gunston
Next week's episode will be looking at the civil aviation scene - which is another sad story worth telling in a dispassionate way.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff