Old air displays

[grumpy52]

Watching a documentary about the Comet and some of the film footage from air displays of that era is amazing .
Some amazingly futuristic looking aircraft shown against many very dated looking wheeled transport .
The display flying certainly wasn't as restricted as it was a few years later and a world away from the straight jackets of today .
Imagine bringing a prototype large bomber or passenger aircraft over a crowd at head height these days .
I have never seen footage of half the aircraft flying only photos in old books .
The Brabazon was fascinating.

[Eric Mc]

I would assume you were looking at Farnborough Air Show footage.

Here's a good example of 1950s display flying from the US. Watch at around 6 minutes into this documentary on the X-15.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07nZxVxX8n4

[grumpy52]

Mostly Farnborough but some from the manufacturer airfields.
I love the thought of the huge crowds getting to Farnborough pre motorway and bypass days .

[Eric Mc]

A lot would have gone by train - as they still do. It's only a 20 minute walk from the train station to the airfield - and they've always run a shuttle bus service from the station to the airfield for those who didn't/don't fancy the walk.

[grumpy52]

It must have been a magical time to live ,like watching Tomorrows World actually happen in the air .
Some very weird and wonderful innovations happening .
Paired engines looked so sci fi ,have they ever really worked ?

[Eric Mc]

Of course they worked in the sense that the engines gave the thrust for flying.

However, there were advantages to be had by placing engines in under wing pods on pylons - chiefly regarding structure, aerodynamics, weight and safety.

Also, as engines became bulkier, it became less practical to bury them in wing roots - as in the V bombers and Comet, for example.

[grumpy52]

I just caught the images of two prototypes with paired engines in the middle of the wings ,one had them stacked one above the other .
I do enjoy seeing them in just the polished metal finish .

[andy97]

Eric Mc said:

Of course they worked in the sense that the engines gave the thrust for flying.

However, there were advantages to be had by placing engines in under wing pods on pylons - chiefly regarding structure, aerodynamics, weight and safety.

Also, as engines became bulkier, it became less practical to bury them in wing roots - as in the V bombers and Comet, for example.

And the engines became bulkier because of the shift from turbojets to turbofans, and then high bypass ratio turbofans, where part of the thrust is provided by pulling some of the air around the outside of the engine and accelerating it by a driven fan.

[Eric Mc]

grumpy52 said:

I just caught the images of two prototypes with paired engines in the middle of the wings ,one had them stacked one above the other .
I do enjoy seeing them in just the polished metal finish .

Short Sperrin?

[grumpy52]

Eric Mc said:

grumpy52 said:

I just caught the images of two prototypes with paired engines in the middle of the wings ,one had them stacked one above the other .
I do enjoy seeing them in just the polished metal finish .

Short Sperrin?

Thats one of them .

[Eric Mc]

The Sperrin was built as a back up in case the more radical V bombers failed. They didn't so the Sperrin wasn't proceeded with.

[hammo19]

Was the man who gave exciting names to aircraft out of the Shorts office that day?

[HOGEPH]

hammo19 said:

Was the man who gave exciting names to aircraft out of the Shorts office that day?

Reggie Perrin's brother Sidney?

[FourWheelDrift]

hammo19 said:

Was the man who gave exciting names to aircraft out of the Shorts office that day?

Shorts, based in Belfast - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperrins

[grumpy52]

I sometimes deliver to what was Shorts ,Bombardier.
Parts made in the old hovercraft factory on the Isle of Wight.
Bombardier is next to the Titanic docks so I have a real sense of history when I deliver .

[Eric Mc]

hammo19 said:

Was the man who gave exciting names to aircraft out of the Shorts office that day?

The Sperrin mountains are in Northern Ireland. The plane was named after them.

[hammo19]

Eric Mc said:

The Sperrin mountains are in Northern Ireland. The plane was named after them.

Thanks for clearing that up Eric and of course 100% right. But I still prefer the Reggie Perrin answer.

[Eric Mc]

When I was a trainee accountant back in the 1970s, one of the basic tutorial books on accounting I was studying was written by a chap called R.E.G Perrin.

I often wondered if he was the inspiration for Reggie Perrin.