How low can you go?

Now that's a pretty low flypast, no wonder the presenter's crapping himself.
http://www.airshows.tv/vids/ohmygod.wmv

--
James...
http://www.jameshart.co.uk/

In article ,
James Hart wrote:
Now that's a pretty low flypast, no wonder the presenter's crapping himself.
http://www.airshows.tv/vids/ohmygod.wmv

Rather famously (at least locally) a Polish pilot took a Spitfire under
the left-hand girder span of Barmouth Bridge in 1943 or so. The size of
the gap is visible in:

http://www.ipcvision.com/page01/page14/bridg-01.htm

He may have done it at low water, but you never know.

There's also the rather spectacular pass made by the world's first jet
airliner - the Vickers Nene Viking - on its debut, where it's reputed to
have mad a fast pass down the runway at the Farnborough show at an
altitude of something like 10'. There's a very good photograph of this
exploit which turned up in Aeroplane MOnthly a while back, but there
doesn't seem to be a locatable electronic copy (still (c), I guess).

Can't comment about the video as it appears to be in some wierd
proprietary format (something windows, probably..)

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting
money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

"ANDREW ROBERT BREEN" wrote in message
...
In article ,
James Hart wrote:
Now that's a pretty low flypast, no wonder the presenter's crapping
himself.
http://www.airshows.tv/vids/ohmygod.wmv

Rather famously (at least locally) a Polish pilot took a Spitfire under
the left-hand girder span of Barmouth Bridge in 1943 or so. The size of
the gap is visible in:

http://www.ipcvision.com/page01/page14/bridg-01.htm

He may have done it at low water, but you never know.

There's also the rather spectacular pass made by the world's first jet
airliner - the Vickers Nene Viking - on its debut, where it's reputed to
have mad a fast pass down the runway at the Farnborough show at an
altitude of something like 10'. There's a very good photograph of this
exploit which turned up in Aeroplane MOnthly a while back, but there
doesn't seem to be a locatable electronic copy (still (c), I guess).

Can't comment about the video as it appears to be in some wierd
proprietary format (something windows, probably..)

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting
money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

This reminded me of a story I heard as a lad in the late 1950s/early 1960s
involving a Hawker Hunter flying between the upper and lower spans of Tower
Bridge in London. I have always thought the story must be apocryphal, but
having seen the Spitfire clip, now I'm not so sure....

Martin D

In article ,
Martin D wrote:

http://www.ipcvision.com/page01/page14/bridg-01.htm

This reminded me of a story I heard as a lad in the late 1950s/early 1960s
involving a Hawker Hunter flying between the upper and lower spans of Tower
Bridge in London. I have always thought the story must be apocryphal, but
having seen the Spitfire clip, now I'm not so sure....


It wouldn't suprise me in the slightest - there were some deeply silly
things done in those days (a friend of my father's - a guy I met in his
older, more sensible days - got posted out to the far east after flying a
Sea Gladiator *underneath* the balcony of the admiral's house in IIRC
Durban - the house *was* on a cliff and I think the "underneath" was the
admiral looking down on the top wing, but still..).

One of the regular training exercises for 617 squadron (the dambusters) in
tha last big mistake was flying under the Menai Bridges: The road bridge,
being single span I can see, the Britannia is two-span, and that would
seem awful tight for a Lancaster - which I suppose was the point.

There are also sundry tales of Lightnings being taken under the Forth
Bridges at unlikely speeds - I suspect these are not good things to ask
about!

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting
money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

"Martin D" wrote in message
...



This reminded me of a story I heard as a lad in the late 1950s/early 1960s
involving a Hawker Hunter flying between the upper and lower spans of
Tower
Bridge in London. I have always thought the story must be apocryphal, but
having seen the Spitfire clip, now I'm not so sure....

Martin D

I heard that, too. I seem to remember the pilot being court-marshaled or
something. IIRC again, it had something to do with the disbandment of some
squadrons, or closing of bases, or.... At any rate, it was related as a
gesture on the part of a senior pilot.

Don H.

Don Harstad wrote:
"Martin D" wrote in message
...



This reminded me of a story I heard as a lad in the late 1950s/early
1960s involving a Hawker Hunter flying between the upper and lower
spans of Tower Bridge in London. I have always thought the story
must be apocryphal, but having seen the Spitfire clip, now I'm not
so sure....

Martin D

I heard that, too. I seem to remember the pilot being court-
marshaled or something. IIRC again, it had something to do with the
disbandment of some squadrons, or closing of bases, or.... At any
rate, it was related as a gesture on the part of a senior pilot.

http://www.see.ipms.btinternet.co.uk...s/funnies3.htm
Another story along the same lines.

--
James...
http://www.jameshart.co.uk/

"Martin D" wrote in message
...



This reminded me of a story I heard as a lad in the late 1950s/early 1960s
involving a Hawker Hunter flying between the upper and lower spans of
Tower
Bridge in London. I have always thought the story must be apocryphal, but
having seen the Spitfire clip, now I'm not so sure....


Its quite true, the pilot was Flt Lt Alan Pollock and he made the flight on
5th April 1968 as a protest against the run down of the RAF, it was
covered in Flypast some years ago.

Keith

James Hart wrote in message
...
Now that's a pretty low flypast, no wonder the presenter's crapping
himself.
http://www.airshows.tv/vids/ohmygod.wmv

--
James...

I'm one jaded and hard to impress S.O.B. when it comes to airshow
demonstrations. But that clip is phucking terrific.

Thanks!

--
Scott
--------
Saudi Arabia is the enemy, let's stop pretending otherwise.

In article , James Hart ng-
writes
Now that's a pretty low flypast, no wonder the presenter's crapping himself.
http://www.airshows.tv/vids/ohmygod.wmv

That was Alain de Cadenet, sometime racing driver and Spitfire owner, in
a documentary about the Spitfire. It (more likely a retake) was shown on
Discovery (Wings?) in the UK some time ago, but without the "**** me!"
soundtrack. Shot at Duxford, I think.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

Re that KC135 'low approach' - it was the usual schemozzle - they'd
been broken off a prior approach, cleared directly to downwind,
retracted the gear on the go and forgot it was up as they turned a
visual base and final. I guess that's been doen by hundreds of
pilots/crews; usually there's a wheels watch/RSU down there but none
of the fighters were flying that particular afternoon.
Lucky ucky lucky. SAC was notorious for lacking a sense of humor.
Walt BJ