# Battle of Britain Memorial Flight



## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

The BBMF - Spitfire, Hurricane, and Lancaster - put on a display for us at Prescott yesterday.

Unfortunately, the shutter speed was way too fast so the props are frozen


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## Richf (Apr 26, 2008)

There are off to Santa Pod today i think 

Great photos !!


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Richf said:


> There are off to Santa Pod today i think
> 
> Great photos !!


You sure it wasn't yesterday. They were doing a tour of several venues - two hour flight in total - ending at Cadwell Park.


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## tim (May 2, 2006)

As much as I love Jets, you can't beat the BBMF for Noise! 

Great Photos, Thanks for posting them up


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Someone call:lol: Great pics Parish :thumb: Are there any Shackeltons still flying?


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

Nice shots. They should of displayed at Duxford last Sunday, but the crosswinds were to iffy for them.

Seeing them display always give me goosebumps.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

spitfire said:


> Someone call:lol:


:lol:



spitfire said:


> Are there any Shackeltons still flying?


According to wikipedia, the only one still flying is in S. Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Shackleton

_AAF 1722 is the only remaining flying Shackleton. The aircraft is owned and operated by the South African Air Force Museum based at AFB Ysterplaat. It was one of eight Shackletons operated by the South African Air Force from 1957 to 1984, and is currently used only for occasional flight demonstrations_.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

parish said:


> According to wikipedia, the only one still flying is in S. Africa


South Africa also has the only flying Lightning.


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## jezza (Dec 28, 2006)

Saw this big fella slowly getting mouldy at Newark Air Museum last year...










Such a shame...

Until i saw the one at Duxford in the restoration bay :thumb:










Jezza - longtime AVRO fanboy :thumb:


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

Sadly, that isn't the proper restoration bay. It's just used to store the big stuff. They've got a Eurofighter in there at present.

Duxford's proper restoration bay is in Hanger 5. Mind you, a Shakleton wouldn't fit in there....


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## jezza (Dec 28, 2006)

Bugger! Thought it was getting a full on restoration job.


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

Richf said:


> There are off to Santa Pod today i think
> 
> Great photos !!


Really??

I live about a mile from Pod. I'll keep my eye out!


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

Just had Sally B fly over the house...:argie: She's off for a flypast at Bedford. Give it 10mins or so and she'll be back...:argie:


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## chargedvr6 (Apr 7, 2007)

the plus point of fast shutter speed is less camera shake/motion blur 
nice pics 
bbmf is fantastic theres nothing in the world that sounds better than a merlin 6 of em is just somethin else
ps its funny that the lancaster didnt exist at the time of battle of britain lol


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## Flaming Dragon (Apr 9, 2007)

neilos said:


> South Africa also has the only flying Lightning.


which one? English electric or Lockheed P38?


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## Needs a clean (May 24, 2008)

Cracking photos.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

Flaming Dragon said:


> which one? English electric or Lockheed P38?


English Electric. Duxford did have a P38. There was talk of them getting another one I think.


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

Years ago I remember watching an EE Lightning and a Tornado doing a simultaneous takeoff at Warton. The sound of 4 jet engines going into reheat at the same time whilst stationary and only 50m away was incredible. I can remember my whole ribcage was reverberating - it was something I will never forget - only wish I had a camcorder then but it would have probably destroyed the mic. I think I'm correct in saying the Lightnings rate of climb is still clasified today, even tho its no longer in service.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

dholdi said:


> Years ago I remember watching an EE Lightning and a Tornado doing a simultaneous takeoff at Warton. The sound of 4 jet engines going into reheat at the same time whilst stationary and only 50m away was incredible. I can remember my whole ribcage was reverberating - it was something I will never forget - only wish I had a camcorder then but it would have probably destroyed the mic.


You live/lived near Warton? I used to live in Freckleton so I know what you mean - used to get some awesome free displays :thumb:



dholdi said:


> I think I'm correct in saying the Lightnings rate of climb is still clasified today, even tho its no longer in service.


The published figure is, IIRC, 15,000 feet per minute, but then the Lightning is just an engine with a pilot sat on top of it!!

*Edit* There's a cracking photo in the archives of the P1 - the prototype of the Lightning - that landed at Warton and it's nose gear collapsed, skewed off the runway onto the grass and due to the shape of the nose, dug in, and ended up almost vertical - a kind of aero version of Cadillac Ranch

Also, again IIRC, Johnny Squires still holds the record for the highest speed ejection from a 'plane; something approaching Mach 1 from a P1 over the Irish Sea - in the days when the face shield they had was still canvas :doublesho


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## chargedvr6 (Apr 7, 2007)

try 50,000 ft per min climb rate for the lightning it was and still is an absolute beast of a plane it almost literally is 2 massive engine and a seat!! 1 of my all time favs even though il never see 1 fly


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

chargedvr6 said:


> try 50,000 ft per min climb rate for the lightning


Ah, my bad, fifteen, fifty, easy mistake  (I did think it seemed a bit low - 3 miles per minute or 180mph (in round figures) having seen them in action)


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## chargedvr6 (Apr 7, 2007)

parish said:


> Ah, my bad, fifteen, fifty, easy mistake  (I did think it seemed a bit low - 3 miles per minute or 180mph (in round figures) having seen them in action)


15,000 metres is roughly 50,000 ft prob where the mix up came from either way it was as fast if not faster than anything upto a typhoon/f22 it outperformed the starfighter and turned a hell of alot better when it got to target


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

parish said:


> You live/lived near Warton? I used to live in Freckleton so I know what you mean - used to get some awesome free displays :thumb:


Yeah, I live about 15mins away. I worked there for about 3 years doing facilities maintenance, the free shows from the roofs were awesome. The test pilot for Typhoon was an absolute nutter - happy days. Moved on now but still nip down when I have a bit of spare time. I did my apprenticeship at GEC on Strand Road in Preston, a few years earlier both sides of the road were English Electric and the guy who taught me how to draw, years before Autocad etc worked on the tooling for P1.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

dholdi said:


> The test pilot for Typhoon was an absolute nutter - happy days.


*All* the Test Pilots are nutters -and p155 heads. My missus worked in the medical centre at Warton and we used to go in the Lightning club on Friday nights and all the pilots were there, lashed up on G&Ts :doublesho



dholdi said:


> I did my apprenticeship at GEC on Strand Road in Preston, a few years earlier both sides of the road were English Electric and the guy who taught me how to draw, years before Autocad etc worked on the tooling for P1.


Yep, did my apprenticeship at BAC (as BAe was in those days) just across the road. Sadly the BAC/BAe building is no longer. My F-i-L worked at GEC and he took me to an open day there - seriously impressive stuff they did/do :thumb:


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

parish said:


> [Yep, did my apprenticeship at BAC (as BAe was in those days) just across the road. Sadly the BAC/BAe building is no longer. My F-i-L worked at GEC and he took me to an open day there - seriously impressive stuff they did/do :thumb:


Yep, BAC site is now houses and Aldi etc. The GEC site is still there but its a warehouse for train spares now


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

dholdi said:


> The GEC site is still there but its a warehouse for train spares now


 so there's no manufacturing there anymore?


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

What used to be the fab shop, the satelite building at the south end of the Strand still make bits and bats of spares, do rewinds etc. The rest of the site is a warehouse apart from the offices which I believe BAe now occupy. Damn French - Alsthom, who bought into GEC for the AC traction motor technology, that we pioneered, shipped all the manufacturing to France once they had our designs


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## HairyG (Jun 13, 2008)

Great pictures of the BBMF, did you get any shots of the Can-Can girls at la Vie en Bleu?


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

HairyG said:


> did you get any shots of the Can-Can girls at la Vie en Bleu?


http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=119156

Last pic :thumb:


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

God bless anything with a Merlin in it!

EDIT: Could I have a large copy of the 6th pic down (the second Lanc pic). I spy a new desktop.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

PaulGTI said:


> God bless anything with a Merlin in it!


Somewhere I have a pic of a tractor with a Merlin in it :doublesho


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## Richf (Apr 26, 2008)

Oh yes


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

parish said:


> Somewhere I have a pic of a tractor with a Merlin in it :doublesho


That has to be a farmer in ONE HELL OF A HURRY!!!


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

Richf said:


> Oh yes


God bless anything with a Merlin in it...and Nos


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

PaulGTI said:


> That has to be a farmer in ONE HELL OF A HURRY!!!


:lol:

It was at a tractor pulling event - and if you think F1 is noisy!

Here's one with TWO R-R Griffon engines






And if that's not enough power, how about THREE Allison V-12s


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks Parish

Great photos - brings back some nostalgia - you can't beat seeing the silhouette of these monsters in the sky

A good few years back we were lucky enough to e in Jersey when there was a a Battle of Britian memorial - there were spitfires, hurricanes and the like all capped off with a superb demonstration by the Red Arrows :thumb:


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## chargedvr6 (Apr 7, 2007)

parish said:


> Somewhere I have a pic of a tractor with a Merlin in it :doublesho


i know of a guy with a rover sd1 with a meteor engine which is a merlin without the supercharger 800 hp and over 2000 lb ft n/a!!!


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## cosmos (Jan 19, 2006)

Claim to fame - the BBMF Spitfire in the photos on the first page - I painted the Sqn. crest on the side of it!


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## ChrisJD (Apr 15, 2009)

Fantastic pictures:argie:

As said, you simply cannot beat the sound of a Merlin engine. I get a tingle go through me everytime I hear one and one of the best views is the memorial flight.

Not much can beat the site of the old warbirds doing a low level pass...

Chris.


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