old timers look here must be 50+ years only
11-10-2022, 09:42 AM
Heard a few flocks of Canadian geese overhead heading south toward Mexico a few weeks ago, but not in the quantities that they used to come in, other species included. Perhaps I am wrong, but it does seem that much of the bird population has disappeared past few years, much unlike years before. However, we still have late summer weather here, weather that normally ended mid September, so perhaps they are delayed.
11-10-2022, 10:08 AM
Senior Member
11-10-2022, 10:40 AM
Senior Member
here too!
11-11-2022, 09:48 AM
Thread Starter
Today, "Veterans day" a parade is usually held but not today, mother nature has put a damper on that with windy cold and rainy weather. I went outside to check the propane in my motorhome and it was comfortably warm 15 minutes later I went out to get the mail I was greeted by a twenty degree drop in temperature so I took my van to the mail box (it's a quarter mile away) old man winter has arrived. Enjoy your flying weather David!
11-12-2022, 01:46 AM
Armistice Day, Smart Alec Kids, WOT 4s and Cranes.
Good Day Gentlemen!
We all went down to the war memorial at 11.00 yesterday for the annual commemoration of the end of the Great War. I donated a wreath from the British Community. I'll take a picture when I get a minute.
The population of my commune, the equivalent of a parish in the UK or USA, was in 1911 was 1603. Half of those would have been women and of the 800 or so men, I guess that something like 270 would have been of military age. France had a tradition of conscription dating back to Napoleon so once a man had reached his eighteenth birthday he was off to the army. He remained in various reserve units till he reached the age of fifty. Of those 270 men nearly a third were killed in the war. There are 79 names on that war memorial. Many of those who survived would have been wounded, some maimed for life. Incidentally I discovered quite accidentally that two men from my commune with exactly the same name, Alexandre Simon, had been killed in the Great War but only one name was recorded on the war memorial. At first I thought that this was a clerical error but no, one man was appreciably older than the other, one was killed in 1914 the other in 1917 in the Ypres Salient in Belgium fighting alongside the Brtitish. One was a private soldier, the other a decorated officer. I pointed this out to the staff of the mairie last year. They have subsequently had an extra A Simon added to the memorial.
The ceremony was brief this year. The mayor read out a statement from Mr Macron, then the local children read out a poem hoping that nations would never go to war again. This was followed by little floral donations from the children and wreathes from the commune, the fire service, which is a very important institution in rural France, and my wreath from the British community. Then there was two minutes silence followed by La Marseiilleuse. The fire brigade which had been standing to attention were dismissed and we all filed of for wine and light refreshments at the community centre.
After lunch I changed out of my suit and went to the flying field. That Smart Alec Kid was there showing us all how to do it flying inverted circuits with his trainer see Post 11040. Then there must have been a sudden silence because the next thing I knew was that there were three or four of them out in the neighbouring field picking up the bits! I didn't hear it because I was flying the Big Guff at the time. The wing of his trainer is broken and the fin but it 's repairable. Perhaps it went in inverted if so he's joined the "Up Elevator Club!" I gave the kid a part built WOT 4 complete with a second hand wing. It will suit his aerobatics much better than his trainer! We all have too many models don't we including those that we are going to repair when we get a minute!
What's a WOT 4? It's a well-known British sports shoulder wing job ideal as a second model. There are two versions currently available as kits: the Classic with a rectangular wing planform and the Mark 3 with a tapered wing. I'v e had both pictured below.
While they were picking up the bits a flock of cranes flew overhead in a V formation. I counted seven birds formated on the leader's port wing but hundreds were on his starboard side, each bird just of to the right of the bird in front, all headed south. From time to time the leader would drop back and anotherbird would lead the flock. Another larger flock flew past later. I wish that human beings could be so co-operative.
PS. It was 20C (68F) here yesterday afternoon and similar temperatures are forecast for the next few days, no wind to speak of, ideal flying whether!
We all went down to the war memorial at 11.00 yesterday for the annual commemoration of the end of the Great War. I donated a wreath from the British Community. I'll take a picture when I get a minute.
The population of my commune, the equivalent of a parish in the UK or USA, was in 1911 was 1603. Half of those would have been women and of the 800 or so men, I guess that something like 270 would have been of military age. France had a tradition of conscription dating back to Napoleon so once a man had reached his eighteenth birthday he was off to the army. He remained in various reserve units till he reached the age of fifty. Of those 270 men nearly a third were killed in the war. There are 79 names on that war memorial. Many of those who survived would have been wounded, some maimed for life. Incidentally I discovered quite accidentally that two men from my commune with exactly the same name, Alexandre Simon, had been killed in the Great War but only one name was recorded on the war memorial. At first I thought that this was a clerical error but no, one man was appreciably older than the other, one was killed in 1914 the other in 1917 in the Ypres Salient in Belgium fighting alongside the Brtitish. One was a private soldier, the other a decorated officer. I pointed this out to the staff of the mairie last year. They have subsequently had an extra A Simon added to the memorial.
The ceremony was brief this year. The mayor read out a statement from Mr Macron, then the local children read out a poem hoping that nations would never go to war again. This was followed by little floral donations from the children and wreathes from the commune, the fire service, which is a very important institution in rural France, and my wreath from the British community. Then there was two minutes silence followed by La Marseiilleuse. The fire brigade which had been standing to attention were dismissed and we all filed of for wine and light refreshments at the community centre.
After lunch I changed out of my suit and went to the flying field. That Smart Alec Kid was there showing us all how to do it flying inverted circuits with his trainer see Post 11040. Then there must have been a sudden silence because the next thing I knew was that there were three or four of them out in the neighbouring field picking up the bits! I didn't hear it because I was flying the Big Guff at the time. The wing of his trainer is broken and the fin but it 's repairable. Perhaps it went in inverted if so he's joined the "Up Elevator Club!" I gave the kid a part built WOT 4 complete with a second hand wing. It will suit his aerobatics much better than his trainer! We all have too many models don't we including those that we are going to repair when we get a minute!
What's a WOT 4? It's a well-known British sports shoulder wing job ideal as a second model. There are two versions currently available as kits: the Classic with a rectangular wing planform and the Mark 3 with a tapered wing. I'v e had both pictured below.
While they were picking up the bits a flock of cranes flew overhead in a V formation. I counted seven birds formated on the leader's port wing but hundreds were on his starboard side, each bird just of to the right of the bird in front, all headed south. From time to time the leader would drop back and anotherbird would lead the flock. Another larger flock flew past later. I wish that human beings could be so co-operative.
PS. It was 20C (68F) here yesterday afternoon and similar temperatures are forecast for the next few days, no wind to speak of, ideal flying whether!
Last edited by Telemaster Sales UK; 11-12-2022 at 01:50 AM.
11-12-2022, 06:29 AM
Senior Member
T-shirt, shorts and sandals, jealous!
11-12-2022, 07:35 AM
Unfortunately gentlemen the picture of me holding my multi-coloured WOT 4 was taken in 2006!
The lad who took it on is a panel beater/paint sprayer with the local VW agent. He has made a superb job of renovating it but I don't know whether it's flown yet.
The lad who took it on is a panel beater/paint sprayer with the local VW agent. He has made a superb job of renovating it but I don't know whether it's flown yet.
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bisco (11-12-2022)
11-12-2022, 07:54 AM
Tell the youngster that instead of thinking "Pull the stick back to go up, push it to go down", think "PUSH the nose towards the wheels, PULL the nose away from the wheels". Then it doesn't matter which orientation the plane is in, the results will always be the same.
11-13-2022, 02:54 PM
Thread Starter
We lost two WW 2 warbirds in a mid air collision in Dallas Texas during a airshow a p-63 king cobra and a B-17.
the p63 struck the b-17 amid ship and severed the tail section both plummeted to the ground. It appears as many as 6 lives were lost.
Not much in details has been released but from the looks of things no one survived. both planes were part of the commemorative A.F. based out of Conroe TEX.
The video I saw appeared to show the incident took place at less than 2000 feet.
the p63 struck the b-17 amid ship and severed the tail section both plummeted to the ground. It appears as many as 6 lives were lost.
Not much in details has been released but from the looks of things no one survived. both planes were part of the commemorative A.F. based out of Conroe TEX.
The video I saw appeared to show the incident took place at less than 2000 feet.
Last edited by donnyman; 11-13-2022 at 02:59 PM.
11-13-2022, 05:40 PM
We lost two WW 2 warbirds in a mid air collision in Dallas Texas during a airshow a p-63 king cobra and a B-17. The p63 struck the b-17 amid ship and severed the tail section both plummeted to the ground. It appears as many as 6 lives were lost. Not much in details has been released but from the looks of things no one survived. both planes were part of the commemorative A.F. based out of Conroe TEX. The video I saw appeared to show the incident took place at less than 2000 feet.
11-13-2022, 09:05 PM
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HangarRash (11-13-2022)
11-13-2022, 10:29 PM
Terribly sad especially for any friends or relatives who were there at the time. There is some conjecture on the internet as to how and why the collision occurred. I'll wait for the official report.
11-13-2022, 10:32 PM
Had a mixed flying day yesterday. The weather was perfect, 20C and no wind. I had a good flight with my double sized Tomboy but the sub-fin snapped off on landing. It's only the glue joint so an easy repair but I lost control of the BE2e on take off. I'm not quite sure exactly why, too brutal with the rudder perhaps. There's only cosmetic damage but this is the second time it's happened. A club mate suggested fitting a gyro. What do you think?
11-14-2022, 10:52 AM
Gyros...now I want one for lunch. The easy answer is that they are relatively cheap these days. You could probably as easily swap out your receiver for one of the stability assist packages. As a person who tends to overanalyze such things I'm wondering if it is a consistent problem. Has the BE always been difficult to launch or did you just catch a bit of random turbulence on takeoff? I've had airplanes that were such a handful on takeoff that even a gyro couldn't tame them so I understand that is a thing that happens. Your BE is a good looking airplane so I would say if it makes the difference between flying and not flying, then throw in a gyro.
11-14-2022, 10:21 PM
I only fly the BE2 when the weather is calm so it only comes out on high days and holidays. I've crashed it on take off on the last two occasions when I attempted to fly it. On the first occasion a couple of rigging wires broke and there appears to be no damage this time, though I'm going to dismantle it and inspect it.
No chance of getting much flying in this week here. Strong winds and rain are forecast, maybe Friday morning will be ok.
I think I'll treat myself to a gyro for Christmas!
No chance of getting much flying in this week here. Strong winds and rain are forecast, maybe Friday morning will be ok.
I think I'll treat myself to a gyro for Christmas!
11-26-2022, 12:35 AM
Congratulations to the staff and players of the American national football team which held England to a goal-less draw last night at the FIFA World Cup. They dominated the game for most of the match and were the better team on the night.
Recently the American Women's Team played very well against the Lionesses, the English national women's team. Although they lost 2-1 they never stopped coming forward and I was impressed by their speed and skill. The Lionesses are the European Champions so it was a particularly fine achievement.
Did you know that England has never beaten the USA in a World Cup match despite being considered a better team on paper? But the game is not played on paper! We drew last night and in 2010 and in 1950 the USA won 1-0.
Recently the American Women's Team played very well against the Lionesses, the English national women's team. Although they lost 2-1 they never stopped coming forward and I was impressed by their speed and skill. The Lionesses are the European Champions so it was a particularly fine achievement.
Did you know that England has never beaten the USA in a World Cup match despite being considered a better team on paper? But the game is not played on paper! We drew last night and in 2010 and in 1950 the USA won 1-0.
11-26-2022, 06:19 AM
Senior Member
i never even knew the u.s. played soccer in 1950. i'm too old, but our son and his generation are huge fans.
this qatar thing bothers me, as does the new s.a. golf league
this qatar thing bothers me, as does the new s.a. golf league
12-04-2022, 06:47 AM
In Post 11057 I said that I'd photograph the floral display at the local war memorial. My wreath from the British Community is in the centre. If you look closely in the second picture you may see that the second Alexandre Simon has been added to the panel. Those of you with sharp eyes will notice that the gold paint is brighter than that of the others.
War Memorial Measnes France taken several days after 11th November. Wreaths from the Commune, the Fire Brigade and the British Community. The poesies are from primary school children.
Earlier this year I discovered that two men, from the local commune, with exactly the same name were killed in the Great War 1914-1918 but only one name was inscribed on the war memorial. This mistake has now been remedied.
War Memorial Measnes France taken several days after 11th November. Wreaths from the Commune, the Fire Brigade and the British Community. The poesies are from primary school children.
Earlier this year I discovered that two men, from the local commune, with exactly the same name were killed in the Great War 1914-1918 but only one name was inscribed on the war memorial. This mistake has now been remedied.
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GallopingGhostler (12-04-2022)
12-05-2022, 09:33 AM
Thread Starter
I think I'll treat myself to a gyro for Christmas!
David
Before you buy a gyro ............ I have some that I won't be using, you are welcome to the one you choose for the cost of shipping.
I will send pictures soon.
David
Before you buy a gyro ............ I have some that I won't be using, you are welcome to the one you choose for the cost of shipping.
I will send pictures soon.
