by captjeff | Aug 17, 2018 | Plane Tales
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During World War 2, for the bomber pilots, getting shot down over enemy territory was far from the only risk that they faced. In England, Bomber Command and the Eighth Air Force suffered significant losses when returning to their bases only to find that they were fogged out. This is the story of FIDO.
A Lancaster comes to grief amongst the FIDO pipes.
Images under Creative Commons license with thanks to Goodchild A, the Imperial War Museums, the RAF Museum and UK Gov.
by captjeff | Aug 14, 2018 | Plane Tales
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The Chief Pilot of the British Registration Board, D P Davies, wrote THE definitive book for airline pilots moving to the the big jets of the 70’s and 80’s. An acerbic, opinionated but incredibly talented pilot his life was full of fascinating stories.
by captjeff | Aug 4, 2018 | Plane Tales
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With the Chinese forces under Chiang Kai-shek keeping over a million Japanese troops occupied, once America joined the Second World War, they were keen to prevent those troops from becoming free to engage them in the Pacific theatre. Supplying the 10th Air Force and the Chinese forces became a priority. So began an enormous effort to air lift thousands of tons of supplies over some of the most treacherous and difficult terrain in the war. This the unsung story of the crews that flew the Hump.
The C46 Commando.
The C54 Skymaster.
Pictures under Creative Commons Licence with thanks to the US Gov and the USAF,
by captjeff | Jul 28, 2018 | Plane Tales
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An American analyst poured over a satellite image of a vast and strange aircraft being built on the shore of the Caspian Sea. What was this monster of a machine? The Russians had delved into the world of ground effect vehicles and this is the story.
The KM (Korabl Maket) Ekranoplan.
The successor to the Caspian Sea Monster, the Lun Class missile carrier, NATO code name Duck!
The Duck being decommissioned.
The more successful A-90_Orlyonok.
The Boeing Pelican ULTRA concept aircraft.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Fred Schaerli, the Stock Archives of Soviet Navy, Mike1979Russia, К.Е.Сергеев and Boeing.
by captjeff | Jul 18, 2018 | Plane Tales
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In the post WW2 era the Farnborough Airshow was a fabulous and exciting window into the amazing world of advanced jet fighters and in 1952 test pilot John Derry was flying one of the most advanced prototypes there. This is his story.
Test Pilot John Derry.
The Sea Vixen with it’s unusual offset pilot’s canopy.
The aftermath of the DH110 crash.
Images through Creative Commons licence with thanks to the National Library of Austria, the United States Navy, The Crown (Gov UK) and Kaboldy.
by captjeff | Jul 17, 2018 | Plane Tales
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Following my previous story concerning the tragic murder of both pilots on the flight deck, the son of First Officer Ray Andress wrote and told me the story from his side. Steve Andress went on to become a USAF pilot and is now flies for a major legacy airline. He also tells us of the work his mother undertook to ban the use of flight insurance vending machines at airports to deter others with murderous intent and we hear of a couple of other awful murder cases involving air travel.
Captain Steve Andress
With thanks to Steve for the photographs of his father which heads this story and of himself. The image of a flight insurance vending machine under a Creative Commons licence.
