RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted 2 hours ago RMweb Gold Share Posted 2 hours ago 4 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said: think I prefer the work of Charles Addams, I feel a bit more confortable with that. Even Uncle Fester? 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Snowdon Posted 2 hours ago Share Posted 2 hours ago 4 minutes ago, Tony_S said: Even Uncle Fester? Light-bulbs, energy-prices... Just a thought... Apparently BBC Inside Science this week is looking at how many lemons it would take to power the ISS, so I'll be listening out for that episode. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winslow Boy Posted 1 hour ago Share Posted 1 hour ago 30 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said: Light-bulbs, energy-prices... Just a thought... Apparently BBC Inside Science this week is looking at how many lemons it would take to power the ISS, so I'll be listening out for that episode. It's not the getting up to ISS that bothers me, it's getting back down. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PupCam Posted 1 hour ago RMweb Gold Share Posted 1 hour ago 43 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said: That "Dawn Patrol" video was splendid. Took me back to reading "Biggles" as a boy (and since - some of the 1930s and 1960s novels are a bit spicy for today!). Am very curious - are those machines 7/8ths models, built and certified as microlights? I heard something about (I think...) the Shuttleworth Collection flying that kite (so to speak) about 20 years ago and whilst it made sense to me then, I don't know what became of it. No, they are all 1/3 scale models. As Shuttleworth was mentioned, here is a picture showing one of the largest gatherings of Dawn Patrol aircraft which happened to be at Shuttleworth about 10 years ago. If you look carefully you can see my uncovered Sopwith Triplane on the right-hand side at the back and those that know me might even be able to spot my ugly mug. The Fokker DVII seen in the film is behind the Triplane and the Sopwith Pup "Camera Ship" is seen in the centre-left foreground. 43 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said: PS, IIRC, the very first story is actually spicy enough: Biggles, having lied about his age, is on his first day's training. An older pilot tries to land, crashes, and burns to death. The later WWI stories basically involve alcoholism ("lemonade" and "ginger beer" were both originally "whisky"), womanising ("Marie"), manly showing off (Biggles and Wilks having a camera-gun fight to show whether the Camel and SE5A were matched), and several stories in which Biggles clearly has a near-breakdown (including almost shooting Algy). The tenderness shown by Biggles when Batson dies is also a memorable piece of writing. All of which now seem to make the 1930s and 1960s stories seem a little tame. I believe James Bigglesworth aka "Biggles" is a contraction of Biggleswade (a mile from Shuttleworth) and Shuttleworth although I can't now remember the exact nature of the connection of W.E.Johns with either although I suspect he was a friend of Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, the founder of the collection. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Snowdon Posted 1 hour ago Share Posted 1 hour ago 2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said: It's not the getting up to ISS that bothers me, it's getting back down. After all the doings, mis-doings and non-doings recently and over the past three years, I'd rather not pursue that one... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted 1 hour ago Author RMweb Gold Share Posted 1 hour ago 17 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said: It's not the getting up to ISS that bothers me, it's getting back down. Slide down the ladder you keep in your she...... Sorry 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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