Bah humbug
Wright Flyer replica: $1 million Centennial of Flight event organisation costs: $5 million Entrance price: $25 End of centennial year celebrations...priceless.
Top 10 blues
All right, all right. So it was a slip of the keyboard...honest. While your Uncle's memory of the Suez Crisis may not be as sharp as it once was, he quite agrees that the Vulcan (No 4 in Uncle Roger's Top 10 Aircraft of the Century Flight International, 16-22 December 2003) was not "the only member of the UK's original V-bomber nuclear strike force to be used in anger". Who can forget the role of the ahhhhh...Vickers Valiant during "Operation Musketeer" in October 1956? Naturally our Vulcan entry was meant to say "last" and not "only".
On a related subject, Nephew Joost Carpay e-mailed me his "distress" at the election of Concorde as the readers' No 1 choice. He suggests a possible "rolling" century vote as "the only way to correct this outrage". Meanwhile, rather more people continue to fill my email inbox with messages suggesting that the withdrawal of the aircraft itself was an "outrage".
Canberra conversion
In the ongoing search for the perfect reconnaissance bird, Concorde's retirement has prompted thoughts of at least one powerful - if rather bizarre - option. Nephew Roger Allingham-Mills suggests re-engining a Canberra with ex-Concorde Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus engines. "Imagine a couple of 593s courtesy of Concorde and we could well get into orbit." However, he adds that installation would "definitely be a challenge". Thanks for the thought Roger, but don't call us, we'll call you.
Overheard in Dubai
"I say, have you seen that odd looking aeroplane in this week's Budgie News (2-8 December, 2003, P16)?" "Oh, you mean this?" "Yes. Apparently they took an ex-Romanian Rombac One-Eleven fuselage, added a couple of Ivanchenkov D-737 thrust thingies, fitted it with winglets and stuck on an old MD-80 tail. And what do they call it?" "Ummm...the Tu-334."
One more Concorde story
(Well, probably not). Nephew Ken Manning asks why, when Concorde G-BOAG was retired to Seattle in November, the Union Jack was flown out of the port cockpit window upside down. "I know flying the Stars and Stripes inverted is a distress sign but I was not aware of any special significance of an inverted Union Jack." Well Mr Manning, sadly, now you do.
Source: Flight International
