There are 104 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 34,971 times. The latest Post () was by ethanedwards.
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Todd, I don't know. And if you noticed, when they showed the old guy, it looked like he was controlling the movement of his plane with his head . . . his head and the movement of the plane seemed to be exactly in sync . . . it was almost scary. The Mrs. had to stop watching, as she was getting a little sick to her stomach.
Chester 
To bring back an old thread, with something very interesting about flying
Video Moller International M200x flight - Flying, Saucer, Car - Dailymotion Share Your Videos
Enjoy,
Chester
Watching this guy reminds me of watching the Wright Brothers on their maiden flight.
The UFO folks are getting a big lift out of this one.
Here's another link,
http://ufonews.tv/2007/04/25/m…al-to-fund-flying-saucer/
Enjoy Chester
Here's an interesting article about airplanes, since this thread has somewhat evolved in that direction . . .
Excuse me, I'd like to buy your B-52
What do you thing Duke's answer would have been ? :teeth_smile:
Chester
I used to be into model airplanes with a vengeance when I was in my teens and 20s, but cannot imagine a project this extravagant or ambitious!!! WOW!!!
Cheers - Jay
That is one nice looking model
Yes, it is. It looks like it's big enough to ride in! Chilibill used to make jet drones about this size for the military, I think. It probably cost a little bit of money to put one of those things together.
Chester
Great pictures - bad tern of a pun!
Cheers - Jay
Here's what the guy (who put up these videos on YouTube) has to say -
QuoteHoward Hughes' movie Jet Pilot was horrible, sappy dialog and plot, not to mention Janet Leigh's annoying character. However the flying scenes are fantastic so I condensed the whole movie into 15 minutes of pure flying. For all you F-86 buffs out there, enjoy! For those of you who like the flying and decide to rent the movie, don't say I didn't warn you.
Chilibill should enjoy these!
Jet Pilot - Just the flying scenes Part 1
[extendedmedia]
Jet Pilot - Just the flying scenes Part 2
[extendedmedia]
Chester
glad that they were all ok, just goes to show the sea is a strict mistress
cheers smokey
there's a lot of intresting stuff in this thread. Thanks Chester for that one with all the old war planes it was pretty good. Does nayone know where those pictures were taken?
clancy
Listening to Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" this morning, I heard an interesting story that had to do with planes and aviation history in Australia, which of course made me think of smokey and bluecap and other Aussie members. And planes made me think of Chilibill . . . and I thought others might be interested in this piece of history and the surprising link to America and the famous person involved. Read on . . .
QuoteDisplay MoreHarry Houdini, the celebrated ‘escapologist’, was to visit Australia on a theatrical tour, so the Aerial League undertook to invite him to bring his Viosin biplane with him, mindful of the publicity such a flight would generate in their attempts to promote aviation. Before his arrival, several aircraft were imported to Australia from Europe and America. The close proximity of their initial flights or attempts at same, combined with sometimes dubious newspaper reports, have clouded the issue.
A Mr. Defries attempted to fly an imported Bleriot at Sydney’s Vic. Park racecourse in December 1909 and was reported to have ‘hopped’ the aircraft off the ground. Another attempt a few days later led to a crash, after which he took no further part in proceedings.
By March 1910, Houdini had his aircraft at Diggers Rest, outside Melbourne, along with Ralph Banks, an American, who had brought a Wright Flyer down from Sydney. Banks was determined to beat Houdini into the air and attempted a flight on 1st March, only to have a sharp gust of wind cause his aircraft to dive into the ground after take off, smashing it completely; Banks escaped with minor injuries.
Houdini’s other competitor was a Bleriot monoplane, which had been purchased by an Adelaide businessman who had visited Europe and England in the hope of finding an aircraft capable of being demonstrated and sold in Australia. While he was in England, the French flier, Louis Bleriot had flown from France to Dover in England, creating a storm of controversy about the vulnerability of England to an Armada of flying machines and gained himself, and his aircraft, a great measure of excellent publicity. Mr. Jones, the Adelaide businessman concerned, recognised the achievement of Bleriot and his aircraft and paid ₤1,000 in advance, for a Bleriot type XI monoplane, powered by a 24hp Anzini rotary engine. This aircraft, an advanced type for the time, employed primary flight controls, which would be recognisable today. A control column was used with a series of levers and cranks to “warp” or alter the shape of the wing, in order that the amount of lift developed by the wing to be increased or decreased, a rudder bar operated by the pilot’s feet, allowed the aircraft to veer right or left, and a forward or rearward movement of control column would cause the nose rise or fall in flight.
The Bleriot arrived in South Australia and Mr. Jones engaged an engineer, Bill Wittber, to assemble and rig the aircraft. Bill’s ability as an engineer and his interest in aviation, whetted by such magazines as “Flight”, made him an excellent choice for the job. Assisted by Fred Custance, the machine was assembled and displayed in John Martin’s store in Rundle Street, Adelaide. From there it moved to Bolivar, a country town outside Adelaide, where the first attempts at flying it were to be made. At this point, none of those involved had ever flown an aircraft! The Bleriot manual was consulted carefully and on 13th March, the aircraft was run around the paddock with Wittber at the controls. The machine struck a tussock, lurched into the air and after about 15 metres, landed. Whilst it was only a short distance and Wittber never claimed it as a flight, it was landed without damage. On the morning of 17th March, 1910, Custance is believed to have taxied the aircraft around the same paddock several times. It is claimed that he later was able to make a successful take-off and achieved a short flight, however, another attempt resulted in the aircraft apparently stalling and crashing causing extensive damage to the propellor, undercarriage and wheels. Subsequently, it was returned to Adelaide for repairs and was later destroyed by fire while in storage that winter. (Unfortunately some confusion remains in respect of these claims but they may well represent the first flights to take place in Australia.)
While little publicity attended the efforts in South Australia, those of Harry Houdini at Diggers Rest received wide reporting. Houdini had a full understanding of the value of publicity and there were a number of would-be aviators, including Banks, present at Diggers Rest for his initial flights and his efforts were widely reported in the newspapers of the day.
Following the advice of his mechanic, a Mr. Brassac, Houdini waited until the 18th March, when weather conditions were perfect, and taxied the aircraft to test the engine and controls. Then he opened the throttle, the engine roared and the aircraft surged toward a clump of trees and then soared skyward and stayed aloft for a minute. He landed safely and went on to fly on two or more occasions that day and on the 21st March flew for seven minutes. Undoubtedly, Houdini had mastered the ability to pilot an aircraft in controlled powered flight and would go on to give further demonstrations at Rose Hill in Sydney. Houdini’s Voisin aircraft resembled an enlarged powered version of the box kites, which Hargrave had experimented with some fifteen years earlier. Powered by a 60-hp ENV engine the Voisin was a type that amassed considerable flying hours in Europe, and while, perhaps, not as advanced as the Bleriot monoplane, was certainly capable of sustained flight in the hands of an experienced pilot.
For those who would like to read more about early Australian aviation history, go here.
I have to say I was quite surprised by Harry Houdini's part in the story.
Chester
Jim, what a fascinating clip.
A great couple of models,
and the folks who build and opperate these things,
are very clever.
Never heard the real plane, but it sure sounds like the real thing!
Chester, Great Video and Flying By The Man at Controls Of The Aircraft !
We never flew Up-Side-Down Much or Rolled The Real B-29, But We Did Love To Buzz People on the Ground when we got the chance.
And we were Lucky if we ever Landed With All Four of the Engines Still Turning, because those Old P.W. 3350 Engines that the B-29 had, left over from W.W. 2 were Not All That Good !!!
Below is a Story that I did For the News Paper in Phoenix Years Ago on the Time That We Did Not Make If Back Home !!!
http://www.ranch26bar.com/BAILOUTA.html
Bill
