®i©ardo wrote in
:

On 13/10/2010 15:44, Canuck wrote:
?
"®i©ardo" wrote in message
...
On 12/10/2010 23:44, Canuck wrote:
?
"®i©ardo" wrote in message
...
On 12/10/2010 01:31, Canuck wrote:
?....I think this is a Convair of some sort.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolinor_Aviation

A Convair 580. Bit of a chunky baby, that one.

--
Moving things in still pictures




You are correct Sir! :-)

My first flight was as a wide eyed kid in a Convair 440.

N.

Ah, the joys of youth, eh?

You bet. I was only 4 or so at the time and this was my first flight
so
it was quite a treat. I think everyone remembers their first flight
best
because it is the first.

Care to share your first flight experience and what you remember?

Nick




Well, I started later as my first ever aircraft flight was, at the age
of 19, from an RAF Handley Page Hastings, whilst on my Army parachute
training course. That was on 23 April 1964 at 7.30 in the evening. The
one thing I didn't do was actually make a landing in that aircraft as,
en route and with a load of other guys, they pushed us out the door!
That flight was a bit of a blur with just an overwhelming sense of
relief that I had survived.

The next I made THREE such flights, two of which were from Hastings, at
6.30 and 10.30am, and the third was from a Beverley at 4pm.

On the second drop that day I got the "privileged" position of "Number
1" in the stick, i.e. I was the first man out of the door. You stood
with one foot on the door sill and one hand flat on the outside of the
aircraft, ready to launch yourself out when the green light came on and
the dispatcher tapped you on the shoulder. Some wag, with rather more
experience than I, had said to me that if I ever got Number 1 in a
Hastings it was worth taking a look at the tailplane, whilst waiting
for the "go". I did take a look and nearly decided at that moment that
I had made the wrong choice with regard to occupation: that tailplane
was, more or less, level with my midriff!

Whilst doing a sudden deep reassessment of my career prospects the
light changed from red to green and I was in flight. Miracle of
miracles, the slipstream actually throws you under the tailplane
into the relative safety of the open sky.

Quite a tiring couple of days and rather a lot of beer was sunk on
those April evenings!

That "Hastings Exit" was likely the fastest left turn you ever made in
your life.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)