"Adhominem" wrote in message
...
Dingo wrote:

First thought it was a DC 7 .... but I haven't seen/heard one of those in
probably 50 years. But even so, and given the state of my memory, DC7s
etc
didn't have this sort of engine sound. I can only say that some of our
local tractors sound sweeter than this kite which I think was an Ilyushin
IL 18.

Unlikely, since I guess you are describing the sound of piston engines,
and
the Il-18 is powered by turboprops. From the picture, it also looks rather
like radials, but it's awfully hard to tell. Given the shape of the
tailplane, a DC-6/7 is not that unlikely.

and whilst I'm here can any of you chaps
put an ID on the other a/c here ? Sent to me by a friend who thinks it
might be Italian. I'm not so sure, but ..........

Looks like an ekranoplan. Italian is unlikely, the flag visible on the
tail
has horizontal stripes. It could be the German flag. The Germans
developed,
built and tested the first Western ekranoplan, the RFB X-113, on Lake
Constance in the seventies. For comparison, see this shot:

http://tinyurl.com/24onan

Ad.

Thank you Ad, the RFB X-113 certainly appears to answer the query I had from
my friend.

As regards my main query, the IL 18 / DC6/7 ..... I am 99% certain the a/c I
saw was piston engined rather than a turbo prop. It is just a pity it was
too far away to get a better photo. The chances of seeing either aircraft
here is remote so unless another UK poster has also seen this kite in our
skies recently, I'll just have to wait and hope it comes back.

Many thanks, Ad
~~
Dingo ;-)