T Break thread 2023

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I would imagine that this is due to British shop keepers using cheaper/lower specification fridge/freezers that can cope with 'normal' temperature levels in the hope that they'll be adequate for whatever the UK climate throws at them. I was out last night with a mate who owns a pet food shop who was saying that "at least my pet food freezer has only tripped out 6 times so far in the past couple of weeks" (requiring a physical reset of the thermal cut-out). He's actually pointed one of his in-store security cameras directly at the temperature display and he can access this from his mobile phone. If he spots that the temperature is rising he can drive to his shop (or more likely get one of his more local employees to do it) to carry out the procedure in order to save around £3,000 in retail values worth of stock. I did suggest that a replacement freezer would be cheaper than replacing this stock, but he'd rather take the risk of this only happening when he's able to check his cameras and get someone there to re-set the trip than spend the money on a freezer.
I must admit I am now waiting for my opportunity to say "I told you so!"

[Peter Mallett]

Then again, I must admit to a quiet moment of satisfaction when I read that anything over 25c is too hot for solar panels and they lose operational functionality above this temperature. A bit like wind turbines that don't work when it's too windy. Apparently we've had to fire up Drax coal generators tp cope with the need for air con.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Then again, I must admit to a quiet moment of satisfaction when I read that anything over 25c is too hot for solar panels and they lose operational functionality above this temperature. A bit like wind turbines that don't work when it's too windy. Apparently we've had to fire up Drax coal generators tp cope with the need for air con.

Still not that bad as Spain has built at least one huge solar farm that I occasionally used to fly over when going to and from my place down there.

[Peter Mallett]

They're all over the place, even Africa. Need to ask why anyone builds them and wind farms when they are clearly inefficient. Can only be money..................

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Today , I believe , is the end of the HERCULES transport aircraft in RAF service .

There is supposed to be a fly past of them in various areas of the country , so keep your eyes to the skies to see the end of an era .

Driving back from Whilton today, and I heard the flight announced on Radio 2 News at 5:00. Seconds later they flew across the A34! The Current Mrs MM was not happy when she heard I'd seen them but had been stuck in a meeting when they were over Wiltshire.

Living as we do close to Lyneham, they were a constant sight in the sky. Driving down the A3102 flashing lights at the pilots using the main road to line up with the runway and wouldn't dip their headlamps!

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[midgetman]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

They're all over the place, even Africa. Need to ask why anyone builds them and wind farms when they are clearly inefficient. Can only be money..................

They're great. It means local fields round here won't get houses on until well after I shuffle off this mortal coil. Flora and fauna are multiplying, and they're not attacked by predators as they get to shelter under the arrays.

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[crmalcolm]

Back to the Hercs again. Today's flight isn't even the last for those frames.

On their return, Brize runway was out of action due to excessive heat so they diverted to Fairford.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by midgetman

They're great. It means local fields round here won't get houses on until well after I shuffle off this mortal coil. Flora and fauna are multiplying, and they're not attacked by predators as they get to shelter under the arrays.

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As it happens I have no problem with the technology, I used a small panel to keep my fridge going at Le Mans last weekend, it provided .60Kwh when the sun shines. Apart from having to boost the battery for 30mins by plugging it into the car (we had a day of clouds) it worked well and switching the fridge off early morning when it was cool. But that of course demonstrates the problem.

[Derwent]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Back to the Hercs again. Today's flight isn't even the last for those frames.

On their return, Brize runway was out of action due to excessive heat so they diverted to Fairford.

They came very low over our house in the Lake District and I suspect they flew south lower than some of the mountains. I was fortunate enough to see them.

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Driving back from Whilton today, and I heard the flight announced on Radio 2 News at 5:00. Seconds later they flew across the A34! The Current Mrs MM was not happy when she heard I'd seen them but had been stuck in a meeting when they were over Wiltshire.

Living as we do close to Lyneham, they were a constant sight in the sky. Driving down the A3102 flashing lights at the pilots using the main road to line up with the runway and wouldn't dip their headlamps!

Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

Always liked the Hercules as it seemed such a useful aircraft . So had to look it up . It first entered service in the US in 1956 . And nearly 60 years service in the UK .
How many other machines last that long in use before being replaced .

[John Elwin]

Travelling along the Newmarket By-pass, heading towards Norwich, one crested a brow where quite regularly you would see a Hercules ahead of you, a side-on view of it about to land at Mildenhall. I was always impressed by the way it appeared to hang almost motionless in the sky.

When I worked for Lotus Cars, we had some seat frames made for us by Terry Hunter. They were based in Mildenhall, and as it turned out, in a factory unit very close to the end of the runway. I went to visit one day, taking a Mk1 Escort GT we had. As I located the factory, I had just delected reverse gear to park and there was the most deafening roar - "What on earth is wrong with this car?" I thought. Then it all went black as a Hercules virtually scraped over the roof of the car as it took off.

The chap I had come to see emerged from the factory with the words "Damn things will do that just when I am on the 'phone!

As someone once (could have been more often!) said - Happy Days!

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by midgetman

They're great. It means local fields round here won't get houses on until well after I shuffle off this mortal coil. Flora and fauna are multiplying, and they're not attacked by predators as they get to shelter under the arrays.

Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

We have loads of solar panels around here on various buildings and a huge "solar farm" up beside the main road to Almeria.
I hear various tales of the pros & cons with having to constantly clean them and how long it takes to pay back the initial outlay.
People that have them sing their praises with paying virtually nothing and only the standing charge to the electricity supplier. How long the panels and the batteries will last only time will tell. Also if you are supplying anything back into the grid they will only give you a credit I believe and no actual money, so if you constantly feed into the grid they are onto a win win situation, as in this part of Spain regardless of the time of year the sun shines most days even in the winter months.
Regarding aircon we don't have it at all ! Why move to a country like southern Spain and complain that it's too hot

[crmalcolm]

For those with an interest in the Hercs (and the BBMF aircraft) - around 70 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force will take part in a flypast for Trooping the Colour on Saturday.

'A mixture of aircraft from different eras will feature in the event, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight dating back to the 1940s and the C-130 Hercules on its final ceremonial flight, multiple Typhoon fighter jets and the Envoy IV CC1, which is making its flypast debut.'

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Always liked the Hercules as it seemed such a useful aircraft . So had to look it up . It first entered service in the US in 1956 . And nearly 60 years service in the UK .
How many other machines last that long in use before being replaced .

In terms of UK service - not many. Although it is also worth noting that it is still in continuous production today as the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules so it hasn't been fully replaced yet.

Typically, heavy aircraft will be in service longer than most other types.

English Electric Canberra: 1951-2007
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress: 1955-present
Tupolev Tu-95: 1956-present
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: 1957-present

[Mike Harte]

I cannot easily find when these last three aircraft went into service. The RAF, I believe, had some of these variants as new from the States, although they also had a number of earlier aircraft that were converted in America and later by Marshalls in Cambridge. So the question is how old are these aircraft?

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress: 1955-present
Tupolev Tu-95: 1956-present
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: 1957-present

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I cannot easily find when these last three aircraft went into service. The RAF, I believe, had some of these variants as new from the States, although they also had a number of earlier aircraft that were converted in America and later by Marshalls in Cambridge. So the question is how old are these aircraft?

Unless I've misunderstood your post I don't think the RAF used the Stratofortress, or the Russian Tupolev. The Stratotanker was/is flown out of RAF Mildenhall which is a USAF base.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Unless I've misunderstood your post I don't think the RAF used the Stratofortress, or the Russian Tupolev. The Stratotanker was/is flown out of RAF Mildenhall which is a USAF base.

It was more about how long they've been in service, not which nation they were with. It was in response to machines being in use for that long without replacement.

[justracing]

In the 1970's I worked in Thetford for around 7 years and during that time I lived in a small village midway between Lakenheath and Mildenhall both of which were RAF bases leased to the USAF. Fighter planes (F4 Phantom) operated out of Lakenheath and transport planes out of Mildenhall, the most impressive of which was the Lockheed C5 Galaxy which on a low level approach was absolutely frightening to watch for sheer size.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by justracing

In the 1970's I worked in Thetford for around 7 years and during that time I lived in a small village midway between Lakenheath and Mildenhall both of which were RAF bases leased to the USAF. Fighter planes (F4 Phantom) operated out of Lakenheath and transport planes out of Mildenhall, the most impressive of which was the Lockheed C5 Galaxy which on a low level approach was absolutely frightening to watch for sheer size.

Driving around that never-ending loop on the outside of the Lakenheath perimeter was always interesting, you never knew what you might see. I did once only catch a glimpse of what I believe was a Blackbird.

...and speaking of ornithology (which I wasn't) my geography teacher & father of my best friend to this day, was also a well-known Norfolk naturalist. One day he got an excited call from a groundsman on the base, to say that he had spotted a rather rare ground-nesting bird there, but the only problem was it was in a restricted area - if my friend wanted to photograph it he would have to call the base commander, which he did. The commander was more than happy to oblige, but Dick would have to be accompanied by some security guards - so there he was crawling along the ground followed by a trio of guards doing the same. He got his shots, however!

[justracing]

I had a good friend(British) who worked on the base at Lakenheath and as a consequence I was able to use some of the facilities occasionally and i remember the Blackbird project being shrouded in secrecy, I believe at least one of the planes operated out of Mildenhall briefly which is somewhat strange as that base was principally for "lifters" or transport planes. The annual air displays at Mildenhall back then were really something and although there were rumours I never saw anything of the Lockheed Blackbird, happy days.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

It was more about how long they've been in service, not which nation they were with. It was in response to machines being in use for that long without replacement.

Not sure that's how Mike's post reads because he specifically references the RAF, but hey ho.

[Peter Mallett]

Going back to transport planes, I recall the predecessor to the Hercules was the Bristol Beverley. Living in Aldershot at the time, these aircraft were regular visitors to the sky above our house. Especially on Parachute regiment training days.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Not sure that's how Mike's post reads because he specifically references the RAF, but hey ho.

Peter, I may have phrased it incorrectly but I was trying to refer to the Hercules and when the last 3 actually entered service and if possibly they were earlier ones that underwent converting to the later specifications either in the States or at Marshalls.

[Mike Harte]

With reference to the Blackbirds, I mentioned some time ago in the Aviation thread that about 30 years ago I took my sons to Fairford for the Tattoo. During one of the long pauses in the flying due to horrendous weather, we sat in our car just behind the buildings that were adjacent to the runway having our lunch whilst listening to the commentary that I could pick up on the car radio.

It was announced that two American pilots of aircraft that did not appear on radar were requesting authority to do a low level pass of the airfield. We donned our coats and ran in the pouring rain to the barriers and just missed the sight of two Blackbirds buzzing the runway and only heard the commentator telling us what we hadn't seen.

And to this day, still haven't seen one.

[Peter Mallett]

I worked at RAE Farnborough during my college years. Building R51 had the longest span roof of its type in Europe. I was standing on it inspecting the asphalt when a SAAB Viggen practicing for the Air Show, did a low pass on reheat. That roof reverberated like a drum skin.