No Air shows this Year!

COVID-19 cancels large Crowds?

This new crown virus is ending social interaction for us humans, unless one is ignorant and risks catching it or just does not believe that it is really real!

Sometimes one finds that over the years here in Swansea since 2007 the Wales National Air Show has become a bit boring with nearly the same aircraft and displays showing up or not?

But then it is free and when events are free, one does not get to see the best of aviation on the ground and in the air! Making these shows more of a recruiting ground for the armed forces wither you like that or not?

EASTER is still On!

More Air Freighters?

Most of the aircraft now flying across Europe and the Atlantic are air freighters, carrying essential equipment to combat COVID-19 which is a new plague for the 21st Century! Compared to one hundred and one years ago air travel is now far more complicated than those flimsy light bi-planes that could only carry two people and a bag of mail?

The jet engine in commercial airlines from the 1950's revolutionised air travel world-wide and with various military conversions, such as the Boeing 707 made dedicated air freight big business until the arrival of the of the 747 Jumbo in 1967-71!

Today a whole host of older aircraft fly postal and for Amazon supplies, some airlines as mentioned last time are civilian contractors for the U.S. military or Israel/N.A.T.O! Russia has its own dedicated fleets too built up from the now defunct TU-154M that had a chequered history and the newer Ilyushin Il-76 and its many newer developments!

Meanwhile many smaller propeller air craft are deployed daily, both civil and military to carry medications, sick people and other essential supplies. Helicopters are now an essential in rescue, air ambulance and police work, some may be replaced by drones and despite much promises we are not quite yet there with the big stuff?

Easter blessings to one and all!

Helicopters 75 Years! Part-One.

Come a long Way!

The day of the helicopter is not yet over, despite many new drones are cheaper than keeping an helicopter in the sky? The helicopter derived from gyro-dynamics in aircraft to act like an early form of the Boeing-Vertol Osprey BV-22, which still occupies U.S. military research into the development and deployment of much newer and stable platform, which is changing the battlefield from science-fiction to reality!

Today nearly anyone can go up in a helicopter from pleasure flying to search and rescue? The small machines are in the Robinson family, while Bell and Sikorsky have held both the military and commercial market, go to any horse racing event and there are more helicopters between the tracks now parked up since riders cover more than one meeting a day?

The largest machines are still dominated by the Russians and Ukrainians with the Mil Mi-26 capable of carrying three tracked vehicles and one hundred and twenty-five combat troops! This helicopter was a development of the Mi-6 well known is Russia as the Cow because it was slow and vulnerable to ground rocket fire?

Mid range giants are the Chinook, Boeing-Vertol CH-47, which has been around since the Vietnam wars of the 1960s and the Sikorsky CH-53 Super stallion, S-92 SAR after that is the successful Westland-Leonardo EH-101 and the various derivatives of the Puma SA-330 to the H332 Super Puma that dominates the North Sea oil and gas supply rigs and wind turbines.

Europe has also taken the lead of the world market with the H-135/145 helicopter in Air Ambulance and police, electric line work along with several other smaller types?

Night Displays WNAS 2019.

Something Different?

The fireflies were different and could be seen for many miles away, there were some disappointment's, for the younger folk who got beyond their bed time?

Again the Wales National Air show was able to pull it off with the Catalina, wing walkers, Battle of Britain flight and all the ground stands! The Red Arrows made their appearances, but the weather was not always favourable!

One has taken several films and hopes to gradually get them up in the next fortnight or so? Sorry I did not get everything, but on the You Tube you can refer to films from years past which cover nearly all the regular visitors!

Wales National Airshow 2019.

July 6th/7th. Swansea Bay, S-Wales. U.K.

One is expecting another marvellous airshow and much more as this event seems to be getting better by the year?

The Red Arrows will be one of highlights of the flying displays with that of other Jets, but there is really something here at it for everyone! Many military vehicles representing the current British armed forces and others events combined.

Hopefully all will be safe from any sick people who wish us harm and that everyone will enjoy what is on offer with stunt flying, helicopters, parachuting and this year evening lit up balloons on Saturday.

One will have to get the app to find out what aircraft might be coming in relation to Historical aviation and one hopes that the weather will hold to make it a most enjoyable event for the spectator and all us avid movie makers and photographers?

New airports and Runways.

Heathrow third Runway?

Pollution and plastics are big news at the moment in the media and so is the plans to build new airports and a third runway at Heathrow in West-London to take new types of aircraft such as the Boeing 777X, while the governments claim that they will have cut carbon emissions by 2050?

There is some serious hypocrisy being carried out here, by the airlines and the governments and it is not limited to one or two nations, but is going on worldwide. Air travel is growing, because people want o fly and smaller aircraft feeding smaller airports at this time is popular!

We expect that by 2030 some of the new electric powered aircraft will be starting to make a large impact on aviation travel and aircraft such as the Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8 and other large types will be at an end?

Communities are being destroyed in London and maybe in Kent in the U.K., while in China locals get no choices to the expansion programmes of their governments!

Hawker Beech King Air B300.

Small is beautiful?

Why at this point in time has the British armed forces opted for the Beech King Air 300 Avenger T.1, when there are so many more capable aircraft on the military market? 

One reason is cost and yet recently it was reported that smaller aircraft fitted with new digital technology will no longer need larger aircraft frames except for fuel and long range!

Many of the existing platforms will probably disappear in the next ten to twenty years if not sooner, perhaps the long awaited Nimrod replacement may meet the same fate?

Electric Vehicles. Part-Two.

Everything Electric?

There is now a great push into the development of electric, because it is cheaper and much cleaner than burning fossil fuels? Perhaps one could say that electric is the new Diesel without any long term effects, that we yet do not know of?

By 2020 Britain and the EU hope that they will be at least 90% electric, wither this will happen is really uncertain, but the big cities will see more electric battery powered vehicles for delivery and possibly even taxis?

It is the development of aircraft, were we will see the biggest changes many designs along the with the American X-57 will appear this year and there will be improved changes to pollution levels? It is still not clear what will happen to the petrol engine and aviation fuel or how the conversion to neo will happen?

The Electric Train!

Japanese Technology Applied?

Battery trains are nothing new, they have been operating on the London underground since 19th Century electrification was introduced. Meanwhile the Electric Multiple unit or overhead electrics, apart from third rail has been in service since the 1920's.

But the concept of an Electric train running on non electric lines is a new concept that will see it applied in the urban environment over the next twenty years and this may also be combined with driverless trains? 

Much new technology is being applied each year to the British rail network, thus the hike in train fares? Internet fibre caballing is the latest feature to hit the headlines, but it is a side track to what is really being planned and that is the phasing out of all old locomotives by 2020!

Early success with long life lithium batteries and solar-panels is proving effective, so the demand for cleaner air in our large towns and cities is driving this concept forward!

Arms Sales!

Big Business?

There has always been money in weapons from the ancient world right up to the present and the future? Many world conflicts were won through by a third party supplying the appropriate weapons system, from daggers to siege engines to ships and cavalry of one type or another?

One must not think that humans in the past were limited to the types of weapons that could be constructed, because wood was the main source of building material many strange devices were invented to get over walls and to fire pitch or rocks at fortified cities! While many ships were well capable of landing an army with horses, but some where also fitted with catapults, copies of their various land equivalents.

Today we have technology based in the invention of electricity, which powers machines to create machines of the various types land, air, sea and now Space. They say that investing in the arms industry always gives a good return, because there is always a demand for more guns, tanks, fighter aircraft and ships, if not missiles of the various types?

There are also many conflicts around the world some that the media is fixated on, while many more we ever hardly ever or never hear about?

Army Transportation. Part-Two.

Modern Commercial Transportation.

Over the last twenty years or so many nations are now opting for civilian commercial transporters over that of their own military equivalents. This is because of two key factors cost and civil disguise in the upsurge of International terrorism.

Many other areas such as training demand the continuation of the usage as these dedicated vehicles, while many age quickly and are sold off from various arms dumps around the world. Some vehicles go overseas to continue in this role, while others are painted in commercial colours and schemes and continue in that disguise.

Heavy lifting of the Main Battle Tank was the initial role for the military transport, while also other vehicles have been designed for recovery or heavy vehicles themselves. The United States, Canada, Russia, China, India and Brazil, Australia still maintain a dedicated military fleets, because of the expanse of their less populated land mass.

There are many other types of Amphibious landing tracked vehicles such as the U.S. LVTP's, large Armoured Personnel  carriers and Surface to Air missile platforms that need to be moved over shorter distances that either their own power or that of the use of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, C-130J Hercules, Airbus A400M, Russian Antonov An-22, 124 Ruslan and Ilyushin Il-76TDM. Embraer KC-90 transport aircraft.

Britten-Norman Trislander.

1984 Taken over by Swiss Pilatus.

This is perhaps one of the strangest aircraft still flying today and operated in the U.K. by Channel Islands Aurigny Air Services. Call sign AYLINE, they have four aircraft in service G-BDTO, G-BOVT and G-RLON. Each has a 2+16 capacity seating. The fourth aircraft G-JOEY is stored at Guernsey airport. 

Meanwhile the origins of this three engined BN-2A Trislander has 75% components of the earlier Islander/Defender, which we will take a look at further on in the year. 

The 1984 Mk-III-4 embodied a rocket motor for the event of engine failure on take-off. Passengers designed for 16/17, powered by three Lycoming piston engines, cruising speed 175mph (282km/hr), range with full payload 160 miles (257km).

This aircraft was produced for a time in Belgium and has been exported to the U.K, Africa, Australia, U.S.A, Canada, Indonesia and South-America.

FMA IA 58 Pucara

An Argentine Winner.

Argentina had until recently a well established, but limited aviation industry. It has over the years built many successful types and made various adaptions of others from light aircraft to combat jets and civil airliners. In fact in the 1950's it developed probably the best aviation jet fighter of the day and if they had developed it to today, they would of won the Falklands war.

The Pucara is one of those interesting oddities in the aviation world, developed in 1969 for counter-insurgency operations (COIN). This twin-engined Astazou turboprop aircraft looks like a Beech King Air, in its layout. But it can operate from very short rough airfields and is was known for its amazing manoeuvrability, it was used extensively during the Falklands war in 1982.

The FMA IA 58 is armed with one 20mm cannon and four other machine guns, was capable of carrying 1,500Kg bombs of three pylons. Maximum speed is 500Km/h (300Mph) and a range of 3,042 Km (1,925 miles). Size. Span 14.5m, Length 14.5m. 

One aircraft was captured by the British RAF and remains in the U.K. as a victory capture. I have filmed this aircraft seen flying over Swansea, S-Wales. U.K.

Hovercraft. Part-One.

A British Invention.

Sadly the 'Hoverspeed hovercraft Saunders-Roe SR.N4 Mk3 Mountbatten Class came to a demise with the completion of the Channel Tunnel. This vessel weighed 200 tons, travelled at 70 knots and carried 20,450 litres of fuel. She was powered by four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines and carried 282 passengers and 37 cars.

As a child it was always my ambition to travel on that particular craft to Calais and back, just for the experience. 

The Hovercraft began with Sir. Christopher Cockerill in the 1950's and by 1956 aircushon sea vehicles were in commercial service.  

Twenty five years ago I got the opportunity to travel to the isle of Wight and then enjoyed travelling on a much smaller  craft. It was a bumpy ride across the Solent, but nice to be flying so low to the sea.

That is what the hovercraft does and they are still popular today around the world as they ever were. The RNLI have a few employed in large sandy areas of Britain to rescue those who get stuck in quicksand.