For those who like Aircraft pictures

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, rob D2 said:

A hunter with sidewinders ?

Didn't know they lasted in front line service long enough to get modern armaments like that

The 'Winder dates from at least 1956 when the USN adopted it.

 

EDIT: I have no idea of the service time frame of the Hunter.

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by J. S. Bach
To add some information.

[55020]

@jjb1970 The Hunter is one of those truly classic British designs.  What a shame that we no longer have a substantial aircraft design and manufacturing sector.  In it's time it was truly innovative and world leading.

 

What's the plans for the museum at Paya Lebar?   Is it getting to stay on its current site?

 

 

Steve

[jjb1970]

I don't think they've made a decision on the museum yet. If it stays on the current site it'll be left on its own when Paya Lebar air force base closes and it's not the best site in terms of access. It's not a large museum (though it's a nice one with an interesting collection) so moving it would be doable and they do that in Singapore (they just moved Jurong bird park to a new site next to the zoo). Tengah is less accessible than Paya Lebar I think, the best option would probably be to give it a plot at either Changi or Seletar. The air force has enough unused land at Changi air force base to carve out a site for the museum.

[sandwich station]

 

 

This is what I miss about the UK. This is not West Malling (Great Warbirds) but during the 80's I would go every year. All of these and more would be there. 

[Kickstart]

15 hours ago, rob D2 said:

A hunter with sidewinders ?

Didn't know they lasted in front line service long enough to get modern armaments like that

 

Looks like they were in front line service in Singapore until 1990, and this Swiss used them in the air defence role until the 1980s (and longer in the ground attack role)

 

All the best

 

Katy

[jjb1970]

Another favourite of mine of the A4 Skyhawk, Heinemann's hot rod. The Singaporean two seat TA-4SUs were unique and rather unusual looking.

 

[jjb1970]

A Skyhawk on a stick.

 

[Barry Ten]

On 05/09/2023 at 13:25, jjb1970 said:

Another glorious looking aircraft, there's something wonderfully elegant about the Hunter, especially next to modern fighters which have sprouted humps, bumps and warts all over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's the long rakish tail that does it for me, as exemplified above! Reminiscent of 1950s car styling. Fabulous looking beasts.

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

A Skyhawk on a stick.

 

That one reminds me of this display painted in the Blue Angels' colors at the westbound I-10 Pensacola, FL area welcome center:

 

 

A little west Florida history:

 

[Martino]

3 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

It's the long rakish tail that does it for me, as exemplified above! Reminiscent of 1950s car styling. Fabulous looking beasts.

A friend’s family used to own the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato 1 VEV.  The car was built in 1960. They have a painting of the car with a Hunter flying overhead (regrettably I don’t have a copy!). It’s interesting that the two machines were contemporary.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

On 04/09/2023 at 13:30, KeithMacdonald said:

I rate the Mosquito the best of all our WW2 aircraft. In terms of loss-rate, one of the most succesfull as wel. Perhaps so-forgotten by most people because no flightworthy examples ever survived to be in the UK public's attention.

Never forgotten within about ten miles of Hatfield, and as for the Hornet... I am a British subject thanks to this machine: my late Pa saw them twice in daylight destroying Nazi command centres with very little collateral damage. So when there was an advertisement for electronics engineers put up in Eindhoven by de Havilland, he thought 'this might be an interesting business to work for'.

 

I like the railway connection too, design work finalised in what had been Gresley's home at the peak of his career; where the current museum is located. Shame about the background noise from the M25, but we cannot have everything

[Barry Ten]

4 hours ago, Martino said:

A friend’s family used to own the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato 1 VEV.  The car was built in 1960. They have a painting of the car with a Hunter flying overhead (regrettably I don’t have a copy!). It’s interesting that the two machines were contemporary.

 

Lovely picture. A friend of mine worked at Aston's around then (he worked on the DB5, at least).

[jjb1970]

Alas, the Singapore Air Force Museum is letting the side down with their T-33, it's most un-Singapore-like to see such a flagrant disregard for doing things properly, especially when the Smithsonian does it properly.... I must bring this to their attention😉

 

[britishcolumbian]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

Alas, the Singapore Air Force Museum is letting the side down with their T-33, it's most un-Singapore-like to see such a flagrant disregard for doing things properly, especially when the Smithsonian does it properly.... I must bring this to their attention😉

 

To be fair it looks better than the Canadair-built CT-133 at the Museum of Flight in Langley, BC...

[Metr0Land]

A couple more 5th pod shots.  These were badly over-exposed slides which I've had a go at.  I think they were 1970 but possibly 1971.  The building on the right under construction (Tech Block C) opened  autumn 1971.  I've converted these to B&W as they seem to come out better that way.  I believe the disc was to keep the spare engine from 'windmilling' in flight.

[jjb1970]

Some four hole excellent-ness and a rather unusual visitor to Changi.

 

[6990WitherslackHall]

Coastguard helicopter circling over Bridlington yesterday.

 

[jjb1970]

Some pictures of the RSAF Gulfstream 550 AEW aircraft at Paya Lebar open day. I found it amusing that Singapore is obsessive about photography restrictions at protected places (which are not limited to military installations, it includes commercial airports, ports, railway depots) and are pretty strict about military security yet this weekend anybody could go to Paya Lebar and take all the photographs they could of both the base and the aircraft, including more sensitive stuff like these. No barriers either, you could walk around and touch the aircraft, they had pilots and crew standing around to talk to people. The basic G550 is a good looking aircraft, I've no doubt these have extremely impressive capabilities but they're also ugle. They replaced the E-2 Hawkeye in RSAF service.

 

[jjb1970]

The Fokker F50 maritime patrol variant, it was interesting to see the Harpoon missile launcher fitted as normally they fly without these from what I see of them (they're a common sight over the anchorages and port areas).

 

[jjb1970]

An A330MRTT.

 

[Metr0Land]

The theme of RIAT 1979 at Greenham Common was the Canberra.  RAE's WK163 makes a sharp right turn on a rather grotty departure day, in the time before the fleet got painted in 'uncamouflage' red/white/blue.

[Sidecar Racer]

 

 Anyone want a Spitfire .  Go to 5:57:54 .

 

 

[jjb1970]

Some F15 pics, two examples with open cockpits to have a sit in, though the queues were quite long for that.

[jjb1970]

This look awfully expensive and important.

 

[jjb1970]

This pair did a hot scramble to show how quickly they can launch the F15, it was rather impressive. The climb speed is bonkers, almost as bonkers as the noise.