Posted on 06/25/2011 4:46:18 PM PDT by naturalman1975
The world's only female Spitfire pilot yesterday hit back at critics who complained that her Second World War fighter plane was too noisy.
Carolyn Grace, 58, flies the iconic aircraft to the delight of war veterans and history buffs to shows all over the country from her base in Rendlesham, Suffolk.
But one person complained the roar of the engine - which struck fear into German Luftwaffe pilots in the Battle of Britain - ruined the peace and quiet of the English countryside and complained to Suffolk Costal District Council.
Thousands of flight fans and locals in her home village of Halstead, Essex, have rallied round to sign a petition backing the female daredevil and her cherished Spitfire.
Widow Mrs Grace said: 'It's reflective of how supportive Suffolk people have been in general, hey are very patriotic and so proud of the Spitfire.
'There are 3,411 signatures on a petition of support of the Grace Spitfire flying over Suffolk and 211 beautifully-worded emails and 22 hand written letters.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Thanks for the link. That was almost pornographic for those who love the sound of that engine.
Between the unlimited hydro’s and the Reno air races, alot of Merlins went up in smoke. I’m with you on the big boats, the jets kinda did in the whole program for me. Notice drag racing is still using the piston engine, as is Reno, even though they have a jet class, the unlimited class is still powered by piston.
The guy is Alan DeCantanet, who does commentary for the Goodwood Festival.
There is a lot of nostalgia involved, and WWII planes are always part of it. This was supposed to be part of the TV coverage, setting up some fly-bys.
I doubt the clip made the telly.
aviation pinglist (let the music do the talkin’)
Now that the Brits have shelved their Harriers..she may be piloting their front line plane...sonne
Do you know the difference between a pilot and a turbine engine?
The turbine quits whining after fuel cut-off
Spitfires were typically vectored to the German fighters and the Hurricanes to the bombers. Gotta love the Brits for their development of radar plus a functional, real time air battle command and control during the Battle of Britain.
My best to Carolyn Grace.
That “noise” is so beautiful.
The snooty complainant is no doubt a wanker.
Well, there are times when it's not only chatting but yelling at you "Yahoo!"
When a friend of mine returned from Korea his father, who owned Whitmwn Airpark, presented him with a restored spitfire to fly.
>>The spitfire got the fame but the Hurricanes did the work.<<
Well, there were more of them. They were cheaper and easier to build. they sure killed a lot of pilots though. They really were not a good match to the Luftwaffe planes though. Kinda like the P-40’s after Pearl Harbor.
Bookmark for later.
***critics who complained that her Second World War fighter plane was too noisy.****
They would prefer the scream of a Stuka?
I’d love to have the sound of a WWII aircraft flying over my neighborhood EVERYday!
I remember a friend that flew one of those rotary piston engine fighters. He told me he was going after targets of opportunity after a mission and spotted a German freight train. He dove down and opened up his guns on it and all of a sudden, a box car dropped it’s false sidewalls, roof, and German anti-aircraft guns started firing at him. During the course of knocking out the train engine he heard a loud banginging sound, but all seemed fine. While returning to base, he noticed his engine was smoking slightly and started running like “crap”. He notified the maintenance NCO to check it out after he landed. After the debriefing, his maint. NCO was waiting for him and told him a cylinder was completely shot out by AA fire.
I was about to post something very similar to your post. Yours is better than mine would have been,
I learned to fly in England and there was a Spit at the airfield, Booker near High Wycomb. When the owner would fly his Spit all the activity on the field would almost come to a halt. Anyone that was not flying at that instant would look at that beautiful beast. When he would do a chandel the real beauty of the knife blade wings came into full view. But the roar the engine made was a symphony of freedom and power.
I think I read somewhere Dolittle was responsible for getting the fuel into production....guess he made good use of it flying off the carrier to attack Tokyo.
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