Plane Tales

The dream of flight began with makeshift wings bound to men's arms which, like Icarus from Green mythology failed, often with deadly results.  This is the story of the pioneers who took to the air under their own power.         Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Madrid, Museo del Prado, Popular Science, Nimbus227 and NASA.  

The Vickers VC10 was an aircraft that was ahead of its time.  Sleek, fast and powerful it was designed to please an airline which then turned its back on it.  However, the VC10 won the hearts of many.     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Bahnfrend, Steve Fitzgerald and Chris Lofting.

Despite being injured during a civil war and losing the sight of an eye, Carlos Dardano became a B737 Captain for TACA.  On descent into New Orleans, he strayed into a thunderstorm with disastrous consequences.  The fate of the aircraft its crew and passengers now depended on the flying skills of the Captain.                                                          Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to US Gov, NTSB and other sources.

During the height of the Cold War, a most unlikely spy plane gathered intelligence over East Germany on behalf of the Western allies.  This is the little known story of the British Commander's in Chief Mission to the Soviet forces in Germany!       Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to UK Gov (BRIXMIS) under Crown Copyright, Peter Farey, Adrian Pingstone and Roy Marsden.

A rookie B17 pilot on his first mission over Germany struggling home in his crippled aircraft and a veteran Me109 fighter pilot with 27 kills and over 400 combat missions flown, meet in the air.  The result should have been obvious but...       Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Gov and the Bundesarchiv.

Two tragic stories of aircraft losses that, in the most benign of circumstances, may well have resulted from letting a family member sit at the controls.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Michel Gilland and the US Gov.

Hansard in the document that contains, what is referred to as, the substantially verbatim account of every speech made in the Houses of Parliament since 1909.  It's pages reveal some remarkable stories such as these military aircraft that were stolen... they included the purloining of a USAF B45 Tornado nuclear bomber!         Photographs under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Gov and RuthAS.

Stories of aircraft that vanish without trace are bound to fascinate us.  The controversial disappearance of House Majority Member Boggs, seen in the title image with President Lyndon B Johnson, gave rise to much speculation as he was part of the Warren Commission which was investigating the assassination of JFK.  In another story we look at the life of the Flying Bandit... a gentleman Canadian gold thief!   Images shown under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Gov, Rob Hodgkins and Skol fir.

The Modernist dream that was the Bijlmermeer had its problems and the last thing it needed was for a crippled aircraft to wreak destruction amongst its dwellers.  This is the tragic story of El Al 1862 and the fate of the Amsterdam neighbourhood it fell into.   Images made available under a Creative Commons licence and GNU Free Documentation Licence by Maaike98, D Frame and Torsten Maiwald.

The last of the 3 part interview with Sir Glen Torpy.  We chat about his work in some of the most demanding jobs to be found in the RAF, culminating with his appointment as the Chief of the Air Staff.  If you want to find out about the decision to remove the Harrier from service or what's happening to the RAF Museums then this is one to listen to.

We get to the point in Sir Glen's interview where he is heading to the Gulf to start flying operations and he recalls the the words spoken by Recce pilots of old, "Alone, unarmed and unafraid!"  If you want to hear what it's like hand flying a Tornado over enemy territory, facing multiple air to air missile and AAA threats, at 150 feet above the ground, in the pitch black, at over 500 knots then wait no longer!   Photograph courtesy of Sir Glen Torpy.

Sir Glen Torpy GCB CBE DSO started his life within the Royal Air Force as most pilots do. At the end of his training, he was posted to a Jaguar reconnaissance squadron, the start of a great career. In this interview, he gives us a chance to follow his progress to the point where he takes Command of No.13 Squadron, flying the Tornado GR1A, and is about to deploy to the Gulf on operations.    

The 1st of April 1918 saw the formation of the world's first independent Air Force.  Capt Nick takes a look at the Royal Air Force’s history and is joined by Sir Glen Torpy GCB CBE DSO past Chief of the Air Staff who gives his thoughts on the past 100 years and the upcoming celebrations.  

Suspicious of the Polish pilots who, after their country was invaded by Nazi forces during the Second World War, had fled to the UK, the high command of the RAF eventually allowed them to become operational.  No 303 Polish Squadron joined the RAF fighter units desperately fighting the overwhelming forces of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.  The results stunned everybody.   Images under creative commons licence from the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum London.

The billionaire explorer Paul Allen rediscovers the aircraft carrier Lexington and an F4 Wildcat deep under the surface of the Coral Sea.  This is the story of the Lexington and the Wildcat's last pilot.     Images with thanks to Paul G Allen, via Creative Commons, the US Navy and Felix c.

Air travel is, statistically, the very safest form of transport but it wasn't always that way.  Imagine living in Elizabeth, a suburb near New York's Newark airport in 1951 when, within a period of only 3 months, aircraft began raining from the sky onto your neighborhood.             Images under Creative Commons licence, US Gov Bureau of Aircraft Accidents, Dagrecco, Jon Proctor, Bill Larkins.

Capt Nick delves into Volume 2 of his RAF Form 414... the PILOTS FLYING LOG BOOK.

Towards the end of the Second World War, Nazi scientists developed a series of futuristic weapons to use against England aimed to bring the British people to their knees.  Named Vengeance weapons, their presence in the skies over London was another German threat that had to be dealt with.         Images shown under a Creative Commons licence with thanks to Nick D, the Imperial War Museum, the Bundesarchiv and the US Gov USAF Museum.

President of France, Charles de Gaulle is on a state visit to the United States of America and he asks to meet a French hero who holds the Légion d'honneur and who lives in New York.  Eventually, retired lift operator is found and brought to the President.  The man is Eugene Jacques Bullard and is almost unknown in the country of his birth but he holds a remarkable place in the history of aviation.       Title image by APG listener Jonathan Alexandratos who lives near Flushing Meadows cemetery and who took the time to visit the grave of Eugene Bullard which can be found in Section C. Other images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Sus scrofa, Wikimedia Commons, US Gov USAF.

Watch the movie 'The Right Stuf' and you will see, portrayed, a desert bar near Edwards Air Force Base where a generation of great Test Pilots drank whisky and bantered with the bargirl.  The lady was Pancho Barnes and she was much more than a bargirl!       Images under Creative Commons licence; with thanks to the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives and the Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive.