Plane Tales

The North of Africa holds the world’s largest hot desert, known as The Greatest Desert, or more commonly by the Arabic word Sahara.  The Lady be Good's WW2 mission hadn't gone well and crew of the were hopelessly lost and running out of fuel when the first engine failed. They decided to abandon the aircraft rather than risk a crash landing and they parachuted out over, what they believed to be, the sea… only to discover it was a sea of sand.         My apologies to the sharp eared amongst you as I misspoke when describing Lt Hatton's take off, "Pushing up the throttles of his two Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp supercharged radials..."  The Liberator is, of course, a four engined aircraft. Images used under a Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Air Force.

It was a hot and sunny day at the United States Airforce Base at Ramstein near Kaiserslautern in West Germany… a perfect day for their 1988 annual air show.  One of the best parts of the show was going to be the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian formation team, doing their stunning display.  After several minutes of what was a great performance, the team started one of the most impressive manoeuvres,  the pierced heart.  What followed was a disaster beyond anyone's imagination...       Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Air Force, A Micheuand J Herzog.

As a military aviator he was exceptional.  From a starting point that had him at a disadvantage, 40 seconds was how long it took him to get behind you for the kill! His flying skills weren't the reason we remember Colonel John Boyd as his ideas would change the whole direction of military aviation.  A maverick who would lead a like minded group known as the Fighter Mafia, he was a brilliant as he was controversial.  His lasting legacy would include the concept of fighter manoeuvre diagrams and the OODA loop. This is his story.       Images under Creative Commons with thanks to the US Gov, P E Moran and John Golan.

Lokichokio, is a dusty, flyblown, Kenyan frontier town that is a long way from the tourist images of African safari lodges.  There’s an airstrip there with a few buildings, offices and compounds, one with a pool and a bar. At 6 o’clock sharp, an attractive blonde could be found there sipping a G&T while the ice tinkled in her glass. With her short, blonde hair, good looks and brilliant smile, she could easily have been mistaken for the hostess of an English garden party.  Meet 'All Weather Heather' one of the most capable bush pilots you would ever want know... this is the story of her life.     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Guido Potters and an 'orphan image' photographer.

The loss of his father early in his life led to David Warren's fascination with electronics.  Although he grew up to be a scientist who specialised in chemistry, particularly aviation fuels and early rocketry, his little invention, a flight data and voice recorder, made a contribution to flight safety that has left a lasting legacy.         Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Australian Government Department of Defence, YSSYguy, Meggar and the NTSB.

Captain Leul Abate was no stranger to hijackings… this was his third!  An amazing story that ends in tragedy for many when, quietly sitting by the sea sipping cocktails, the residents of the beautiful Galawa Beach Hotel see a huge airliner plough into the water only 500 yards away.   Images under Creative Commons licence and fair use with thanks to JetPix.

This story has graphic references to violence and injury and may not be suitable for all ages. For the operating crew the flight started just as it had done many times before.  They were departing from Memphis in Tennessee and flying to San Jose in California in their McDonnell Douglas DC10 freighter.  After an uneventful start, taxi and takeoff the crew were settling down to the normal routine of the climb and chatting easily amongst themselves, as pilots do... and then a deadheading crew member reaches into his case and all hell breaks loose!   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Peter Bakema and unattributed media.

  Geoff Lee started his career as an apprentice photographer for Hawker Siddeley Aviation and progressed to become the Chief Photographer for British Aerospace Systems.  His specialty was air to air photography, a field that put him in the cockpits of some of the world's finest fighters.  His photographs have graced the covers of aviation publications and major newspapers throughout the world. I was delighted when he agreed to talk to Plane Tales and tell us about his remarkable career behind the viewfinder. In this final part of the interview Geoff brings us up to date, relating some of the more interesting situations that he been engaged to photograph. My heartfelt  thanks go to Geoff for sharing his story with us. Should you wish to look at some of his images, please follow the link that appears below. Geoff Lee, Master Photographer - Part 3 All images are copyright ©Geoff Lee

Geoff Lee started his career as an apprentice photographer for Hawker Siddeley Aviation and progressed to become the Chief Photographer for British Aerospace Systems.  His specialty was air to air photography, a field that put him in the cockpits of some of the world's finest fighters.  His photographs have graced the covers of aviation publications and major newspapers throughout the world. I was delighted when he agreed to talk to Plane Tales and tell us about his remarkable career behind the viewfinder. In this second part of the interview we discuss how his career moved into the cockpit of some fantastic fighter aircraft and into the world's best formation teams.  Should you wish to look at some of his images, please follow the link that appears below. Geoff Lee, Master Photographer - Part 2 All images are copyright ©Geoff Lee

Geoff Lee started his career as an apprentice photographer for Hawker Siddeley Aviation and progressed to become the Chief Photographer for British Aerospace Systems.  His specialty was air to air photography, a field that put him in the cockpits of some of the world's finest fighters.  His photographs have graced the covers of aviation publications and major newspapers throughout the world. I was delighted when he agreed to talk to Plane Tales and tell us about his remarkable career behind the viewfinder. In this first part of the interview we discuss his early years.  Should you wish to look at some of his images, please follow the link that appears below. Geoff Lee Photos Part 1 All images are copyright ©Geoff Lee  

Towering cumulous clouds can often be harbingers of destruction and for pilots they should be respected and generally avoided by a wide margin.  There is, however, a breed of pilot willing to court the danger present in these meteorological monsters… the violent updrafts and downdrafts, the heavy rain and hail, the turbulence, the freezing temperatures and the lightning!  This is the story of one such pilot.     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ralph F. Kresge, TSRL and Thomas Bresson.

As part of the 75th anniversary of the D Day invasion of Nazi held Europe in 1944, Douglas DC3s, C47s and Dakotas came from around the world to reenact the Airborne troops parachute drops that first put Allied boots on the ground. In this second part of the story, I chat to Sherman Smoot, Betsy's Chief Pilot and Nick Comacho, a pilot of the C47, Betsy's Biscuit Bomber.            

As part of the 75th anniversary of the D Day invasion of Nazi held Europe in 1944, Douglas DC3s, C47s and Dakotas came from around the world to reenact the Airborne troops parachute drops that first put Allied boots on the ground.  In this interview I chat to Nick Comacho, a pilot of the C47, Betsy's Biscuit Bomber, that had flown over from the States to Duxford in England to take part.          

I take another dip into my flying log book, RAF Form 414. We catch up with the young 'Old Pilot' as he joins his first operational squadron, No 43(F) Sqn, The Fighting Cocks!  I was faced with a further 6 months of training to become a fully Combat Ready fighter pilot.  Relying on my faltering memory I said that the jamming Canberras were on 100 Sqn... they were, of course, actually from No 360 Squadron!        

The Falkland islands, a British Sovereign Territory, had been invaded by Argentinian military forces and in response the UK assembled a task force to sail the 8,000 miles required to dispatch the invaders and free the British residents there.  Amongst the RAF Harrier pilots onboard HMS Hermes was Flt Lt Dave Morgan who took part in the first Harrier attack on the airfield at Stanley, the capital of the Falklands.  This is the story of this mission.           Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Malvinas.talam, Stephen L. Batiz USN, USN Defense Imagery, Department of History United States Military Academy and Pete Butt.

Two of the most weird looking aircraft ever devised were actually immensely valuable in the development of the Hawker Harrier Jump Jet and in the training of astronauts!  This is the story of two flying bedsteads!         Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Disney, User:Geni and NASA.

Lt David Steeves was living the dream.  He was a USAF fighter pilot and instructor flying the T33A shooting star when his jet failed him as he flew over the Sierra's mountain range.  He ejected and then survived a traumatic fight for survival amongst the rugged terrain... he ought to have been hailed a hero.  Enter the newspaper man Clay Blair and David Steeves life abruptly turned into a nightmare!           Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Gov, USAF, Cullen328, Jeffrey Pang and Alejandro Pena.

The weird and wacky names that aircraft have don't usually include those of insects, particularly parasitic ones but there is no accounting for taste!  From Gnats to Fleas, June Bugs to Crickets, aviation has them all and in this tale we find out about many of them.                 Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Nick-D, H M Benner, the Royal Navy, Afcrna and the USAF.

Military pilots aren't the only ones in danger whilst cruising the upper reaches of the atmosphere.  Passenger jets can be equally vulnerable with tragic results.  These are the stories of two aircraft that sadly flew on to their destruction, with nobody controlling, carrying their unfortunate passengers to their death.             Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Alan Lebeda, Supergolfdude, NTSB and AAIASB.

Military fighter aircraft that fly themselves around without their pilot on board is unusual, to say the least.  Sadly this is often a situation that has tragic consequences.  This tale is of three such events; happily one has safe outcome for the pilot... the others were not so lucky.               Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Alan Wilson, Billy Bunting MOD, USMC and USAF.