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Old 08-31-2010, 11:16 AM   #1
johnfowles
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Default The Battle Of Britain

For anybody intersted in strange and/or old and exotic motorcars an article in todays UK Daily Telegraph's Motoring Section is well worth reading
at;-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...erschmitt.html
As you can surmise from the page title this is a celebration of sorts of the 70th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain using instead of aircraft the namesakes of the two most famous BOB aircraft (in fact of course there were more Hurricanes involved than Spitfires)

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Old 09-07-2010, 09:57 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by MistyMoppens View Post
I had a boyfriend who had a baby blue Spitfire exactly like that one! ohmygosh... This brings back so many memories of the Calif. coastline...

That white one is absolutely hilarious! It's almost as goofy as the one Mr. Bean drove!!

Thanks for sharing, Sir John!

ok, could you please up your posting frequency a bit, please! hope all is well
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Old 09-08-2010, 02:18 AM   #3
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Default Re: The Battle Of Britain

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These little cars are so incredibly hilarious... Dear Hubby wants a Mini Cooper but I think they're much too small to be safe on these big, fast, crazy roads. We'll see....

Leave it to the awesome Brits to keep me endlessly entertained!! What else have you got, Sir John?
I'll be back later when I have finished a draft about "bubble" cars includng the very first postwar "Beemer" which was a licence built Italian machine (the ersatz BMW Isetta a small bubble car)(BMW of
course now own amd build Minis)
and a superb video of the absolute smallest French Microcar you have been warned and will not be disappointed

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Old 09-08-2010, 06:36 PM   #4
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Default Re: The Battle Of Britain

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Originally Posted by MistyMoppens View Post
How was your summer?
way too fast, but thanks...the good part was i never entered the city limits

and yours?


...it makes me nervous when i see those smart (dumb) little cars travelling between a few transports on the highways...i'm no crash test dummy

if we want to stop wasting fuel, let's start by ditching those loud air shows
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Old 09-09-2010, 10:41 PM   #5
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Default Re: The Battle Of Britain

yeah, misty...let's have a tiny car show instead


It’s time we killed the air show
September 06, 2010

On Saturday in Parkdale, high winds accomplished what common sense could not.

The air show was grounded.

But it was business as usual afterwards, and there is no sweet way to say this: The sound of warplanes over this city is the sound of death.

It’s time we killed the air show.

Canada has no need of American fighter jets, nor do we need to thump our chests on a holiday weekend best suited to the quiet appreciation of the corn dog.

We are not at risk of invasion.

Even if we were, our enemies — if we actually have any, and if they are intent on taking us by force — are certainly not going to be deterred by a yearly show of military might above the rooftops of the west end.

Maybe you like the air show. I understand that some people prefer vicarious thrills; even I am not immune to the naked charms of roaring, throbbing, rivet-rattling power.

Those things have their place.

That place ain’t here.

Unless, of course, you think it is useful and instructive to remind your neighbours, many of whom come from war-torn countries — Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq — that they are lucky to live in Toronto, except when the jet fighters are in town.

You may disagree. You may also wish to equate your love for high-speed stunts and flybys with support for the troops; sorry, that stale stuff is the refuge of scoundrels.

But even if you think we were saved by the warriors of a generation ago — and my father, and three of his brothers served, and two were wounded, and one died as a result of his wounds — then surely what they saved was my right to an opinion.

The air show is a dodo.

You remain free to disagree. You may even believe that the trump card is the bravery and the skill of the pilots. Let me remind you that the pilot whose warplane crashed at the air show in Alberta a month or so ago was also brave and highly skilled. I’m glad he’s safe, but his big expensive ball of flaming wreckage advanced no one’s cause, nor did it make us safer.

The reverse is true.

The reason the big fighter planes — and the little crop dusters — restrict their stunts to the air space above the lake is precisely because of the risk of fireballs. Go slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of God someplace else.

Because even if the air show stunts take place over water, the planes turn swift and low over our rooftops, loud enough to rattle windows, wake babies, disturb the elderly, frighten dogs, prevent shift workers from knitting up the ravelled sleeve of care, and cause the sick at St. Joe’s to roll over in their beds of pain.

Such is the price of your thrill.

Let me remind you that the Indy races, held on the grounds of the Ex, are also a thing of the past; performance car races serve no useful purpose unless it is to wreck machinery, ruin eardrums and waste fossil fuel.

Let’s kill two birds with one stone:

I say we replace the air show — and the Indy race — with the biggest, fastest, most technologically advanced electric car race in the world, with huge prizes and glorious honour for the winners.

Let us hold that race — did I mention it would be fast? And thrilling? And quiet? — on the last weekend of the CNE. Because we do not need to bask in the militarism of the past; we need to marvel at the possibility of the future.

Joe Fiorito (Toronto Star)
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Old 09-10-2010, 08:48 AM   #6
charlene
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just a thought - those fly boys and planes represent many who fought for our freedoms in all kinds of planes and it's a way for them to remind us of that with their incredible talent flying those machines. I am anti-war but appreciate their efforts. Those planes and pilots should be used as starting points for discussions about war and peace with our children.
Other military groups march in parades/have re-enactments of battles or have their events on the water in their ships...the flyboys do their thing in the air.
For 3 hours each day for 3 days they make noise over the lake and part of the city. The flight path from Pearson airport has hundreds more planes flying over the city per day and the airport has it's runways all accessible over highly populated areas.
The Snowbirds come here to whitby the day after the airshow is over and do their fly past a few blocks from my house. They fly over a public school named after a whitby boy who was a Snowbird pilot but died in 1998 during a training session. They did it this past Tuesday again in respect of their comrade. When it happened it broke the town's heart. I, once again stood on my deck and watched them fly low over my house, the rumbles of their engines resonating to the core of my being, reminding me of their power and speed, that they and other planes in the air show are essentially war machines but being used in this country where peace and freedom live, to remind us of that fact. They remind me of how quickly life is lost in war and training for war and that I respect and admire them for their dedication.
There have been complaints in the past about the noise, cows and horses in farmers fields were spooked for example. Well for the few seconds that they fly over 2 or 3 times and what they represent and are doing I think we can take a moment to say thankyou. The children at Michael van den Bos school have learned about sacrifice, dedication and love of country from a young man who selflessly (and possibly needlessly according to some) did something in his life that he loved. My heart breaks for his family but theirs is full of pride. Our young people are dying in conflicts around the world - this is not going to change any time soon.
The militarism of the past is why we have the freedoms of today, it's not a perfect world and war still exists. We can still marvel at the possibility of the future but we must never forget or deny the past.
http://www.durhamregion.com/news/edu...article/161325 - the video shows how low they are over the public school-which is about 2 miles from me. The other video at the link is them flying over the University/College where my daughter goes to school.

As Joe Fiorito says - we have the right to our opinions because of those who served our countries in conflicts of the past. There are many times I eel as he does about the air show-especially when one of the planes crashes and a life is lost. But those who partake in them know the risks. As far as accidents happening over the city, that has never happened..all risky aerial stunts are done out over the lake. Because of wind conditions last Saturday the air show was cancelled. They take every precaution for safety. I am more afraid when I hear a plane take off from the Oshawa airport not far from me and the young students are learning how to be pilots. They fly over our towns of sever hundred thousand people on their approaches to the airport and take-offs and I have, more than once been frightened by how low they are. They are not jets but prop planes. My sister-in-law lost her father-in-law in a small plane he was piloting that crashed not far from here, luckily for those on the ground it was in a farmers field.
Some argue that many new citizens of Toronto have come from war-torn countries and the jets/fighter planes are traumatizing for them. I am sorry for this. We all have trauma triggers and we learn to deal with them...they are here in a peaceful country that they chose to come to. Not all of this new world will please them but they are free and alive and learning about things as they are in this new world. And that new world, for the time being includes an air show that for the most part is viewed as 'entertainment' for many people. Planes and pilots like those in the air show are or were fighting for freedoms in countries like theirs that had none, only conflict and strife and fear. That is why they live here now.
It's one way to remember the past, honour it and see those planes in another way - not just as machines of war.
just saying...
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Old 09-10-2010, 03:49 PM   #7
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i digested your post well, char...i think the flybys pay tribute but i don'tsee how the stunts relate so much, although i suppose some clever handling was required in battles past

by killing the air show i thought the columnist was talking about the CNE airshow

i am on the fence to a degree but my wish list is more like this:

no mega-noise pollution in the GTA on long weekends

no need to make it part of CNE, there's enuf stuff to see and do already, imo (some would argue otherwise, lol)

Lake Ontario water doesn't really act as a life saving cushion for crew so why not have it over a barren field (yet not flammable forrest)..i don't think we really need a lake to extinguish a fireball, although maybe these fireballs helps burn off pollution, lol

don't have it where seniors are in a palliative state (ie. St Joes)

we have military flybys on Remembrance Day...for some of us 'tributes' are far more frequent and done in other ways (museums, monuments, etc)...i can tell you the last thing i'm thinking of when a 'boom' goes overhead, is those who have fallen in the past...i'm thinking of being felled myself in the present!

i like the idea of a show that focuses on the future (that's how i mainly see the CNE, future innovations and exhibits much along the theme of EPCOT)

how a bout battery operated gliders flying by in canadian geese formation, lol

btw, a guy crashed into an audience in germany last week during an air show, but yes, i've not heard of it here..at the CNE you have a better chance of being 'hit' by a seagull while you're trying to watch the show

i've often though of going to the CNE on the labour day weekend but held off because of the airshow...i treasure my ear drums more than anything, even vision

interesting thread (other than the battle and british part of it! lol)

just sayin...
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Old 09-10-2010, 04:42 PM   #8
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It's part of the long weekend/CNE/Labour Day/Veterans parde thing/tradition. The 'Ex" has a military tradition as well.
The 'watching' of the planes is quite different as they do their stunts (and many war pilots back in the day had to perform many stunts in those old planes) over a lake as opposed to a field. While hitting the water at those speeds is basically the same as hitting the ground (and we have lost a couple of pilots in the airshow that way) having the airshow over the lake during the EX with the city watching and as a backdrop as well is beautiful. Theimagery is beautiful.
The noise is, as you can imagine..loud. Ear plugs can be bought.
It's but a few moments in the big picture of things. NOt all of the planes are ear splitting jets. The guy yelling on the rides 'Do you wanna go faster?' while pumping up the music to ear splitting levels within a foot of your head is worse than the planes going hundreds of miles an hour past you at hundreds of feet in the air.
Much of the show is out over the lake , quite a distance from shore and the noise is barely audible. The police helicopter where I live is more annoying at 2 a.m. flying cirlces for hours on end looking for some kid who just robbed the 7-11. A 2 hour rock concert (and I'm sure you've attended some JJ and possibly even performed in some loud bands) is more damaging to your ears. I know that all the air shows I've watched have not damaged my ears at all compared to one RUSH concert or ELO at Mssey Hall concert, let alone Meat Loaf or Jimmy Buffett.
The CNE has not looked to the future for decades. It's a sad sorry event better seen at night when the lights can razzle dazzle and it all seems less dodgy, dirty and old. Even one of my daycare parents said it wasn't like when she was a kid..and she's barely 30.
lol
I bet some of those old folks would love to be out and see the air show..I know my uncle who was in WW2 and knew many of the old planes flying around by name. (he was a plane mechanic in England during the war-sending the flyboys off to save the world) He watched from the 43rd floor balcony of a condo right down on the waterfront near the EX and loved the planes flying 'just' overhead. He was in his early 80's at the time. He loved every minute of it and at one point was quite teary eyed as he thought of his old pals and those old planes and marveling at the new ones.
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Old 09-11-2010, 12:48 PM   #9
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A 2 hour rock concert is more damaging to your ears
good thing none of us gord fans will deaf, lolol

yeah, i only ever went on the polar express ride once because of that loud siren

it must have been nice to watch the cne show from hi up in a condo (even if into a glaring west sun)...bit a bleacher set up view was not what i call beauty

we're all biased perhaps based on the impressions left on loved ones by war (wars in my grandfathers case)...every day he had flybys in his own mind right until age 96...my uncle was a pilot in RCAF and this is where we went (instead of airshow) to bond of war stories and pay tribute:

http://www.warplane.com/pages/aircraft.html

sir fowles, on sept 19 it's battle of britain open house, if you're in the area

i'm i mega-traditionalist but i tink some should never have started (like doing the wave at Jays games, lol)....enjoy the weekend weather, what incredibly clear and humidity free skies for hiking to escarpment views, bird migration ...and even airshow viewing
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Old 09-13-2010, 06:02 AM   #10
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http://timestranscript.canadaeast.co...rticle/1215502


Battle of Britain 'never forgotten'

Published Monday September 13th, 2010



Outcome of war hinged on the first significant air battle in history

By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff




Seventy years is a long time to remember, but military veterans and serving members of all branches of Canada's armed forces vow the Battle of Britain will never be forgotten.



RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Dieppe Military Veteran's Association Battle of Britain ceremony took place yesterday afternoon at the J. Laurie Cormier P.O.W. Park. Here, Romeo Bourgeois lays a wreath in memory of the historic event.




RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Pilot Mike Woodfield does one of his passes in a F86 Hawk One by Vintage Aircraft.



The first significant battle in history to be fought entirely in the skies literally turned the tide of the Second World War, holding off a Nazi invasion of Great Britain despite the pilots being undermanned, undergunned and having about one-quarter the number of aircraft of the invading Luftwaffe.

The 70th anniversary of the battle was marked in both Moncton and Dieppe yesterday, with the crowd at the latter city swelled by a triple flypast by a classic F86 Sabre fighter jet, clad in the striking golden livery of the famed Golden Hawks military aerobatics team, the forerunners to today's world-renown Snowbirds.

Much pomp but also sombre reflection dominated both cities' ceremonies, which served as a good history lesson for those too young to appreciate how, between July and September of 1940, the fate of the free world hung on the abilities of allied pilots, short in numbers and even shorter on training, many of whom earned their wings at what is now the Greater Moncton International Airport and the Moncton Flight College, which was a significant training grounds for new wartime pilots.

The Dieppe ceremony was held right across the street from the airport and college, at the J.-Laurie-Cormier POW Park on Champlain Street, among the very homes that were built to house the trainees and their instructors in the Lakeburn section of the city.

"It's something very special to commemorate this date in this space," Mayor Jean LeBlanc noted.

Dieppe Military Veterans' Association president Nils Liljemark recalled how Hitler had planned to invade Great Britain on his march eastward across Europe and had amassed an air fleet unmatched in the world, whose mission it was to soften British resistance to the coming onslaught by 160,000 German ground troops.

Somehow, the British air warriors, their numbers boosted by about 100 Canadians, repelled the supposedly far superior and certainly far more numerous Luftwaffe.

"At the end of the day," master of ceremonies of the Moncton commemoration MWO (Ret.) Peter Hamm said at the Victoria Park cenotaph, "Hitler realized that an invasion of Britain was impossible.

"This great victory must never be forgotten."
As if on cue, the first F86 flypast occurred just as the strains of O Canada filled the chill Sunday afternoon air, compelling the crowd to crane their necks as dozens of cameras pointed at the sky because for many, yesterday will prove to be the last time they'll ever see the 1960s-vintage jet in full flight and many in the crowd realized that.

The first flypast was in honour of Al Lilly, the legendary Moncton aviator who died in 2008 who was the first Canadian to break the sound barrier by putting his Canadair-built CF-86 Sabre into a dive over Montreal. In his honour, this particular Sabre is named after Lilly.

The second overflight was in honour of the late Don McClure, like Lilly a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and who was actually one of Lilly's students, who played a key role in the development of Lakeburn as a pilot-training centre and was one of the founding fathers of the now world-renown Moncton Flight College, which trains pilots from around the globe.

The jet's third pass was to honour Mike Doiron, who recently retired as principal and CEO of the college and who was McClure's successor at the ever-growing flight school.

While the audience fully expected the jet to make three passes, they were delighted at witnessing a fourth fly-by which occurred when pilot Mike Woodfield came in for a landing to refuel, sending shutterbugs scrambling across Champlain Street to get close-up photos.

Many of those admiring the parked jet were astounded when Woodfield walked over to personally greet the crowd, spending considerable time talking to aero buffs and answering every one of the avalanche of questions they tossed his way.

This particular Sabre never flew as an actual Golden Hawk but was used at RCAF Station Trenton, in Ontario, for team tryouts in 1962 and 1963.
It was retired from service at the former CFB Chatham, in Miramichi, in 1968.

The jet was purchased by Vintage Wings of Canada from a private collector in 2007. Known as Hawk One, it was restored and repainted in the colours of the Golden Hawks in partnership with the Air Force as part of the Canadian Centennial of Flight celebrations.
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Old 09-22-2010, 09:03 PM   #11
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Default Re: The Battle Of Britain

Quote:
Originally Posted by MistyMoppens View Post
And last week they had the lawn mower races somewhere in the U.K... And I think they have camping trailer races and pub stool races, too. I have a friend in London who just may need to have his local pub stool surgically removed from his bum. <smiling>
Not only that:I bet you have never heard of the pub game called with impreccable logic DWILE THONKING
http://www.deuceofdavenport.com/2010...-from-england/
"During the game, "flonkers" use a pole to launch a beer-soaked cloth at opponents, with the aim of giving them a hearty wet slap in the face.
Rules state if their soggy missile misses its target twice in a row, the competitor must down a pot – or half – of ale as quickly as possible"


microcars screed to follow I think I know where my draft of it is hiding!!

Last edited by johnfowles; 09-22-2010 at 09:13 PM. Reason: stoopid board duplicated my effort then tried to cock up my hyperlink
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Old 09-22-2010, 09:09 PM   #12
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Default Re: The Battle Of Britain

Quote:
Originally Posted by MistyMoppens View Post
And last week they had the lawn mower races somewhere in the U.K... And I think they have camping trailer races and pub stool races, too. I have a friend in London who just may need to have his local pub stool surgically removed from his bum. <smiling>
Not only that:I bet you have never heard of the pub game called with impreccable logic DWILE THONKING
http://www.deuceofdavenport.com/2010...-from-england/

"During the game, "flonkers" use a pole to launch a beer-soaked cloth at opponents, with the aim of giving them a hearty wet slap in the face.
Rules state if their soggy missile misses its target twice in a row, the competitor must down a pot – or half – of ale as quickly as possible"


microcars screed to follow I think I know where my draft of it is hiding!!
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Old 09-23-2010, 10:18 AM   #13
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i think everyone should be dabbling in the Dangerous Book for Boys (one for girls now also) and get away from those mini DS (PSP?) things for a while...i thank the British author daily

hey, while it's not ready to take on a cross Atlantic flight, this thing could probably stay aloft long enough to cross the beach at Couchiching

http://www.thestar.com/article/86463...a-flying-first
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Old 09-23-2010, 11:26 AM   #14
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not long enuf flight for a cocktail..lol
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Old 09-23-2010, 11:30 AM   #15
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lol, maybe his next version will have an in flight movie (or at least time for a 30 second trailer)
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