I can't imagine........

[nbryant 8]

Have been doing some research and reading on the net and stumbled across this........ After having over 2000 hours (helicopter aircrew) flying I can't begin to imagine anything the likes of this:

 

 

Louis Strange experimented with a solution using a Martinsyde S I biplane. He fixed a Lewis gun on top of the upper wing, high enough to clear the airscrew. While this seemed quite a good solution, it introduced new problems, as Strange himself discovered on the 10th of May while attempting to shoot down an Aviatik. After firing off a whole drum from his Lewis gun he broke off in order to reload.

 

Unfortunately the drum jammed, and Strange stood up on his seat in order to try and pry it loose. The plane stalled, flipped over, and began to spin earthwards upside-down. Strange was flung out of the plane, and found himself dangling below the upper wing, hanging on by the very drum he had been trying to shake loose.

 

By swinging his legs wildly he managed to get a foothold inside the cockpit and drag himself back inside in time to right the plane and avoid a crash. In his wild thrashing he had smashed all the dials in his instrument panel and broken the seat.

 

(Despite such antics Strange was to survive the war, finishing the war as a Wing Commander. In the Second World War he flew in the volunteer reserve, and set up both the airborne forces parachute training course, and the fighter convoy defence unit.)

 

 

http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/earlyfighters.htm

Edited December 22, 2009 by nbryant

[PinkPanther 0]

Balls of steel.

[Bullethead 12]

Have been doing some research and reading on the net and stumbled across this........ After having over 2000 hours (helicopter aircrew) flying I can't begin to imagine anything the likes of this:

 

Amazing story, ain't it? Help up by a cross-fed cartridge? You'd think his bowels would have cut loose so hard everything on the plane would have been too slippery to hold onto .

 

I read the other day that Collishaw or some other Naval 10 pilot had to maneuver so hard to avoid a collision that he broke his seat belt and was thrown out of his Sopwith Tripe. However, he was saved by smashing his head through the upper wing, which allowed him to wrap around one of the cabane struts, then shinny down it back into the cockpit.

[Schnitzel von Krumm 0]

I read the other day that Collishaw or some other Naval 10 pilot had to maneuver so hard to avoid a collision that he broke his seat belt and was thrown out of his Sopwith Tripe. However, he was saved by smashing his head through the upper wing, which allowed him to wrap around one of the cabane struts, then shinny down it back into the cockpit.

 

Yeah, that was the first thing I though of too, Bullethead. Collishaw recounts that story in his memoirs, The Black Flight. The calm, matter-of-fact way he describes it is what makes it so humourous.

 

When I first read it, I thought it sounded like something out of The Bandy Papers which, for those who haven't read them, are the fictitious memoirs of a WWI Canadian flying ace. They're an extremely well-written series of books, both for their humour and historical accuracy. The historical accuracy, while gratifying to a Great War history buff, is secondary to the sheer entertainment value of the books.

 

I would highly recommend them to anyone who hasn't read them yet. I'm not usually one for rereading fiction, but I've read the Bandy series through four times and given away three complete sets of the books to friends, all of whom have loved them. I even talked my wife into reading them, and while she has no interest whatsoever in history, particularly military history, the cleverness of the writing and the development of the Bandy character soon had her hooked, and she went non-stop through all nine volumes.

 

The books are getting a bit hard to find, unfortunately, so I think I'l hang on to this set. For anyone who's interested, the author's name is Donald Jack.

 

Sorry if this post was a slight derail. It just struck me how life is sometimes stranger than fiction, providing of course the main character survives to tell the tale.

[Schnitzel von Krumm 0]

It took me a little while to find it and type it up, but here's the account of Collishaw's experience from his memoirs.

 

The account is verbatim, other than I've added the paragraph breaks to make it easier to read. Collie didn't believe in paragraphs apparently. His words are in italics. Let me know if there's something that doesn't make sense. I typed it rather hastily.

 

So, to set the stage, the incident took place over the Ypres front in early July of 1917:

 

"We continued our patrols during the next few days without let-up, but although we had plenty of scraps none of us was able to make any decisive claims. It was during one of these combats that I underwent an experience that left me somewhat shaken."

 

"We had become involved in the usual sort of dogfight, with everyone circling around trying to get one of the enemy in his sights and at the same time keeping a lookout behind to see what in turn may be on his tail. I was in exactly this position, keeping one eye on an enemy fighter in front of me, and, thanks to the manoeuvrability of my Triplane, slightly more than matching the tight turns he was making, and keeping the other eye on another enemy machine that had been trying to position itself on my tail."

 

"Things were going very well, and I almost had the German ahead of me in my sights when suddenly a third enemy machine appeared dead in front, coming straight at me. There was no time to consider stress limits and the amount of abuse that the Triplane would take - I jammed my stick right forward and just passed underneath the German fighter. The Triplane held together in one piece but my manoeuvre had been so violent that my safety strap, holding me down in my seat, snapped."

 

"I suddenly found myself completely clear of the cockpit and instinctively grabbed at the two centre struts just in front of the pilot's position. The control column was left to its own devices and with full power on the Triplane nosed down in a steep dive. Left to itself, under full power, the Triplane executed a series of extraordinary manoeuvres, suddenly nosing up only to drop off into a falling leaf spin and then going again into a steep dive."

 

"To anyone who might have seen me I must have presented a comic sight, clinging desperately to the two struts with the lower part of my body trailing in the slipstream and being flung about like a rag doll as my pilotless Triplane displayed its varied repertoire. So far as I was concerned, though, there was nothing funny in it at all."

 

"There was absolutely nothing that I could do, for it took all my strength merely to hang on, and I could feel my grip weakening as excruciating pains shot through my arms. It seemed only a question of whether I should be able to hang on until the aircraft and I bit the ground together or whether we would part company before then. There was always the chance that the Triplane would shed its wings but these matters seemed academic for I was apparently done for whatever happened."

 

"Had things gone on like this for only a few more moments I think that the Triplane and I would have gone our separate ways, for my arms were nearly being pulled from their sockets and were starting to slip from the struts. I recall feeling almost piqued because no one seemed to notice what was happening to me and apparently no one cared. What rescue action the other members of the Flight could have taken, even had they seen my predicament, is questionable, but in a situation such as I was in one is not always either logical or reasonable."

 

"Suddenly, though, the Triplane took it in its head to to pull straight up sharply and the lower part of my body was slammed down on the cockpit coaming. Still hanging on, I was able to work one leg into the cockpit and hook my foot around the upper part of the control column, pulling it back until I was in more or less level flight. Then I was able to let go and regain my seat, which seemed a very secure spot indeed."

 

"As I grasped the control column both my arms felt as if they were going to drop off but I uttered no complaints. Checking my altimeter, I saw that it read under 6,000 feet. We had been above 16,000 feet when we began our scrap and I had fallen nearly two miles."

 

"As soon as I was able to collect my wits I set course for home, a more sober and more thoughtful pilot than I had been some moments before."

 

The part where he's "piqued" because nobody notices or shows concern for his predicament is what reminded me most of the Bandy Papers. The fact that Collishaw not only survived this event, but apparently stayed so calm and lucid, making ironic observations as he flopped around trying to get back into the cockpit of his whirling, diving aeroplane is just one example of why I find him such an interesting and admirable historic figure.

 

Anyway, can we have unreliable safety straps as an option for P4? I think it would really add to the realism.

Edited December 23, 2009 by Schnitzel von Krumm

[Bullethead 12]

The part where he's "piqued" because nobody notices or shows concern for his predicament is what reminded me most of the Bandy Papers.

 

Now that you mention it, that does seem to fit into that style. I'd never considered this before, nor read Collishaw's own account, but it stands to reason that Donald Jack would have taken inspiration from the memoirs of real Canadian pilots.

 

Anyway, can we have unreliable safety straps as an option for P4? I think it would really add to the realism.

 

LMFAO!!

[Siggi 10]

I have an account in one of my books where the pilot fell out of his Sopwith as it looped and landed back in/on it 2000ft lower and regained control, all witnessed from his airfield (which he sprayed with bullets accidentally as he fought his way back into the cockpit).

[JimAttrill 24]

I have a book somewhere of incredible aviation escapes, most from WWII.

 

One gunner was blown out of a Lancaster at 20000 ft or so without his parachute. He fell about half the way to the ground and then collided with an parachute and aircrew from a different Lanc and managed to grab his legs and hang on to the ground. His 'rescuer' wasn't too happy about this as he had a broken leg

[Bullethead 12]

I read long ago, and more recently saw a TV show, about a stewardess who survived an airliner being blown up. She was even interviewed on the TV show. She was back in the tail section, which broke off and as it tumbled she was stuck inside by the centrifugal force. The tail landed in the top of some trees on a mountainside, cushioning its fall, and it just so happened that its rotation made the open front end of it be facing downhill at the moment of impact. The stewardess was thrown out at just the right angle to graze along the slope of the mountainside, which was covered in snow, through which she then slid a long way downhill until she came to a gentle stop. IIRC, she got a bad back out of the ordeal but that's it.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

I went arse over tea kettle down a flight of stairs in a pub one night, holding a full pint glass of ale. Landed on my feet at the bottom and never spilled a drop, (centrifugal force no doubt playing it's part). It was witnessed by my entire dart team. I was not interviewed on TV however.

 

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[Schnitzel von Krumm 0]

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It was witnessed by my entire dart team. I was not interviewed on TV however.

 

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That must have left you feeling almost piqued.

[Dej 17]

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I went arse over tea kettle down a flight of stairs in a pub one night, holding a full pint glass of ale. Landed on my feet at the bottom and never spilled a drop, (centrifugal force no doubt playing it's part). It was witnessed by my entire dart team. I was not interviewed on TV however.

 

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Bet that pint's on the list of 'best pints I ever drank' Nice One.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Did you audition for Cirque du Solei right after?

[Duce Lewis 3]

.

 

I went arse over tea kettle down a flight of stairs in a pub one night, holding a full pint glass of ale. Landed on my feet at the bottom and never spilled a drop, (centrifugal force no doubt playing it's part). It was witnessed by my entire dart team. I was not interviewed on TV however.

 

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Now there's a man with his priorities straight!

[Von Paulus 8]

.

 

I went arse over tea kettle down a flight of stairs in a pub one night, holding a full pint glass of ale. Landed on my feet at the bottom and never spilled a drop, (centrifugal force no doubt playing it's part). It was witnessed by my entire dart team. I was not interviewed on TV however.

 

.

Have you ever thought in filling an Astronaut application?

I foresee a brilliant career.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Schnitzel von Krummm wrote:

That must have left you feeling almost piqued.

Yes, you make a good point SvK. After taking flight and making like a barrel down those steps I ended up feeling like I’d gotten the shaft when my performance wasn’t applauded. Someone could of at least yelled “Bull’s Eye!” (nyuk nyuk nyuk)

 

 

 

 

Dej wrote:

Bet that pint's on the list of 'best pints I ever drank' Nice One.

It was a sweet pint to be sure Dej, no doubt due to my heightened sense of awareness upon sticking the landing.

 

 

 

 

Herr Prop-Wasche wrote:

Did you audition for Cirque du Solei right after?

Well, no Prop. Actually my build would tend to make me more suited for the Russian Circus Bears.

 

 

 

 

Duce wrote:

Now there's a man with his priorities straight!

Absolutely! I cannot condone alcohol abuse.

 

 

 

 

Von Paulus wrote:

Have you ever thought in filling an Astronaut application? I foresee a brilliant career.

VP, I’ve been a space ranger for a long time now.

 

 

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