What drama tonight!!! In tonights episode of salvage squad Jerry threw his dolly out of the pram and walked out.
However it was perhaps justified as it was a very important issue.
He was painting the wrong shape moustache on the nose of the gyrocraft.
The others objected on the principle that a restoration must folow the origional and Jerry was outvoted. Did I detect a directors hand in stage managing this or do the experts feel we were watching true life drama.
Alvin
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Who else thought this really did happen over two weeks? I'm almost convinced.
and did anyone else notice the quick clip of Lee Hurst driving his Alfa round the same bend as last week?
I realise at this point David W is going to come on with some counselling, but David, there were 48 rivets on that boiler section of the steam roller and there should have been.......
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I started to get irritated by the falseness so I switched over halfway through to watch Dibnah on cathedrals (BBC2). Fascinating stuff, so I'll be there again next week.
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My defence is slipping. I did struggle with the car last week and only looked at half the autogyro prog tonight. The closer it gets to my own interests the more the holes show.
FIF,
The final straw was noticing that gyro had exactly the same scuttle plate as the steam roller, how could that be?
David
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I think Fred really has some influence on his show - my favourite too.
Could we get him on hairy motors...........?
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David, Didn't know Fred was on..... Now there's a man to respect. His early programmes when he was a steeplejack were fascinating. But he has so many abilities I always think he is a throwback to an early age of engineering heritage which has almost disappeared.
One could see him as one of Brunel's foremen saying "just b***** off Isambard and let me get on with building it."
Alvin
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Fred was very good tonight, although he still found it difficult to conduct an interview without interrupting with "ers", "umms" and "ayes". He's getting better though. He was in Peterborough and Ely cathedrals which are both in my locality, so I suppose this raised my interest.
No cars though, except his 'R' reg Landrover with enough scaffolding bolted to it to get a good way up a cathedral !
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Yep, Fred's one of my TV heroes, because he's down to earth. My son did his degree at Bolton and I passed Fred's house fairly frequently. His back garden (!) is a sight worth seeing.
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Yes Dave I think we all have the hots for the girlie mechanic and you must concentrate more on the technical side rather than having lascivious intentions on the apprentice.
What engine.. There was a programme (from the USA) on tv a few years ago in serialised form where this man was to build his own areoplane from start to finish in 90 days or something similar. He was no learner having built them before. He had a very large workshop to do it in and was very good. However he failed totally as all his aero collegues said he would. However I do recall him going to a scrap yard for an engine and apparently the engine they all use for home built aircraft is a Japanese one and I'm pretty certain it was a Subauru.
There was a near neighbour who was building his own in his large garden at the same time, and I recall being in the motor components shop while he was ordering engine parts and this was the same make. Why they all go for this engine I don't know. But the pro's will tell us which engine it was.
It was good to hear the experts though. I've been drilling holes in a project I'm working on this morning and I could almost feel the old aircraft engineer over my shoulder giving some caustic comments. I've always just simply drilled them!!!!!
Alvin
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"The final straw was noticing that gyro had exactly the same scuttle plate as the steam roller, how could that be?"
Another mouthful of coffee ends up dripping from my monitor!
The argument featuring Jerry was blatently stagemanaged.
I believe this one *was* done in two weeks but once again the restoration work sees to have been done by a qualified restorer while the squad just impair progress!
All in all reasonable entertainment. Better than Eastenders.
Two side issues. 1) I hope I'm flying auto gyro's at 85. 2) I've really got the hots for the driling girlie! She's definately fueling my current older woman/down to earth and practical fantasy! ;-)
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I think the project probably could have been done in two weeks. All they really did was bolt a load of parts together. Again they missed major operations like fitting the engine etc , bit of a disappointment.
That argument was just a waste of valuable time, could have been showing the engine being rebuilt - BTW what engine was it?
Cheers
Andrew
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Andrew
Appeared to be an air cooled VW flat-four. Suitably modified, I believe not uncommon as a light aircraft power unit.
Despite a rebuild by a specialist, it failed on falling oil pressure on the first flight. Claimed to be a faulty seal, which had to be specially ordered. Not sure about what it really was. However, it shows even the experts can get it wrong, but at least the chap who built the engine did the test flight!
Usual continuity errors. After the first flight, the comment was 'Ok so it's engine out for investigation' - followed by crew packing up the aircraft, still complete with engine, to drive it away.
regards
John
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This restoration had the tongue very firmly in cheek, didn't it. After all, there's absolutely no way that "amateur" aerolane menders are going to be allowed to do anything unsupervised - someone is going to have to fly it!
I enjoyed this prog for its other bits,like the interview with the man who flew autogyros during the war, and the explanation of radar "calibration". Also, the "spat" about gluing in the carpets was probably deliberate on the part of the real aircraft engineer. You can't have an attitude of "oh, it'll do" prevailing, even if an aeroplane has never crashed because the carpet tape was not straight.
I will probably watch the programme about the Tiger Moth restoration, but just for the nostalgia of looking at the aeroplane. A friend of mine recently owned a share in one of these, and I was fortunate enough to fly in it. Truly wonderful. I'd be surprised if they let the team even polish the cowlings!
Ian
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Just after WW2 Exchange& Mart were advertising Tiger Moths at £150. And in RAF Kasfareet (Egypt) in 1952 there were Spitfires - wings detached - piled three high waiting for a dealer to come and buy. Makes you weep.
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It was an interesting programme but surely a major part of the project was the engine overhaul. We werent allowed to see any of that but they spent a lot of time on the silly carpet and moustache painting incident..
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Yes! The tiger moth is going to stretch credibility past breaking point.
My parents tell me that as a child, when my dad had his PPL [1], I was taken up in a Tiger Moth by a mate of his. Sadly I have no recollection of it.
This guy's party trick was to buzz low past ships so the crew looked down on him. One day he hit an anchor chain...
Despite the flaws in this show I enjoy it. The friction between the team of bumbling idiots and the wise restorers is genuine and amusing and there is always some technical bent. I'd love to know what the 130bhp Rolls Royce engine was.
[1] Apparently there was a time in the UK when the average bloke in the street could afford to fly...
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Ah, De Havilland..!
Back in '59, I had the priviledge of being the last ATC cadet to train for a flying scholarship on Tiger Moths, flying from Fairwood Aerodrome in Swansea. I remember that the cost after I'd got my licence was £5 per hour!
For the ultimate ego trip I can recommend flying alongside a train on the raised section of track between Llanelli and Burry Port, waving at the girls...
Those were the days..
Peter.
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Sorry, Salvage Squad stands no chance up against Fred Dibnah, the man is not only an engineering enthusiast bar none but his character makes him one of those men in a million.
He came down South to Canvey a few years back to take down a chimney, not a nice brick one but a fairly modern thing, all the local media & dignitaries turned up on the day to see the great man at work. Just one problem, no chimney, only Fred with roll-up in corner of mouth and cap on head musing at a pile of rubble, he turned to the TV reporter and with his famous grin said, 'Sorry, about that love, had a bit of a problem yesterday. Haven't come too far have you?'
Legendary!!
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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Give me fred anyday.
He did his own version a few years ago with steamrollers
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wow what's gone wrong with posting system ????????????
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Paul wrote:
>
> wow what's gone wrong with posting system ????????????
I noticed you were having some trouble, Paul! But I can assure you the site is working properly for once, so it must be a tremble of your "Post"-button finger.
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I watched a couple, but they seemed very stage-managed to me. For instance, I can't believe that an 'expert' would miss the fact that a Chieftain tank has 24V electrics! I think they are trying to cash in on the success of 'Scrapheap' which may have some appropriate scrap planted, but otherwise includes some genuine problem-solving. I like the girl in SS, but she's not enough to tempt me back...
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