HM Coatguard Stornoway and 2 Randoms

[Captain Canada]

As always, I was hoping to see the Coast Guard birds in action. It was looking pretty bleak for the first few days and then 'boom!' they were everywhere I was ! I think Nick tipped them off.....I was treated to a real show by one down near Harris as he was circling under the cloud about halfway up the Clisham. Very cool. I can't find the photos tho ! Just the one crappy one...

The two birds out together














Heathrow has the coolest fire trainer...and old Tu-22 Blinder ;-)


One of BA's new A380's

[Gondor]

Heathrow has the coolest fire trainer...and old Tu-22 Blinder ;-)

Sorry to disappoint but that looks more like a DC-10 than a Tu-22 to me.

Gondor

[kerick]

Aren't fire trainers made of sections of steel welded together to resemble an aircraft? At least the ones I have seen are. A real aircraft wouldn't last very long as a fire trainer.
My old Air Force Reserve unit built one a few years ago with all the bells and whistles then was told not to use it as it was too close to the runway and scared the passengers who thought it was a real aircraft crash. Your tax dollars at work.

[JayBee]

Indeed, the fire trainer at Heathrow (also at Gatwick) is a fabrication combining various features of main line aircraft.
It has a single high mounted engine in the tail, to simulate a DC-10/MD-11. The highest engine they might have to deal with a fire in.
It has two under-wing engines to simulate under-wing engines (surprise, surprise).
The "fuselage" is at the height to simulate a B747 (and possibly an A380).
All this for fire training.
Sorry Todd, NO Tu-22's in Britain. 

Thanks though for the photos of Stornoway Airport, they took me back about 30 years when I was there as the controller.
Where exactly did you take them from? It looks like the old first flour balcony on the tower building.

Jim

[NARSES2]

My old Air Force Reserve unit built one a few years ago with all the bells and whistles then was told not to use it as it was too close to the runway and scared the passengers who thought it was a real aircraft crash. Your tax dollars at work.

That happened at Teesside or whatever they are calling it this week. I was on a flight coming into land and I thought the guy next to me was going to have a cardiac when he saw the fire down below. I tried to calm him down by telling him they were practicing but he didn't believe me. The stewardess basically told him to pull himself together 

[Captain Canada]

I still think it looks more like a Blinder than any of the others mentioned. The angle and position of the wings, the shape of the fuselage, just need one more engine on the vertical stab....