Old Pilots and Bold Pilots.

There are no old, bold pilots. But there are those, well past their use-by date, that perhaps made the grade. Unofficially.  Being rooted in ages m'self that go back a long way I have a liking for history, and much of it is quite unknown to most people, even those who frequent the Tavern. So I was pleased to see a history teacher drop in to tell of some little-known matters. Unplanned and really scary matters concerning aircraft at that. How could I possibly not be enthralled.

This particular History Guy is someone I have long 'followed' on the new-fangled You Tube thingo for some time where this American high-school professor spends an attention-holding ten minutes or so succinctly but so entertainingly telling of events arcane, heroic, tragic, thoroughly interesting and engaging. And often frightening.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1

He says for himself:

I love history, and if you love history too, this is a channel for you!  

I operate from a simple premise- history does not need to be dull. My vision is to tell history as a story, and let the magic of the events speak for themselves. Here you can find snippets of forgotten history covering everything from Hannibal's elephants to the Wild West, in a format that is fun, engaging, and fits your busy schedule. 

Videos are all between five and fifteen minutes long and cover topics of forgotten and obscure history from throughout time and around the world.  

He is from a different era himslf. Would that every school could have such an enthusiast as a teacher: one who does the work. Even half the work.

He brought along a great snippet that I remembered m'self but was happy to hear of again. It was about an accidental pilot. There are some things that happen to aircraft, and to people who like to play with them and fiddle with bits of them, that demand several pairs of underpants of a rather more absorbent sort than my chain mail ones. 

He told us the tale of an Engineer. An RAF Wing Commander (that's a Lt. Col to the Americans), who found himself in a spot of bother with a Lighning. 

That aircraft, in its day, was the fastest machine anywhere. But needed a pilot that could handle it. In this instance he had no helmet, no canopy, no radio, no ejector seat and barely strapped into one of the most difficult to fly aircraft. It must have been terrifying.

I shall let the History Guy tell you himself:

He back pedalled a little: 

At the end I say that Wing Commander Holden spent two years in the hospital.  In fact, he spent two periods in the hospital, both much shorter than a year. I am sorry for the mistake.

Hey, revisionism is all the go in our education systems !

You may have noticed in the photo above, two aircraft. The larger one is a Victor, which was (is) possibly the most stunning design you could see.  Like the lightning it was from an era now past and there are no flying examples. But 'ground display' examples are around, and people gather at air shows to watch and wonder.

It was at such a fun day out some ten years ago now that a Victor XM715 was due to do a fast run down a runway for the enjoyment of an appreciative crowd.

Something went awry. I remembered that too. Here is what the spectators saw.

It was almost a disaster and 'questions' were asked. 

The very experienced pilot, Bob Prothero, now dubbed 'The Last Victor Pilot', talked us through.

I do like being reminded of these events.

I provided the History Guy with as much ale for his tale that he could wassail.

Have a drink with him and go visit his collections.


Pax.