Eric 'Winkle' Brown flies F-35!  

(more at http://www.key.aero/view_feature.asp?ID=7&thisSection=historic)

One of the guests of honour aboard HMS Illustrious at Greenwich for the 'Fly Navy 100' flypast was legendary test pilot Captain Eric Melrose 'Winkle' Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, FRAeS, RN.

Gary Parsons - 17-Jul-2009

Eric 'Winkle' Brown, 90 years young. Key - Gary Parsons

A former Royal Navy officer, Eric is famous for flying more types of aircraft than anyone else in history, as well as being the Fleet Air Arm's most decorated pilot. Now turned 90 years old, Eric belies his age with an awareness and spirit of someone twenty years younger. Slight of build, his diminutive figure contradicts one's expectations of the chisel-jawed fighter pilot, but his openness and friendly banter soon puts one at ease. A centre of attention aboard HMS Illustrious, one couldn't help notice the array of medals pinned to his chest, but also the small F-35 Lightning II pin badge on his lapel. Had he managed to add another type to his official record of 487 different aircraft flown?

"Oh yes", he beamed. "Lockheed Martin were kind enough to let me loose in their simulator recently." Did he manage to do a full sortie in the simulator? "Yes, very enjoyable, even down to a vertical landing! These days, you get a load of instrumentation with you and it's quite remarkable - you sit in his cockpit and you get a total view of the battle field, everything that's going on, brought right up to date. It's quite incredible the way it can be done."

It wasn't Eric's first taste of vertical movement in a fixed-wing aeroplane – he flew the P1127 and Kestrel in the sixties, the forerunners of the Harrier GR1. "The P1127 had a habit of preparing to go backwards before going forward!"

Born on January 21, 1919 in Leith near Edinburgh, Eric first flew when he was 18. With the sea in his blood he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in 1939, before committing to the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. During 1941 Eric was with 802 Squadron aboard HMS Audacity flying Martlets over the Mediterranean, during which time he downed two enemy Focke-Wulf Fw 200 'Condor' maritime patrol aircraft.

--
Yves Duwelz

See also : http://www.belgianaviationnews.be/2012/02/event-march-12th-and-13rd-meet-legend.html

Help Lockeed FX-100 Starfighter archives

---------- Forwarded message ----------  From: Louis Nève louis@neve.be
Date: 2012/2/21

Chers amis , dans vos archives l'un d'entre vous aurait-il pour moi une photo en couleur du FX 100 sur le dos et gear out (touch roll touch roll) ?  merci d'avance

fnar.be : Renard R-31 Replica stabilizer delivered, pictures Alain Vandeneynde

Photo album: Fnar.be Renard R-31 Replica Renard R-31 Royal Army Museum - Air & Space Hall - Brussels - Feb 22, 2012 En 2000, le Fonds Alfred Renards Association a débuté la construction de la réplique d'un Renard R 31 à l'échelle 1/1. L'équipe est constituée d'Alain Delannai, Alain Vanderheyden, Pierre Cryns, Bruno Donna et Ferhat Ben Khedda Bien que de nombreux plans et une importante documentation soit déjà disponibles. Le Fonds est toujours à la recherche de témoignages ou de tout document en relation avec ce projet. Les ailes sont, en février 2009 en construction aux Etablissements Poncelet (Voir i... View Album Play slideshow If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=bamf.bamrs&target=ALBUM&id=5162753724126209569&authkey=Gv1sRgCPnUhraqw6CVpgE&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.