Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: cav58d on December 30, 2005, 06:42:35 PM
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(http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6673/ac3464336ny.jpg)
My understanding was that the lanc was a single pilot airplane...If this is the case why is there a yolk and rudder assembly in the "right seat" of this lanc? My first guess was the pilots seat was on a horizontal slide and was able to fly from either left or right seat (his preference) but most likely I am wrong...so whats up with this lanc?
cav
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Just a guess but... maybe training version?
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I think that is the cockpit of the BBMF Lancaster "Mickey the Moocher"
I guess they added the extra control column for filming work or for flying the airshow circuit.
http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/bomber.html
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I'm pretty sure that the photo isn't of the cockpit of PA474 (Mickey The Moocher) or of the only other flying example. Found this pic of the RAF's BBMF Lancaster (PA474) on the net.
(http://www.ptvideo.com/Images/CW7.jpg)
Very cramped! Even for one. Both of the Lancasters that are fit to fly have dual controls.
From the beginning of 1943, bomber command replaced the co-pilots in its four engined heavies with the new flight-engineer. Although the Lanc was a single pilot aircraft and the pilot sat on the left, (he couldn't swap sides if he felt like it) there was a jump seat on the right for the flight engineer who helped the pilot with many of the jobs previously done by the co-pilot and occupied this seat on take off and landing.
(http://www.constable.ca/piloteng.jpg)
This picture shows a pilot and flight engineer in a Lancaster.
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i've been in a lanc, the cockpit isn't cramped! great view from all that glass too!
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Were you crabbing around in the Hendon Lannie?
Anyway, Lancaster is in no way cramped compared to other WW2 bombers.
The escape hatch was always on a budget though,,,,,
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no, the BBMF lanc.
i found the B17G to be far more cramped, i had real trouble standing up even up to the waist section. the fuselage shape of a lannie means that its quite easy to stand up. the only real difficulty is climbing over the main spar around the radio op position.
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Hi Furball,
>I think that is the cockpit of the BBMF Lancaster "Mickey the Moocher"
I have seen that Lancaster in flight two or three times, but not on the ground, and wasn't aware of its name.
What does "Moocher" mean? I know the term - but not its meaning! - from the Cab Calloway's Jazz title "Minnie the Moocher" and supposed it was US slang of the era. Seems I was wrong in that! :-)
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)
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Know that guy who's constantly bumming a smoke off you? He's a moocher.
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Henning, a moocher is someone that 'bums' or 'freeloads' off other people.
- someone who wants something for free .. someone who takes and takes but doesn't give back.
- a person who goes around and just takes from other people
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Probably the reason why there is another yolk and rudder assembly is because the lancaster shown in that picture is for air shows. I went to an Air show and they had a A-26 there. The plane is supose to only have a pilot seat and no co-pilot seat, kinda like the lanc. But I guess now days, two or more engine aircraft have to have a co-pilot on board so now the A-26 at the airshow had a pilot seat and co-pilot seat. Becuase that first picture you posted seems resent, the extra yolk and rudder is probley there for the co-pilot that is required for probably 2 or more engine aircraft. Even if it is a ww2 plane. This is my opinion.
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http://website.lineone.net/~norman.groom/index.htm
Cool.
-C+
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Just found out last night that the Canadian Lancaster is grounded. :( :(
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The Canadian "Lancastersociety" is some establishment and I belive they have a good website still. Through that one actually, I got to know a Canadian Spitfire vet. "Duke" Warren was the name, and he lived in Comox.
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The Lanc is cramped. I'm talking about the cockpit, and my idea of cramped of course! I'm over 6 foot 3. Lanc pilots were little chaps.
The Lanc at Hendon's cockpit is strictly off limits to the public, unless you know somebody who knows somebody...You can walk round the Sunderland, if I remember correctly.
As I said before - the picure that the OP posted is not the BBMF Lancaster. Anyone know which it is?
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I found the Lanc cockpit pretty cramped compared to the B17 as well - nose of the B17 has tons of room though the bomb-bay on the B17 is really cramped and the Lanc fuselage is far more roomy in that sense. The gun positions are much better in the B17 as well, though the rear gun on the Lanc is perhaps a bit more comfy. Nose gun on the Lanc is just weird.
I've been in the Duxford Lanc a few times and here's a pic below which just shows the standard control column (with safety locks on to prevent accidental elevator/aileron movement).
(http://img492.imageshack.us/img492/8115/lanc8004bb.jpg)
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17 is cramp along with the 24. But these 2 are nothing compared to teh 25 or the 111.
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Ive been in a B25, it was cramp. To get the the nose gun, I had a hard time. This was like 2 or 3 years ago, and i was like 5.5 and probably around 130 pounds and I had a hard time getting up there. Then the nose of the B25 was okay. Enough room to hold two middle school students, with arm strecting room. Then the cockpit was so small and close together. I didnt get to go up to the tail and side gun spots, it was blocked off. But it was pretty cool.
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Whenever I've been lucky enough to get into a WWII bomber or similar, I've always been hit by shudders and shivers up and down my spine from thinking what it must have been like to try and get out of one in a hurry, maybe with fire spreading through the fuselage and G forces pinning you down, having to clip on a chute and get out through a hatch. Awful. If you were lucky enough to survive bailing out, then you could drown in the sea or land near the area you'd just been dropping bombs onto and face the wrath of the locals who would gladly pitchfork you to death.
KD
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What I found rather cramped in the B17 was the bomb bay V spar, especially if you're wearing bulky clothing like a flying jacket.
Although a more modern bomber, the most cramped cockpit I've been in was a Vulcan. Far tighter than a Cessna 152!
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I take it that Replicant knows somebody who knows somebody then ;)
And a C152 is not so bad. After all. it's a teaching aircraft ;) Well, the Vulcan is still big enough to support a little roomier cockpit.
Speaking of the Vulcan, the one at Hendon is just AWESOME.
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Several of us got snagged up on the V spar in the bomb bay of the B17. It was rather amusing because it was dark and each one of us got stuck and trying to unsnag ourselves was pretty difficult! lol
Offending V spar which is okay if well lit, but if dark then you snag your clothing on the bolts.
(http://www.air-and-space.com/20050510%20Santa%20Maria/DSC_0428%20B-17G%20N93012%20Nine-O-Nine%20interior%20bomb%20bay%20l.jpg)
The Vulcan cockpit is just tiny - the gap between the ejector seats must only be around 8" - 10" at the most and whilst sitting the side porthole style window is right in your face. You have to climb a small ladder to the cockpit and then twist and slide inbetween the seats whilst trying not to fall down the ladder! lol I nearly castrated myself doing this..... *@%@%$$* I think it was originally designed as a single seater. I think the pic below shows how cramped it is compared to other bombers like F-111, B52 etc which are rather spacious.
(http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/cockpits/vulcan/vulcan_panel_01.jpg)
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Been in a Vulcan too. The one at the Scottish air museum near Edinburgh (it bombed Port Stanley in the Falklands). They had an "open cockpits day" years ago. The Vulcan's cockpit was tiny but it had a crew compartment just behind. There were these rubber bottle things with a wide opening at one end that most visitors were putting over their mouths, thinking they were for oxygen. Then they'd be told by the museum guy that they were actually for peeing into. Luckily, I wasn't caught out.
I lived a mile and a half from that museum and managed to get into some great planes over the years. A friend of mine was in their restoration society, so I got to watch them rebuilding a Spit V. Nice.
Moved away from that part of the world, so I haven't been to the museum for years. Well worth a visit though. There's a Concorde there now. They've got a Komet and a Comet, Lighting, Venom, Meteor, Spit 16 ( I think) and loads of other stuff, including some interesting transport planes from the past.
KD
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KD, I've been to East Fortune too, very nice collection and the actual base is like a museum too. We saw the Blenheim and Beaufighter that they have there awaiting full restoration.
With the arrival of a Concorde I think they turfed out a lot of other planes from their main hangar, which is a shame imo.