BMPA Newsletters

Newsletters  >  Spring 2002

From the Secretary

Your newsletter is bulkier than usual because I sub contracted out most of the reportage leaving me to edit. Madam president was generous in her contribution. Your correspondents were willing and indeed Tony Segal's (hand written) copy was filed by early evening on the day it happened! I am grateful to them all.

Andrew Clymo

Madam President writes:

The tranquillity of a Sunday evening, in front of a roaring log fire with the unusual prospect of a good television programme about ejector seats, was to be shattered by the insistent ring of the telephone- 'Madam President ma'am (very formal like!) - I will be going to print the day after tomorrow'--------and the rest, as they say, is history.

The combination of watching the development of the Martin Baker ejector seat and thinking back to the fun we had at North Luffenham while trying their test rig caused me to reflect upon whether the Association had fulfilled its aims for me.

Way back in 1968 (yes, the Hovis song Springs to mind) I became a trainee general practitioner - the days when becoming a trainee was voluntary and usually lasted a year!

My trainer was Joseph McClory better known as 'Mac'. He was then President of a fairly new and young Association called the British Medical Pilots Association. The Association was holding its Summer meeting in Newcastle and help was needed. Guess who was volunteered to help the boss?

Well, that started my involvement and I am pleased to say the involvement of many more members, including four past presidents from the Newcastle area. Since that first meeting I can reflect upon the excellent fellowship and many longstanding friendships which have resulted. Over the years we have been privileged to experience a wide range of activities and to learn how the world of aviation medicine is changing through the eyes, ears and lips of our members.

Memorable visits to places such as North Luffenham where the development of space clothing and ejector seat problems were being researched. Farnborough - where we learned when not to volunteer for a research project as we stood in a freezing wind tunnel experiencing wind chill factor on a glorious Summer day. Escaping for submariners was tested by the bolder members in a very large water tank with variable depth entry points. Behind the scenes at Manchester's new runway provided insight into the intricacies of the environment. Contact with our colleagues in France with hospitality from 'Moet et Chandon' and candlelit dinner in the cellars of Taittinger at Rheims. Ireland taught us the 'health benefits' of Guinness and gave us our Guinness cup as a reminder. The recent delights of Dundee with a personal tour of the castle so lovingly restored by the author of Pooley's guide -and a fine trophy of a Scottish quaich to add to our heritage.

The wide range of expertise within our Association has been a constant source of inspiration both educational and enjoyable. Sadly we have lost the expertise of one of our most loyal members this year. We say farewell to Ray Outwin who died in December. Ray-your president in 1994- and Rosemary were keen flying members and frequently represented the Association in foreign parts as well as flying to most of our own meetings. Ray will be greatly missed with his great wit and enthusiasm. Our thoughts and sympathy go to Rosemary and family at this time.

With an association, which is nearing its 40th anniversary, it is easy to reflect on past success Looking to the future I am encouraged by the continuing resources we have within our membership. We have a new enthusiastic academic team to lead our Winter meetings. The suggested link with our legal colleagues is underway. Hopefully our younger members will come nightclubbing in Newcastle in September. The Association continues to attract few new members. We need to know what will get them to our meetings. Please tell us. I am well aware that I have reaped huge rewards from my membership and that my personal invitation to join was one of the best invitations I have ever accepted.

I look forward to seeing you all at Sywell.

Frankie Walters.

Bristol Meeting, 7th-9th September 2001

Saturday morning

Saturday 8th September dawned bright and sunny. Soon, the beauty of the gardens and arboretum of Tortworth Court Hotel was enhanced by a rainbow in the western sky. By the end of breakfast, which was a leisurely affair, as required by the service standards of the hotel, a steady drizzle had set in. Undaunted, our aquanautical (sic) party set off for Bristol and, fortunately, by the time we arrived, the rain had virtually ceased, not to return that day (or the next). The downside was that several of our colleagues who had intended arriving by air, had to set off early for a surface route.

As we boarded the ship the precipitation had been replaced by that provided by a flock of small birds that had gorged themselves on the nearby elderberry trees. (My recognition of fixed- and rotary-winged 'thingies' was never very good and even worse of the flapping variety.) This further challenge was as nought to our intrepid gathering, although a few sported purple spots for the rest of the day.

SS Great Britain is a magnificent ship, described as the 'Concorde' of its day because of her 25kt maximum speed. She was the first ever, steel passenger-carrying steamship, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in 1845. She began her career transporting passengers across the Atlantic until the Captain, having forgotten his GPS, failed to turn right after passing the Isle of Man and ploughed on into Ireland. We heard from our informative guide that this did little damage to either the sands of some Irish bay, or the ship, although it was some time before she could be re-floated.

One problem with SS Great Britain was that the engines consumed so much coal that there was little space for the payload (sounds like some light aircraft). She therefore had a smaller engine fitted (and more sails) and began the next stage of her career, sailing to and from Australia, making her contribution to the wool trade. Later still, she had her engines removed, making her a pure sailing ship and shortly afterwards became grounded on the Falkland Islands after attempting a stormy rounding of Cape Horn. Her rusting hulk languished there for many years, being used as a coal bunker until she was put on a floating pontoon and, in 1970, brought back to the very dry dock in which she had been constructed. Many of us recall the television pictures of her being brought up the Avon, under the Clifton suspension bridge (also designed by Brunel).

The process of restoring her to her 1845 condition is now well advanced. We were able to see the beautiful marbled-columned interior, replica engines, first class cabins, etc. Because of continuing rusting of the hull, a £10m corrosion preservation scheme is now required, of which £7m will come from lottery funds - as long as the remaining £3m can be acquired from other sources. When completed, the hull will be beneath a humidity-controlled glass surface, giving the appearance of her sailing on water.

After leaving the ship, some of us were privileged to see a fine glass blowing demonstration at nearby Bristol Blue Glass before boarding MV Matilda for our lunch-time cruise.

David Hillam

Lunch

Your nautical correspondent has especial pleasure in reporting on the boat trip around Bristol in the good boat '(Waltzing) Matilda' skippered by Mike Fripp with the help of his young and pretty crew, Elise. Not only representing the gliding sub-section of the BMPA, your correspondent also represents the canoeing sub-section. The disciplined nature of the BMPA membership was shown by no-one eating the gorgeous buffet before time.(Made by Liz Ferguson of 'Heavens Cake') The menu Yum Yum very drool making.

A health and safety survey was carried out as the boat set sail. Of the 39 passengers, 8 could not swim, 3 were uncertain as to whether they could swim or not, 1 difficult case, coming from North of The Border, said he could only swim if there were sharks in the water. He was classified with the non-swimmers.

During the cruise, of special interest to the writer was the park and ruined church, a memorial to those lost in the blitz. The writer, a schoolboy at the time, evacuated to Taunton, remembers the glow in the sky as Bristol burned. All the local rescue and fire services went to the aid of the burning town.

A complicated system of feeder canals, new cut from the river Avon, and locks keeps the water level steady in the dock 24 hrs a day. The previous month, heavy rain and high tides caused the river level to be 6 feet above dock level.

Mud dock was the only part of the Dock, when it was still tidal, where boats could settle safely, the rest of the bottom being rocky. The captain said the boats using the docks had to be well built to withstand the rocks, hence the expression 'Ship shape and Bristol fashion'. I am rather dubious about this origin of the term.

The bollards were called 'nails' and were used for financial transactions, hence the expression 'on the nail'

A number of attractive Dutch barges had been converted to house boats. They were too small for the magnificent canal system of the continent. They were sailed over full of sand, the sand sold, and the barges converted.

Converted from industrial buildings, some apartments were selling at £750,000. Phew! A fire float was aptly named 'Pyronaut' and a tug boat ' Il Bordello' Hm, Hm, Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

A lead shot tower, built in 1964. with 147 steps was a listed building. A suggested use was as an indoor bungee jumping site.

60 - 70 swans are fed every day in the Summer; 200 a day in the Winter. Cormorants eat the fish in the dock, showing the good quality of the water. They eat seven pound (2 kilos) of fish each day.

One mystery, unsolved was a narrow boat with crew all in white, flying white balloons. They denied being a wedding party. Being 'round eyes' they were not a funeral party - they looked very cheerful any way. As we drove past in the coach, they were still to be seen floating gently round the dock.

Tony Segal

Sunday morning

...and so to the Bristol Aircraft Collection which was seeking refuge in, and occupying the whole of a freshly painted hangar in the South-West corner of the airfield. The welcome and enthusiastic descriptions by our hosts Brian Wren and Chris White gave us the impression that we were being treated more to a personal collection.

After an initial rounding up of stampeding members we were able to graze through a succession of displays charting the evolution of the Bristol Tramway Company (from horse drawn trams to aeroplane builders - ancestors of the airbus) We found that the roots of the first and last wings (Boxkite and A320) to be manufactured in Britain grew from the early quarter million pounds capital of the British Colonial Company.

Many pre WW1 photographs demonstrated the amazing scale of the early phase of the development of aviation. The Times of Feb 15th 1913 (page 5) told us that over 300 aircraft had been produced by the Bristol company and two thirds of pilot training was conducted in Bristol aircraft - but we didn't find out how long they lasted!

Oh! and the trams? We need no complaints about modern 'public' transport, we viewed the garden shed awaiting restoration back to a century old tram - licenced to carry 24 persons inside and 29 without.

Our tour meandered through pictures, descriptions and artefacts from the first three decades of famous Bristol design: Boxkite (design No. Type 2) Pullman, Tourer, Badger, Babe, Monoplane (M1C), Fighter (F2B 1918), Bulldog (1928) Bombay (t130 A 1935), Blenheim (t142M 1937), Beaufighter (t156 194?) Buckingham (t163), Brigand (t164) - the fuselage of no. RH746 had been rescued from a Manchester scrapyard in 1981.

Were Bristol running out of B words? Hardly, we had a few heartstrings plucked by the Filton memories of the Brabazon's maiden flight by G-AGPW on 4th September 1949. The hangar houses the Britannia G-ANCF restoration project and more ideal chicken shed survivals like the nose section of the freighter Wayfarer (type170) and thoughts leading on to the type 188.

The collection continues with buses, bombs, (unexploded from the raid on Filton 25th September 1940) missiles, cars (of course), firetenders and aero-engines.

Engine afficianados had plenty of scope for drooling over examples of Pegasus (how did they get 635 horsepower from 72-77 octane fuel and nine cylinders?), Hercules, Centurion, Proteus and then the jet age…..! There we had to leave but only because we had a date with the living 'Delta Jets'

The BAC seems like a good excuse to visit Kemble again - even on a good flying day.

Jeremy Radcliffe.

Sunday morning

Delta Jets occupy another large hangar a long walk or short coach trip from the BAC one. They are anything but a museum, being, as we discovered at our briefing, an organization devoted to keeping recent jets (mainly Hawker Hunters) in the air. Once briefed we had the freedom of the hangar to breathe in the kerosene, marvel at the vast stock of spares and finger the aircraft themselves. Access, as Mr Gates says, was denied since ejector seats were live. Rocket assisted collision with a hangar roof is known to inhibit ones thought processes and joie de vivre. Other aircraft there were Gnats and a Buccaneer. Some of our number had been actively involved with them during their (man and machine's) service lives which added extra colour to the visit.

Once we had had our fill of sights and stories our fly-in members booked out and left and the rest of us took coach back to Tortworth Court for lunch, farewells and departure.

Andrew Clymo