[Rehaan]

Thanks for that explaination viveky2k, DKG and especially first monkey in space - mad monkesh.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Great idea. I was on board the viraat a month back and learnt a lot about ships/planes and choppers. Got to see the sea-kings and chetaks take off, as well as the two sea harriers do a takeoff and a vertical landing!! Will post some pictures and a video soon... (maybe once you open that thread )

Here are some of the pics i was talking about:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/749171-post2716.html

cya
R

[Mad Monkey]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Thanks for that explaination viveky2k, DKG and especially first monkey in space - mad monkesh.

R

VERY SOOON !

actually ... the only thing left for me

[Ram]

Originally Posted by egangsta

Any more details on that, where did you read it ??

It was Gulbarga not Benares. Here is the story.

It is the story of a Messerschmitt Bf 109. Considered one of the greatest combat aircraft in history. A single-seat single-engine aircraft it was the main German fighter during the eight years it was produced 1935-1943. The British developed their Supermarine Spitfire as nothing else could give battle to the German Messerschmitt Me-109 Bf.

The Gulbarga Municipal Corporation, Karnataka happened to have this very rare treasure in their possession. An actual 1939 vintage second world war Me-109 fighter aircraft, one of the only two complete survivors out of the 1,100 or so ever built.

It was armed with four machine guns -- two 7.92 mm MG-17 machine guns above the engine and two more 7.92 mm MG-17 machine guns in the wings.

It was powered by a Daimler-Benz DB 601, liquid-cooled inverted V-12 33,929 cc engine with direct fuel injection.
Aspirated by a gear-driven single-stage single-speed centrifugal supercharger.
This engine developed 1,175 bhp @ 2,500 rpm.

How did it happen to be in India?
The Nizam of Hyderabad had funded two British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter divisions (called the Nizam's divisions) in the second world war.

These had captured an intact German Luftwaffe 1939 Messerschmitt Me Bf 109E-1 on 11th February 1940.

The aircraft still carried remnants of its original markings
from 1./JG77 "Jagdgeschwader" based at Breslau-Schöngarten, as well as its later schemes of "black 5" and "black 6". The British presented the captured German fighter, back to the Nizam of Hyderabad as a trophy in 1941.

The Gulbarga Municipal Corporation displayed this aircraft in its public park until 1961. Then, it was moved to PDA Engineering College, Gulbarga for the "benefit of the students".

The PDA Engg. College is run by the Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society (HKES).

The Me-109 remained intact at PDA Engineering College, Gulbarga until August 2002.

Then the press reported a a very shady deal made between the HKES and a certain Mr. Gireesh Naidu, proprietor of Horseless Carriages, Bangalore a company dealing in antiques.

According to the deal, Naidu would get the 1940 Messerschmitt Me-109 worth over Rs. 1.5 crore even in its present condition, in return for
a cheap Hindustan Aeronautics Pushpak fabric-covered fuselage plus a Morris Minor car, an old motorcycle and a bicycle,
the sum total of which did not exceed Rs. 1 lakh !

The deal is shadier, because the aircraft belonged not to the HKES, but to the Govt. of India. The Indian Air Force had intended to restore and display the aircraft in their museum.

The IAF were thus deprived of a national heritage. They registered a criminal case against the HKES.

The Gulbarga Police managed to speak on phone with this Gireesh Naidu who pulled the wool over their eyes.

Mr. Naidu expressed a desire to restore the aircraft and display it within India. Meanwhile the aircraft was stripped, transported to the UK, and Mr. Naidu (according to press reports) disappeared and is no longer contactable.

The aircraft was registered in the UK as G-CDTI on 12th December 2005 and is owned (now) by a company called Rare Aero Ltd., Jersey, Channel Islands.

Ram

Some more about this particular specimen is at
http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/walkaround/4034/4034.htm

[DKG]

Will pull out the news item reference and post for your info. The Brit however did it officially.

By the way RAM I must say you have a terrific ability to research info. I've noticed your posts elsewhere in the vintage threads and the manner in which you analyse is truly noteworthy.

For years I've been hunting for websites that aid restorers in terms of originality and many club website too fall short. Would you be interested in starting threads dedicated to marques of your interest with info and pictures? Just a thought.

[DKG]

Here is the story (excerpt from news item) from the warbirdsofindia.com website, I stand corrected, it may have been a plane other than a Messerschmidt, the article doesn't say clearly:

Briton finds value in junk warplane
The Times of India News Service

VARANASI: A warplane of the World War II era has been lying in the open on the premises of the Banaras Hindu University for over five decades. It may be a heap of junk for the varsity authorities, but for Peter Vacher, a British printer and publisher of academic journals, it is a priceless asset. He paid 27,000 pounds to the university to purchase this `junk'.

`Today my dream came true,'' Vacher told The Times of India on Friday. He was here to take away the aircraft he had been trying since 1995 to purchase.
The aircraft was used for two years in the war between Britain and Japan in Burma in 1942. Just before Independence in 1947, the British government donated it to the university for study purposes. What lured this British national to buy the old aircraft was its antique value and the fact that it had the engine of a Rolls Royce. These cars are Vacher's other passion. For the past 20 years, Vacher has been scouting for old models of these cars in different parts of the world to prepare a catalogue of vintage cars. Along with his friend John Fasal, he has documented the cars belonging to the princely states of India and authored a book - Rolls Royce in Princely India. He has a collection of four Rolls Royce cars himself. I first came to BHU in 1982 to see two Rolls Royce cars of 1921 and 1927 models,'' he said. At that time, he also had a glimpse of the aircraft, but did not evince any interest in it. He simply took some snaps of the warplane and went back to England.

The desire to buy the aircraft came once he started learning flying in Australia. The year was 1993. He visited BHU in 1995 with the sole purpose of buying the aircraft. But there were a lot many hurdles.In 1997, when BHU placed an advertisement in newspapers asking for tenders for its sale, Vacher also submitted his papers. His tender was accepted and further process of sale deed began. But, the deal did not materialise that time due to protests. He had to return empty handed. ``Finally I am here today to collect the aircraft,'' Vacher said with a sigh of relief.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by DKG

...
After the usual check routine he fired her up and we taxied to the runway. As it was a clear sunday with blue skies and hardly any wind the take off was smooth and once airborne it was quite stable.

...
We flew a distance and landed at another airport to refuel. Once we took off again, out of the blue the pilot tells me to take charge and fly the plane. Now you can imagine what that means. To a petrol head that's nirvana!

I remember my palms sweating with nervousness and excitement but as he guided me on using the throttle, the flaps, the ailerons, he allowed me to actually fly the plane solo steering it to where I wished to fly. That moment is so difficult to describe. You are like a bird totally in sync with nature, the machine obeying your comands, the horizon shifting as you plan to go different directions.

The whole experience may not have been more than 5 minutes but it felt like I had the experience of a lifetime. To actually fly a small plane, all manual, you are like a chair in the air, ground visible on either side of the cockpit, its a totally amazing experience.

I would urge fellow petrol heads to not miss an opportunity for a joy ride in a small aircraft. Its nothing like what we encounter in the big jets. With small craft you get pretty close to what it feels to be a bird. I guess hangliding is the only other experience which surpasses this experience and takes to closer to flying like a bird.

Good to see you attempting to pilot an excellent aircraft such as beachcraft. It is really exhilarating, especially when you do it for the firs time. I too have flown cessna trainers, but never got opportunity on any other aircraft while I was in US. However I missed getting a PPL since I had to move back to India and lost touch there after.

Do try to get a PPL if you can. It is a really interesting, but expensive hobby.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by DKG

Here is the story (excerpt from news item) from the warbirdsofindia.com website, I stand corrected, it may have been a plane other than a Messerschmidt, the article doesn't say clearly:

Briton finds value in junk warplane
The Times of India News Service

VARANASI: A warplane of the World War II era has been lying in the open on the premises of the Banaras Hindu University for over five decades. It may be a heap of junk for the varsity authorities, but for Peter Vacher, a British printer and publisher of academic journals, it is a priceless asset. He paid 27,000 pounds to the university to purchase this `junk'.

`Today my dream came true,'' Vacher told The Times of India on Friday. He was here to take away the aircraft he had been trying since 1995 to purchase...
...Finally I am here today to collect the aircraft,'' Vacher said with a sigh of relief.

Yes, Peter Vacher is indeed that Rolls-Royce car restorer.

In March 1982 he stumbled on the rusting remnants of a WW2 Hawker Hurricane at Banaras Hindu University.

Unable to identify it, he initially thought it to be a Supermarine Spitfire.
From the serial number, he researched it to be an early Mark I Hurricane, R-4118, which had flown in the Battle of Britain!

Fourteen years later, he made an offer and after six more years of wrangling, he was given 24 hours to cart the plane away. After a worldwide search for parts, careful reconstruction and flight testing, he restored it to flying condition.

Vacher documented his story -- from the desire to gain posession of this "Hawker Hurricane #R4118" fighter through the frustrating path he took to acquire this rare plane.
This is now a book,
"HURRICANE R4118: The Great Battle of Britain Survivor"
by Peter Vacher.

Ref. http://www.amazon.com/HURRICANE-R411...4893854&sr=8-1

His journey of love led him to three, World-War-Two pilots who had actually flown that Hurricane Mk I, bearing construction number: R4118, in missions during the Battle of Britain. These senior gentlemen: Peter Thompson, Bunny Currant and Bob Foster are also covered in the illustrated book.

Can't close here without mentioning the fabulous Rolls-Royce Merlin

The Hurricane like the Spitfire had a Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine.

I had written about it here.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/345214-post782.html
[29th December 2006, 12:58]

and here.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/345804-post14.html
[30th December 2006, 16:02]

An engineer and a Merlin engine guru, Paul Jameson, first powered a car with an enormous 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 aero engine. This happened in the late 1960s in the UK.

He used a brand new Rolls-Royce Meteor engine.
The Meteor is a derated version of the Merlin engine.

It powered our old 1965-1980 Vijayanta battle tank.

A 27-litre carbureted engine, the Meteor puts out 750 bhp @ 2500 rpm !

When I lived in Europe in the 1980s, I saw Paul Jameson's second RR Merlin-engined car. It was a blue mid-engined convertible with cream striping and six wheels -- two driven rear-axles.

After first seeing it in a Brit "Motor" mag, I embarked upon a dogged search (in that pre-Internet era).

Finally, I located the car in a car museum in a Dutch village called Raamsdonksveer near Geertruidenberg, Noord-Brabant.

The museum also had other celebrity cars: Elvis Presley's Cadillac, Winston Churchill's Humber Pullman and an Aston Martin DB5 that starred in a James Bond movie.


Ram

[DKG]

Originally Posted by appuchan

Do try to get a PPL if you can. It is a really interesting, but expensive hobby.

I would like to experience take off and landing on my own. A senior pilot I know very well is planning to buy an aircraft for himself, hopefully once he gets it I'll learn from him and someday fulfill this dream

[DKG]

Originally Posted by ram

Vacher documented his story -- from the desire to gain posession of this "Hawker Hurricane #R4118" fighter through the frustrating path he took to acquire this rare plane.
This is now a book,
"HURRICANE R4118: The Great Battle of Britain Survivor"
by Peter Vacher.

Fantastic!! I'm sure that book would be an amazing read. Can't get over the pic of that car with a Merlin engine...I can imagine what a sight it must be to see that massive V12 slotted into a car

Packard during the war produced the Merlin engines under license and I recall seeing a picture of someone using a pair in either a boat or a racing car, will find out and post.

Do you think any of the tank Merlins have survived?

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by ram

The British developed their Supermarine Spitfire as nothing else could give battle to the German Messerschmitt Me-109 Bf.

Almost nothing......enter the P51 Mustang, USAF, with the Spitfire Merlin engine.