Vampire Rips up runway at Halfpenny Green

[Vlerkies]

Yikes!!

[ATAG_Vampire]

I rip up runways wherever I go!!! Lol

o7

[ATAG_Highseas]

Wonder where he went to land !!

[TWC_Brett]

Holy Moly!!! Never seen that happen before!

Wonder where he went to land !!

Maybe he nipped down to land at The Mall A'la Highseas Tours style!

[Vlerkies]

Old Harrier clip

[ATAG_Highseas]

Old Harrier clip

Seems that that is what happens when you direct a jet engine at a runway designed for propeller driven craft.

Gotta love that traditional-good-old-time / not-up-to-jet-engine spec civil engineering.

I really must look into getting some more work at airfields

[ATAG_Ezzie]

Sorry for maybe going off tangent....

Ive never been reliably able to visually differentiate between the Venom and Vampire. Anyone got any quick tips to telling them apart?

Ezzie

[Silent135]

Venom seems to have a more pointier tail, and the Vampire one seems more rounded

[Vlerkies]

Interesting question, I found this after you piqued my interest.

* The Vampire was a remarkable success and an excellent aircraft, but since it was only Britain's second operational combat jet after the Gloster Meteor, there was obvious room for improvement. De Havilland engineers had been working on a more powerful centrifugal-flow engine named the "Ghost" to follow the Goblin, and also had ideas for aerodynamic refinements.

A Vampire refitted with a Ghost on a trials basis broke the world altitude record in May 1947, and the Air Ministry, impressed, funded development of the improved variant, the "DH.112", originally to be designated the "Vampire FB.8". Two prototypes, conversions of Vampire FB.5s, were built, with the first flying on 2 September 1949, with John Derry at the controls. It was ready just in time to attend the Farnborough air show. By that time, the decision had been made that the DH.112 was such a step ahead of the Vampire that it needed to be given a new name, and was christened "Venom" -- the original name "Valkyrie" having been rejected.

The second prototype performed its initial flight on 23 July 1950. The first production "Venom FB.1" was rolled out in 1951, but manufacturing dislocations delayed full production until mid-1952. The Venom FB.1 went into service with RAF Germany in the summer of 1952.

* The Venom had much the same configuration as the Vampire, so much so that the two aircraft could be confused at a casual glance, particularly from the side. The major external difference was the Venom's wing, which was thinner and featured a shallow leading-edge sweepback; midwing "fences"; plus distinctive fixed wingtip fuel tanks with a small horizontal fin at the outside rear, as well as a strake on the inside front. The tailfins were curved and featured acorn fairings at the junction with the tailplane; the tailplane extended outside of the tailfins.

http://www.airvectors.net/avvamp_3.html

http://www.airvectors.net/avvamp.html

[Vlerkies]

Not unlike the Mig15 vs Mig17 Ezzie.

[ATAG_Ezzie]

Thanks Vlerkies - kinda obvious now you mention it but very useful to know. Just have to remember which is which - vampire no tanks/fences, venom tanks/fences, vampire no tanks venom tanks.

Hmm - maybe this would work? Would you like to have a pet vampire? No tanks.....

I used to do air/ship etc recce for a living and this is the sort of stuff we would do sometimes for tricky platforms. Cant remember them anymore though so they musnt have been much good.....

Cant wait to tell my kids that i can now tell the difference - they will be so happy for me......

Thanks Silent as well!!

Ezzie

PS and agree re being like Mig-15/17 Vlerkies

[Vlerkies]

Hmm - maybe this would work? Would you like to have a pet vampire? No tanks.....

^^^
Haha, love it!

A short while ago I got caught out on the Migs and someone else pointed out the differences and linked me to that video.