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The Famous Eccles

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  1. Hah! I remember now. The NASA paper was ‘Divergergence elimination with advanced composite materials,’ by Norris Krone. It led to the development of the X-29.
  2. Oh my goodness! Now that takes me back! I studied swept forward wings for my dissertation back in 1988. I cited the Hansa Jet, Ju287 and the X-29 as practical examples of the wing platform. I built two wings, one swept back, the other swept forward at the same angle, and flew them in a wind tunnel. They had a NACA 0012 aero foil that I carved by hand (took me a whole term to do). I remember at least one research paper coming from NASA on microfiche (who’s heard of that these days?). It was considered very daring to actually write to NASA to get stuff, but I remember thinking ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’. The work itself is lost in time (my ex- wife got rid of it as well as the rest of my engineering work and a huge swathe of my maths degree in a fit of pique), but I remember the FSW gave 15% less drag and 10% more lift over the conventional wing, as well as a massively reduced stalling speed. This almost stall-proof property without the need for wing fences, dog-teeth, etc is what makes FSW aircraft so attractive. The tendency to flutter, twist and come off is what makes it unattractive. As I recall, the main reason for the Hansa Jet’s platform was that it put the wing box at the back of the cabin, giving a longer and clearer passenger area, rather than any aerodynamic reason. I think it and some gliders like the Blanik are the only aircraft with that planform to reach actual production, but it’s so long ago that I’m happy to be wrong. Isn’t it amazing how something can trigger such vivid memories? And where did that time go?
  3. Everybody’s got to be somewhere..... Sadly, we left La Belle Isle several years ago because elderly relatives and other family issues made it impractical/impossible to stay. I taught at Vic College under the late unlamented Jack Hydes, left to retrain and then came back to be Jersey’s first, and to date only, male midwife. We have made a pact that we will come back some day when things change in our lives. I think you either love the Island or hate it, and if you love it, then it pulls you back. Tell me one thing: is Red Triangle Stores in the market still open? It was one of those dusty old treasure troves that seemed to exist in most towns, but are now mostly extinct. I found amazing plastic finds in there. There was a JEP article about how despite being in their 80’s the guys who ran it had no intention of ever retiring. I also have a wonderful memory of the very first appearance of the Vulcan after it returned to flight was at Jersey air show. The sight of it appearing in that clear late summer evening light over Elizabeth Castle will never leave me as long as I live. This is your fault, by the way: you’ve stirred up memories that are clogging your post, so I’ll stop. It’s nearly 6:15- I can tell because it’s written on a bit of paper....
  4. I remember when we lived on the Route du St Jean we were right under the flight path (though in Jersey you’re under the flight path pretty much anywhere), and Channel Express were still operating a Herald on freight duties. That was about 2001, I think. It was well known because at that time it was the last one flying, and a local celebrity. I always thought it was more interesting then, aircraft wise- there were still Friendships (operated by KLM), and BAC-111’s (British Midland and guaranteed to wake the baby), as well as the Herald and others. All our children loved being on St Ouen’s Bay when the wind blew from the west and they could see the planes taking off over their heads. When they were older and we moved to the bottom of St Peters valley, you could tell the time by the flights. They could name the aircraft. Oh man! Happy, happy times!
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