Subject: Re: More
From: "Steve Bamford" <[email-masked]>
To: "Al & Peggy Petrie" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 23:39:33 -0800

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you have never been hurt; and
Dance like no one is watching!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Al & Peggy Petrie" <[email-masked]>
To: "Steve Bamford" <[email-masked]>
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2001 1:20 AM
Subject: More

> Me-262: Ganja Jet
>
>     Restored by a very eccentric aviation enthusiast and hydroponics
> operator, the Black Shark was operated by Jeff Gavin along the coast of
the
> Pacific Northwest for several years in the early 21st century. Plowing his
> enormous profits made from the sale of a truly inexpensive and safe
> hydroponics tomato plant closet greenhouse, the Psycho Fuzzy Muppet Duck
> himself restored and flew a fully armed Me-262. The unique paint scheme
was
> inspired by sharks and the local culture of agricultural diversity. Being
> fully armed, the Black Shark took it's toll on unscrupulous importers and
> those who interfered in the daily import-export operations along the
coastal
> ways of British Columbia. After a spectacular incident over Mount Rainier
> involving three F-16s and a Blackhawk helicopter, the Black Shark was not
> ever seen again. No trace was ever found, and it is assumed that J. Gavin
is
> biding his time.
>
> Yellow Hurry: The Canadian Car and Foundry Cyclone
>
>     During the early war years, many radical designs for fighters and
attack
> planes never left the drawing board. One that did was the Canadian car and
> Foundry Cyclone. A typical exercise in Canadian compromise, the Cyclone
> wound up pleasing nobody.
>     Intended from the outset to be a tactical support fighter for the RAF,
> the Cyclone incorporated several new concepts into one aircraft. The
pusher
> prop and nosewheel configuration gave an excellent field of fire, and
> excellent ground handing properties. The canards afforded superb
> maneuverability. The rugged Hurricane structure, which it was based upon,

> leant a strong structure to the plane. Naturally, with all this going for
> it, it also attracted attention in the US. Three prototypes were
requested,
> one for the USAAF, one for the USN, and one for the RAF.
>     The USN version was finished first, as the USN hadn't specified any
> weapons capability. The initial flights went smoothly, until September 23,
> 1941, when on carrier trials, the prototype hooked the number three wire,
> which immediately was drawn into the propeller. Slicing the cable, the
> SeaCyclone careened down the deck into six parked F4F-3 Wildcats,
destroying
> all seven aircraft. The Navy lost all interest in the SeaCyclone at this
> point.
>     The USAAF got their version next. Initial flight trials again went
> smoothly until the gunnery tests began. The nose guns filled the cockpit
> with cordite smoke, but disastrously, the blast from the wing guns caused
> the canards to deflect up, causing a massive nose-down pitching. Had the
> plane been at some altitude, this may have not been a problem, but it
> occurred at 300 feet , and the pilot never had a chance. The USAAF also
lost
> interest at this point, and the RAF cancelled their contract as well.
> Canadian Car and Foundry was stuck with the last Cyclone, so naturally,
they
> sold it to the RCAF.
>     Stuck with the Cyclone, the RCAF decided to put it to useful work by
> towing targets around for AA gunners to shoot at. Unfortunately, on it's
> first mission, the gunner, mistaking the rear of the plane for the front
> (due to the pusher prop configuration) and "lead" the target the wrong
> direction. The Cyclone went down in a ball of flames. Thus ends a chapter
in
> Canadian aviation best left forgotten.
>
> Basselope. Mark V. ASW Wing
>
>     Developed from the USN Flying Wings, the Canadair CP-103 was built in
> Montreal by Canadair. Utilising the latest in ASW gear, the Basselope
> entered service in 1961. The ultimate variant was the Mark V, or Marv as
it
> was known by it's crews. With a flight duration of 22 hours, it could
patrol
> effectively for Soviet subs or search for lost sailors or crashed
airliners
> just as effectively. In the SAR role, the former wing turret positions
could
> be fitted with Perspex ports for crewmen to observe through. Not the most
> comfortable place in the plane, but it did work. The last of the
Basselopes
> was retired in 1983 with the acquisition of the Avro Canada CP-140 Ookpik
> patrol plane.
>
> First People's Democratic Republic of Haida Gwaii Self Defence Force
Fighter
>
>     After the breakup of Canada in the 1960's, British Columbia decided to
> go independent. this didn't sit well with the population of Vancouver
> Island, and by revoking the articles of Confederation, reverted to a crown
> colony of Britain. Since the majority of industry on the island was
logging
> and mining, the government decided to expand it as fast as possible, but
> environmentalists were strongly opposed. However, they wound up being
> deported to the Queen Charlotte Islands, further up the coast of BC.
> Adopting the lifestyle of the local natives, the displaced
environmentalists
> soon renamed the islands "The First People's Democratic Republic of Haida
> Gwaii". Inevitably, there was an influx of "advisors" from Libya, China,
> North Korea, and Cuba, and several decrepit SU-22s of indeterminate origin
> arrived in 1978. Adopted by local communes, they were painted in
> enviro-friendly water colours, so as to avoid pollution from oil-based
> paints. The appearance of the planes was soon even more bedraggled than
they
> had originally appeared in.
>     Waging a guerilla war along the coast against the logging companies,
the
> FPDRHG forces also have been known to attack freighters carrying lumber to
> Japan. It is in these long range attacks that the SU-22s have encountered
> the Tornado F.3s of the RVIAF (Royal Vancouver Island Air Force) or even
the
> occasional f-14 of the Alaskan Air National Guard. There have been no
> victories for the SU-22s.
>
> Well, that's it! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
> Alvis
>
>