What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[Wack]

18 minutes ago, Tigerfox said:

I was at a Goodwood Revival a few years ago when the Battle of Britan Lancaster flew over, very low, it made the ground shake and also set off countless car alarms

The sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin has made tears run down my face many times , I don’t know if it’s the sound or the emotion behind the history, without the merlin Britain could’ve been a very different country today.
 

in the 80s when airshows weren’t the dull affairs a mile from the crowd they are today watching a spitfire flat out along the runway was amazing 

[myglaren]

11 years to build a car?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/final-bentley-mulsanne-leaves-production-line-after-11-years

 

 

[warch]

'It would've been 10 years, only we was waiting for the paint to cure....'

 

[mitsisigma01]

2 hours ago, Dan the van said:

Small world,we used to take the Fed Ex mid morning stuff covering the south.My run was Surrey,Hampshire and Dorset.In a Bedford Astramax.Was doing about 90k miles a year back then.Advance couriers they were called,left in 1989.

 

I was in the Girling Way depot, collecting and sorting the freight then back over the horseshoe with it, the whole warehouse used to shake and shower us in the shit and dust from up in the beams, the jumbo's were worse. 

[mrbenn]

I was at Manchester Airport in 2003 for Concorde coming in on it's last flight.

Was an amazing atmosphere but rather sad.. I'd been a fan of Concorde for years and used to watch it leaving Yeadon with my Grandparents.

Got some pictures but was still early days for digital cameras.

[Spottedlaurel]

22 hours ago, Volksy said:

Quite liked this article, given (apart from one) these vehicles are right in our territory. I think I would probably pick the 'Benz at this age though. 

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15141394/bmw-750il-vs-mercedes-benz-560sel-lexus-ls400-bentley-turbo-r-archived-comparison-test/?src=socialflowFBCAD&utm_campaign=socialflowFBCD&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media

An interesting and timely read. I picked the lowly 3rd place finisher.

[Bfg]

Jaguar lickers might like this one.

J.E.C. Virtual Concours D’ Elegance  ..where you the public are invited to cast your vote . .. https://jecpodcast.co.uk/virtual-concours

" The winner is decided by public vote, so scroll through the entries below and then vote for your favourite via the form at the foot of the page. Click submit, and your vote is cast. Remember, this is just for fun and you should choose your favourite car, not the best photographs. Also, link the page to all your mates and get them to vote for your favourite as well!

Have fun, every single Jaguar below is utterly stunning and worthy winner so, best of luck deciding where your vote should go! "

[Dan the van]

18 minutes ago, mrbenn said:

I was at Manchester Airport in 2003 for Concorde coming in on it's last flight.

Was an amazing atmosphere but rather sad.. I'd been a fan of Concorde for years and used to watch it leaving Yeadon with my Grandparents.

Got some pictures but was still early days for digital cameras.

The crowds at Heathrow for the final landings were amazing.Over 100000 was the estimate.Sadly I couldn't make it that day,I was working in a garden in Richmond.Luckily they were on easterly approach that day so I saw them all come over.It's disappointing ,to say the least,that one wasn't kept flying.12 perfectly  serviceable Concordes were parked with years of flying time left.Branson was serious about leasing a couple and was happy to pay the vastly increased parts bill from Airbus Industrie (the main reason why BA and AF withdrew them),but British Airways were having none of it.It was OUR plane after all.When she entered service in 1976 the British taxpayer had forked out 647million pounds by then,several billion today.I don't think we got our monies worth.Hard to believe it's fast approaching 20 years since the last flight.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, Dan the van said:

....disappointing ,to say the least,that one wasn't kept flying. 12 perfectly  serviceable Concordes were parked with years of flying time left. Branson was serious about leasing a couple and was happy to pay the vastly increased parts bill from Airbus Industrie (the main reason why BA and AF withdrew them),but British Airways were having none of it.It was OUR plane after all.When she entered service in 1976 the British taxpayer had forked out 647million pounds by then,several billion today.I don't think we got our monies worth....

That's often the way with flagships. Many are not profitable. It's not just the British who have had long experience of loss-making "icons"; the French are good at it as well.

[Six-cylinder]

This has appeared near my storage unit today, I have never seen it before and made me chuckle.

It so reminds me of the old joke

boat owner - number 6 your ride time is over please return to launch area

No.6 boat - the boat is safely returned and tied up on the pontoon

boat owner - number 9 are you in difficulty! 

[beko1987]

3 hours ago, Dan the van said:

The crowds at Heathrow for the final landings were amazing.Over 100000 was the estimate.Sadly I couldn't make it that day,I was working in a garden in Richmond.Luckily they were on easterly approach that day so I saw them all come over.It's disappointing ,to say the least,that one wasn't kept flying.12 perfectly  serviceable Concordes were parked with years of flying time left.Branson was serious about leasing a couple and was happy to pay the vastly increased parts bill from Airbus Industrie (the main reason why BA and AF withdrew them),but British Airways were having none of it.It was OUR plane after all.When she entered service in 1976 the British taxpayer had forked out 647million pounds by then,several billion today.I don't think we got our monies worth.Hard to believe it's fast approaching 20 years since the last flight.

My dad once took me (quickly, as he didn't know in advance) to Hatton Cross to see it/one take off once. Was bloody quick! 

[Dan the van]

Yes indeed,I think minimum take off speed was close to 200 knots.

[scdan4]

Found some old photos... 

Practical celica

Nice bike shot in Gibraltar 

Did some proper miles on that trx, here it is at the nurnburgring. Adenauer? 

Long distance transalp, went from alaska to Panama on that. 

Another (crashed) biggish twin yamaha. Last millennium. 

Ford v6 coffee table. We had a matching set of seats as well.... Waste not want not. 

More trx hooliganism. 

 

All of which is grand, but I didn't find the photo I was looking for, which was the xr4x4 that had homed the coffee table originally. 

Feeling oddly motivated. Might do a burnout. ? 

 

 

[mitsisigma01]

19 hours ago, Dan the van said:

Yup,I used to work at the cargo village at LHR.Without fail everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her take off.I so so miss Concorde

I used to try and time my journeys to the cargo sheds so that I was caught at the front of the queue when the aircraft crossing gates came down to allow Concorde and the other planes to be pulled out across the road. Surprising how small it was but perfectly formed, beautiful. 

[Andyrew]

2 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

 

I Assume it's a dead boat, 

Looks like its just keel'd over. . .

[Tamworthbay]

I worked as a motorbike courier for Pony Express over the summers when I was a student. One job was to take a part for Concorde down to a unit at Heathrow. What they forgot to mention was that while it was light it was in a tube 10ft long and about 6” diameter. We ended up gaffer taping it to the rear footrest and then to the top box. I was surprised I didn’t get pulled on the M1 as the rozzers used to pull you for the tiniest thing when they saw you were a courier. Sadly I didn’t get to see Concorde when I dropped it off.

[mitsisigma01]

Found this of Concorde crossing @LHR 

https://youtu.be/RxeQ6LwBoEQ

[mitsisigma01]

3 minutes ago, Tamworthbay said:

I worked as a motorbike courier for Pony Express over the summers when I was a student. One job was to take a part for Concorde down to a unit at Heathrow. What they forgot to mention was that while it was light it was in a tube 10ft long and about 6” diameter. We ended up gaffer taping it to the rear footrest and then to the top box. I was surprised I didn’t get pulled on the M1 as the rozzers used to pull you for the tiniest thing when they saw you were a courier. Sadly I didn’t get to see Concorde when I dropped it off.

I was at Delta couriers on my piped and tuned TDM 850 twin, supersoft tyres and h/d chain and sprockets used to last about a month, didn't make much money but I had fun doing it, until some f***in* *itc* pulled out in front of me ½ mile from home and fucked me right up

[Six-cylinder]

3 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

I Assume it's a dead boat, 

Looks like its just keel'd over. . .

Mrs6C says if it is dead she wants it!

[Tamworthbay]

3 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

I was at Delta couriers on my piped and tuned TDM 850 twin, supersoft tyres and h/d chain and sprockets used to last about a month, didn't make much money but I had fun doing it, until some f***in* *itc* pulled out in front of me ½ mile from home and fucked me right up

I did it for three summers, two were great fun but the third was a nightmare. Woman in charge of jobs had her favourites so you only got shit jobs and the wettest summer ever. Nothing worse than putting on a damp crash helmet the day after. Best job ever was taking a banner uo to an outward bounds place up in Derbyshire. Lovely summers day and empty roads and getting paid for it! That and when you phoned the local branch and they had a job heading back your way so you got paid both ways! I still have some of my uniform nearly 30 years later, the leggings are the best I have ever had.

[paulplom]

There's an aircraft museum somwhere that has a concorde in it. I was there about ten years ago. They let you go inside and have a look at the cockpit etc. It's very small inside. Claustrophobic even.

[Dan the van]

That would either be Duxford or Yeovilton?.G AXDN and prototype 002 respectively.The others in the UK ,apart from Brooklands,are stand alone exhibits or in the case of the one at LHR,inaccessible and left to rot outside.?

[anonymous user]

7 hours ago, myglaren said:

11 years to build a car?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/final-bentley-mulsanne-leaves-production-line-after-11-years

 

 

It did take Rolls Royce over five years to build one car. It was complicated by the body designer only speaking Italian and nobody at Rolls Royce understanding him, also the person who commissioned the car was not the eventual buyer. 

[anonymous user]

22 minutes ago, paulplom said:

There's an aircraft museum somwhere that has a concorde in it. I was there about ten years ago. They let you go inside and have a look at the cockpit etc. It's very small inside. Claustrophobic even.

There is one at Filton in Bristol

[mitsisigma01]

45 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Mrs6C says if it is dead she wants it!

Best you get the JCB working at the FoD and dig a kin big hole and I'll bring a holed fibreglass dinghy (with repair kit) and a couple of non running little outboards, pond shouldn't take long to fill.... The FoD isn't on a water meter is it ???

[mitsisigma01]

Do Invacars float ???

[mitsisigma01]

I'll bring some expanding foam as well ?

[Six-cylinder]

There is a plan for a pond one day but not yet!

Our trail boat floats in 11 inchs of water if you lift the engine.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

6 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

There is a plan for a pond one day but not yet!

Our trail boat floats in 11 inchs of water if you lift the engine.

 

 

 

We know a song about that:

 

[Six-cylinder]

4 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

We know a song about that:

But don't try this in a flat bottom boat!