Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1810176
Someone on this thread suggested reading 'The Sky Beyond', by Sir Gordon Taylor.

I have found it to be a fascinating read for many reasons. It is poetically written, and is, amongst other things, a love affair with the Cat and flying.

Last evening's perusal revealed the author solving the issue of taking the Catalina off from rough seas with a FULL fuel load.
So, @Moose, here is the solution he tried in the early 1950's....

[We got] "some J A T O rockets in Australia. With the aid of Sir Thomas White we secured these, attached them to the sides of the hull, and had some really effective extra thrust for takeoff. We did a practice rocket takeoff before departure, my first experience in handling an aircraft in these circumstances. The result was impressive, as the Cat was projected into the air like a fighter."

(from "The Sky Beyond" by Gordon Taylor)

Start reading it for free: https://amzn.eu/a62EzkR
Dave W liked this
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1810180
PM me for details :thumright:

In reality, of course,Nope.

But I'd love to see any film of Sir Gordon using this technique!

I read the chapter with disbelief but as with all the other hair-raising things he writes there were witnesses, so I assume he was credible.

Aside from the daring-do, which is amazing, his description of flying in the a/c is so immersive you feel the movement as he describes it.
Last edited by T6Harvard on Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1810308
It's a never-ending debate but, @Nige321, that link you supplied doesn't actually help your case!

"Duck tape" is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as having been in use since 1899; "duct tape" (described conservatively as "perhaps an alteration of earlier duck tape") since 1965.
nallen, Charles Hunt liked this
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