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Interesting Aston DB2


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Hi Folks,

this came through on Sue's Ancestry stuff this morning.

This chap was married to a DNA and Name match for Sue's family (Embury)

The Aston is a DB2/4    The link has some very interesting info about what happened after the pic was taken

 

http://www.barbicanlifeonline.com/2014/05/21/the-real-bond-car-unveiled-at-ian-flemings-old-office/

 

May we have the car back please

 

Roger

AAAADB2.jpeg

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34 minutes ago, Rex Wyer said:

Roger,

Never mind about the car get the airfreighter  back. It could be very useful if the Dover - Calais ferries keep stopping.B)

Happy New Year

Rex

 

Could be harder to park on the M20 though!

Pete

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The aircraft was of course the Bristol Freighter.  It could have been a great little plane but it was born at the wrong time and costs were high.

No a great design but functional and  the name it went by was pretty close to what it was - Bristol Vibrator.  Not overly aerodynamic.

About 20+ years ago British Airways had a very big engineering display for friends and family. It invited many classic aircraft from aprund the world to attend.

And many did including the Vibrator from Canada.  On the TRip over to the UK it had an engine fault that required the engine to be removed/replaced.

I think they were Dart engines and it took 18 months to repair it (on the cheap by RR I think) During the time it was grounded at Heathrow a lot of body work was done by BA engineers FOC.  Eventually it left heathrow (2000) for Bristol for a celebration by the Queen. It stopped over night at Enstone in Oxford.

The next morning she took off got to about 150ft and then pancaked onto the runway.  No fatalities but a few injuries.

The aircraft was destroyed.  That was the last flying example.

 

Roger

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I thought the engines were Bristol Hercules radial piston engines?  

I believe there is a non-flying survivor in storage in Bristol, and there is a taxi-able but not flyable one in NZ too. 

edit - yes Hercules according to wiki.  214 built  between 1945 and 1958 and used by 8 national air-forces as well as loads of commercial operators over the years, so not that bad. 

Edited by RobH
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My Dad used to take his car to the continent quite regularly on them out of Lydd back then for work.

Stuart.

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We came across a Bristol Freighter in New Zealand which has be turned into a motel unit. We could not resist it so spent a night sleeping in the forward section which included access up a ladder to the cockpit. http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/

Mick

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1 hour ago, RobH said:

I thought the engines were Bristol Hercules radial piston engines?  

I believe there is a non-flying survivor in storage in Bristol, and there is a taxi-able but not flyable one in NZ too. 

edit - yes Hercules according to wiki.  214 built  between 1945 and 1958 and used by 8 national air-forces as well as loads of commercial operators over the years, so not that bad. 

Hi Rob,

yes indeed it was the Hercules. In my silly world everything before the TRident DH121 had a Dart fitted somewhere. (except the 'orrid Vanguard that had Tyne)

I often wondered how many Darts it would take to get a B747 off the ground.

 

Roger

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The DB2/4 inherited the last engine designed by WOBentley. Bottom seating wet liners were a common failure. I msut have had the head off mine every couple of thousand miles. Gave up on it  after 30 years. OLN 597, where is it now?  Peter

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2 hours ago, Peter Cobbold said:

 OLN 597, where is it now?  Peter

Still around somewhere, last MOT expired 2010.

Stuart.

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On 1/2/2021 at 6:26 AM, stuart said:

My Dad used to take his car to the continent quite regularly on them out of Lydd back then for work.

Stuart.

I can only assume that it was massively expensive to fly a car to Europe...was it?

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17 hours ago, TorontoTim said:

I can only assume that it was massively expensive to fly a car to Europe...was it?

His company paid so he wasnt bothered ;)

Stuart.

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19 hours ago, RogerH said:

Hi Tim,

have a look here  https://www.retrowow.co.uk/transport/air_car_ferries.php

 

Roger

Hi Roger, all,

Just for further info and not technically a thread drift?...... Mike Keegan the founder and owner of BAF was a great friend of mine, he was a craggy old businessman and terrific larger than life character who helped me a lot just when I was starting out on a venture.

His son, Rupert, (albeit briefly) drove in F1 - his talent and Dads money only stretched so far- but, we always got the very best table in the very best restaurants....... the initial dissatisfaction that it wasn’t, the Presumed, Kevin Keegan footballer always soon wore off...as we got stuck into the food and booze

 

So many memories and stories; Niki Lauda was just launching his airline and used to tap up Mike for advice in his unique wingy and Whiney way

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The  'works' Triumph team used the Bristol freighters regularly in my time in the early 1960s - usually Lydd - Le Touquet, which took about 20 minutes. They also did Southend to Rotterdam, etc. They carried three cars and up to 20 passengers.

During the 1960s they were superseded by four-engined Carvairs, larger aircraft which were Douglas DC4s re-engineered for nose-loading by Freddie Laker's company. The longest journeys we regularly took were from Southend to Geneva.

Journeys were surprisingly cost-effetive for us - and they saved a lot of time compared with ferries from Dover.

 

Hon. Pres

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