ham2

The Michael Jackson photo was best

By posting your question in the GasGas forum you will get a biased response I had 3 good Gassers...... then they brought out the Pro , I don't know what the latest Pros are like but the early ones had a terrible VD called : 'Box-itis' i.e. problems with the air-box , middle-box or gear-box. But I can't deny that they're a great ride but as always with a great ride you run the risk of developing the pox afterwards!!!

So was it the M4a4 that had the Chrysler petrol engine? The engine that Chrysler said '..'even if half of it's cylinders were knocked out,the Sherman should still operate..''?..That's a bold claim ! Wasn't it a bit of a pea-shooter compared to the German tanks? Didn't we have to fit our own gun to make it more effective (Firefly?)?

''Tommy cookers'' from the nickname for a British soldier ''Tommy''or ''ronsons'' from the popular cigarette lighter of that period . 'Cos they ran on petrol instead of less combustible diesel. I think this phrase was apt for the American industrial war machine--- ''Quantity?..has it's own quality''.

Yup, the Allison (Apache?) was only any good at low level/ground attack but any water/glycol cooled engine in a low level fighter is going to come a cropper,sometimes even small arms fire could bring one down, hence the need for a radial air-cooled engine as fitted to the Corsair and the 'P47 Jug '. The RR Merlins were effectively hand-built, batch, engines that were so uniquely assembled that when donor parts were transfered to 'identical?' engines they frequently failed to fit. This was the dis-advantage of our (much disrupted) war-time, output. The Packards had many changes to incorporate mass production on a much larger scale (about a third of all Merlins ever made?),they also sourced superior ancillaries like carbs,pumps,magnetos etc. They had superior crank bearings too. This all adds up to less TBO (Time Between Overhauls). Bloody typical, I can't find my Merlin reference book when I need it to add some more details so it's just down to my flaky memory for this post Look at what Henry Ford did for the manufacture of cars..........which I guess this is where you come in with the Shermans and their 4:1 expendability ratio against Nazi Tanks? Actually,talking of Henry Ford (Nazi wannabe),he declined the opportunity to make the Merlin under license in the US saying that he didn't think that Britain stood any chance of winning the war.....so.....Guess which car company in Britain made 20,000(?) Merlins for RR (without a single reject)?.....The Ford factory in Manchester!?! ''Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics'' as the saying goes. Ok let's talk ' Tommy cookers'...poor ba*****s.

Fit a thrust-enhancing radiator cowl using the principles of the British aerodynamicist F.W.Meredith.(Still wasn't widely understood until after the war). Fit a British 'Malcom hood' or a Miles 'bubble canopy' and you can spot the enemy on your 'six o'clock'. Fit a British designed K-14 gyro gunsight so those rookies could hit a moving target. But...I would rather have a Packard built Merlin over a Rolls Royce Merlin.. The Spam Can's introduction was a huge turning point in the war.. The North American P-51 Mustang, when the Brits and the US get it right... boy do we get it right. Yup, I believe you have to bank it in a slow turn to line up then at the very last second a level the wings (blind) to touch down. Truly frightening We gave the Yanks our designs for countering Mach tuck i.e the all flying tailplane, as we thought we were going to receive info on the US nuclear program in return...we never did ... I guess they didn't think we were secure enough. I remember that the US Marines were going through a tough time trying to get to grips with the Harrier until we gave them a few lessons but to be fair, the Harrier does need a lot of training to fly. A timely reminder---Harrier- US pilots

Talk about the ultimate in cottage industry. Here you go, Wisconsin plywood has never looked so good ..remember it's a bomber --- When first introduced this bomber was so fast it could not be caught by the Luftwaffe,only near the end of the war did the nitrous boosted Me 109s and jet powered 262s get close to it. It could fly to Berlin and back twice with a 4000lb cookie bomb load faster than a Stirling bomber could do it.....once! The Nazi leaders couldn't make a speech at a Berlin rally without a Mosquito trying to kill them, it was politically and personally embarrassing for them. Goerring stated: ''When I saw the Mosquitoes over Berlin I was green with envy. How can it be, that they (the British)..... can knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft..... built by every piano factory and cabinet maker....'' And as we now know; by undertakers (coffin makers --nose sections--) as well

Aw,no.

I quite like the look of that,the styling looks more 'together' if you catch my drift?

Erm.. is this a goth test or what? De Havilland jet,1st jet to land and take off from a carrier,1st jet to cross the Atlantic. E.G. wz507 displayed by the S.A.S. at Carlisle airport......... Now what to I win?

:o :o :o You can't tell the difference!! :o :o ...B40RT....you have failed the 'man' test as far as I'm concerned,all men in the free world, over a certain age, should know the difference. This is a vital part of history that we should all be able to identify and pass on to the next generation. If I came to power I would make it law. Ok,call me a plane spotter if you like but the Spitfire silhouette from below should have elliptical shaped wings with almost pointed tips,whereas the Hurricane had a more-parallel wing (leading edge to trailing edge) with a rounded tip. There were a few clipped wing Mk5 Spit variants to increase the roll rates to compete with the Fw190 at low altitudes and of course the Mk21 Spits had the new rounded wing-tips.....blah...blah.. I could go on all day

...AND???

The point I was making there is; that at the time, there was a docile SY and a perky SY(racing?) available (different fly-wheel etc..) or it may have been a case of Euro spec vs UK spec? I do understand the benefits of the SY for joe average but imagine what would happen to the likes of Ford if they didn't continually update/re-style/re-model (choose which word you want) the Mondeo(Taurus?) for example? A lot of people have got to have the new version of a product just because it's ..well..new ! It's a shallow world the 'salesman' world...''It's a tough game''...to mis-quote from Glenngarry Glenross.

I have heard a rumour of my own....the company is about to get a new start with French tax payers money and a French re-name...De Lorean

Believe it or not personally I don't have a problem with riding a Scorpa/Scopra? ,I nearly bought a docile SY,the bike suits me 'cos I'm a bit of a plodder but here's their problem:I'm not really the target market they should have been aiming for. New sales are won or lost on the perception of the new model being a developed improvement on the old. B40RT I'm guessing you're like me and have been around the block a bit ? I reckon that in the trials world you or I could pick any suitable bike of the last 6,7...? years to take to a trial and it would make very little difference to our marks which bike we used... ...For that reason if we all agreed to just stick with the bike we have, for some considerable time, then all the trials manufacturers are f*****! That's a long winded way of me saying I think that Scorpa made the smallest effort to make people want (gotta have/desire) the newest version of their bike, a fancy video just won't do. I understand that Yam lump was very expensive (do you know how much the side casings are(were) for that motor?),I think the writing was on the wall a few years ago when they dropped about

GasGas realized how much it would cost to re-engineer their work benches(and how much extra storage space would be needed) to take the extra bulk of that Yam motor so the rescue plan was aborted I don't wish to seem to be p***ing on their grave. I do lament the passing of any trials manufacturer but you can grieve for too long you know. From the Department of the bleedin' obvious: 1)The product was woefully under-developed. 2)It looks like the bottom line was; Scorpa didn't didn't sell a product that was in sufficient enough demand to keep them afloat. To save themselves they could have done it French style... you know... Organized a blockade of the Channel ports to demand support from their government ( suppose a SY versus a British articulated truck is no contest?...similar weight though? .) It's time for the owners/supporters club to group together and put their money up and buy up a load of spares for the Scorpa Socialist workers Co-Operative....but I can't see that happening... I think B40RT owes Dabster some money?

That's amazing...it's just like the one I have at home,only mine fits Shercos..funny that. Caution, if you're gonna make one for a Beta I think the bolt thread depth is crucial , I seem to remember someone wrecking their stator with a home-made holder.

My money's on a stator fault...but I am a pessimist.

You mean the sheriff's a Nhh? That word,Gibson's dog as a code word for a successful dam breach? An un-even grass runway , a 9000lb bomb load, bomb doors removed...scary stuff. I seem to remember one of the 'upkeeps' got ripped out by a wave as the Lanc flew so low over the North Sea !! It took a special breed of aircrew to drop a bouncing bomb,trapped in a valley , at night, under heavy flak,flying really low to release (from 60ft). Have you seen the old video of the Americans in an A26 trying to deliver a bouncing bomb? Poor sods, the bomb bounced back and knocked the tailplane clean off. Here's some Mossies and an A26 trying a bombing run: Dangers of the bouncing bomb

Yup ,you're right Perce ,Harry Patch 111 is in a residential home in Somerset and Claude Choules 108 is living in Oz. You're a bit like me when it comes to the Hollywood make-over of WW2 battles but we've got to relax and allow the Yanks a little poetic license , after all they definitely had the sh** end of the stick when it came to Omaha beach . I hear that they're remaking the Dambusters so it will be interesting to see how they work a little US influence into that storyline.

Excuse me for sounding pious here, but Cope and Perce have struck a chord with me on this subject. There aren't many American philosophers to quote from but George Santayana hit the mark with this: ''Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' Last WW1 British vet dies Keep talking about it fellas...pass it on... Wayne

Thanks Perce , great to see those operational aircraft in colour, makes it seem so much more relevant.

Ditto, When it comes to bikes on E-Bay, I just treat it as a classified advert and ring the seller to sound him out then arrange a viewing to do the deal in person. That way I have never had any problems, but when I've tried to do business on-line-auction style, just sitting there bidding on a photograph.....well, lets just say I deserved everything I got. jam, you should report your experiences to E-Bay, I have done in the past and got a few charlatans suspended (E-bay shop..that really hurt him) or removed from E-bay altogether. Don't take it lying down, 'get into them and f*** them up'.

Bet your not 'trialing' your scooter through streams either.

Above is the Gospel according to Mark...just like he said:retard the timing and don't worry about the bike running poorly,that'll only happen when you rotate that stator plate to it's absolute extremities. Wayne (Copemech disciple)