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AIR FORCES

Air forces throughout the world

F-111 SHED WHEEL !

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An RAAF F-111 crew had to perform a belly landing. To help you understand this video in Australian English, there is information both in English and French below:

To shed / I shed / have shed: perdre quelquechose. Attention, « a shed » = un hangar, un abri, aussi un cabanon.
To shed a tear: verser une larme.
Masterpiece: Chef d’oeuvre, joyau, merveille.
Beneath: Sous, dessous.
« The F-111 can dump and ignite fuel with the afterburners »: Le F-111 peut larguer et allumer le carburant avec la postcombustion (PC).
« This extreme war machine can be fickle »: Fickle = capricieux, instable, imprévisible.
In Aussie (in Australian, say [ozy]) language: Brake mechanism, (dites [braïk mekeunizeum]) mécanisme de freinage; Air base (dites [ èr bâïss ]); Formation [Formaïsheun].
All, as per normal = Comme d’habitude.
« A wheel has fallen off, which was quite surreal in the circumstances… »: surreal = surréaliste, étrange, onirique.
Stricken plane: l’avion n’et pas nécessairement abattu par un projectile, il peut être en perdition, touché ou endommagé pour une autre raison. On pourrait presque dire « avion en perdition » comme pour « doomed aircraft ».
To devise a plan: Concevoir, inventer, imaginer, élaborer un plan.
« They are spot on »: Ils sont parfaits.

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SCHIPOL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 100 YEARS OLD

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Feb 14, 2016 – The Dutch airport will be one hundred years old in September this year. It used to be a military airfield on a meadow surrounded by a few huts. It has become one of the major airports in the world. The video here below might have been used for an Air-English examination. Let us play with questions – number 1 – according to the video, when was Schipol airport completely destroyed? Number 2 – Could you quote two major improvements that happened in the 1980s? Watch the video:

Here are the answers:

Number 1: Schipol was completely destroyed during World War 2. (listen again at 00’19 »)

Number 2: As far as the 1980s are concerned, you have got the choice between (listen again at 00’47 »):

  • The airport apron was expanded;
  • The terminal became bigger;
  • The area was beautified;
  • In time, piers and railway connections were added.
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WWI AIR COMBAT – WHAT IT CAME DOWN TO

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What is more natural than looking back over major aviation innovations of the Great War today, the anniversary of the Armistice? Here is a very interesting video posted by the BBC on how the fighter pilots dealt with reconnaissance, bombing missions and dogfight techniques. Primitive flight controls are well explained as is the interest of performing missions with a triplane aircraft – three sets of wings are necessarily more narrow, providing the pilot with a better visual field.

From the flimsy Blériot XI to Sopwiths and Fokkers, the first aces developed early methods that are always taught in fighter schools even though beyond-visual-range air combat has taken over since. Major Charles Tricornot de Rose was considered by many as the father of air fighting as early as 1914. Then as shown in this video, the German ace Oswald Boelcke laid out a first set of rules for dogfighting called the Dicta Boelcke. Pilots’ life expectancy was not measured in years but in weeks.

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TOURS AIRSHOW 2015

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Red Arrows and Patrouille de France here below

Tours French Air Force Base celebrated its centenary this year on Sunday, the 7th of June as the air base was born in late 1915, fielded with the aviation school on Caudron G3. MF33 Flight (1/33 Belfort) was born in Tours in October 1914 but there is no evidence that it was stationed at Parçay-Meslay airfield.

The airshow gathered lots of aviation professionals as well as recreational aviation booths. About 56,000 people attended the event – a bit more than expected. The Belgian F-16 solo display, the Moroccan Marche Verte, the Red Arrows, the Patrouille de France, then the Rafale were the highlights of the beautiful day. The Swiss Army Super Puma helicopter performed an outstanding display, and a P-51 D Mustang and a Spitfire delighted WW2 fighter aircraft enthusiasts. Other flypasts performed by two Dassault Flamant MD.311, de Havilland Vampire and Mosquito made the attendees dream.

The visitors could also admire numerous aircraft in the static display area: RSAF and Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoons, a curious Piaggio 149 as its roundel comes from the UPDAF – Uganda Peoples Defense Air Force, a Caudron C.800 glider which looked like the C.25S that were used in the movie « Don’t look now… We’re being shot at! » (La grande vadrouille) flown by famous French actors Bourvil and Louis de Funès. A nice RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) Aermacchi M-346, a Dewoitine 501 which used to be stationed at Tours air base, a few WW2 Piper Cub, Dassault Mirage 2000-D, Mirage 2000-5, Rafale, and last but not least 2 A-10 Warthogs, and many more aircraft.

With the nice weather, cool northbound winds, and the smooth organisation, the event turned out to be a great success.

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