Geek day

 I've probably gone a bit too far with these slightly unconventional aircraft photos. You see an afternoon at the Florida Warbird museum and workshop can easily bring out the sleeping, inner geek. Two of my favourite planes were included in the display just to make things even better; those being a Chance Vaught F4U Corsair (arguably the greatest prop driven fighter ever) and a MiG17, (design icon and menace from the Korean and Cold War skies).  As it turned out to be a working workshop I had a good blether with the oh so cool mechanics all busy cutting and hammering things into place.  Who'd have thought that Rolls Royce Griffin engines and the contra-rotating props from the old RAF Shackletons were the mainstay of the power plants for the US aircraft racing fraternity? There was also loads of information and artefacts from Pearl Harbour, large and small weapons of all kinds and scrapped and unrestored aircraft and buggered up parts all across the hanger. They do proper flights also, up in old Harvards if you have the stomach but at $400 a pop I gave it a miss. Some other time maybe.

Getting under the skin a bit.

Must be either torque measures or tests for metal fatigue, forgot to ask.

A Shack' prop with the blades cut back, adds 60 mph to the top speed they tell me. Nuts.

No creature comforts in a MiG 17, you can't even see out, rough as a badger's bum.

Cockpit of the Corsair, a bit broken down at present but still able to fly. Superb.

Felix still figures here and there.

Big Head.