James D Kightly

Well, I’m hanging for the proof of the breadth of BlueSky’s reach when someone pops up and says ‘yes’!

a man in a military uniform is sitting in a classroom with other men and says `` it 's classified . '' Alt: I’ma just gonna leave the auto descriptor there: “a man in a military uniform is sitting in a classroom with other men and says `` it 's classified . ''

* And extra points if you can tell us about something YOU put in a logbook. (Or better still, left out!)

You can DM us in confidence, this account isn’t monitored by any retro aviation authorities (probably). -JDK

Poster for the Logbooks & AvDocs free online Spotlight event at Aviation Cultures on 8 November.

Logbook oddities? We’re interested. What’s the strangest, funniest or most unexpected thing that you’ve found* in an aviation logbook?

We’ll be talking ‘Logbooks & Avdocs’ in our next Spotlight event, free, online, in just over a month. Can you tease us with an odd fact first? -JDK

The ‘dress’ has been worn by almost every surviving Spitfire decades longer than the re-production of two seat conversion revival.

The casual watcher of warbirds is getting a brief intro. Not an accurate history lesson - on multiple counts.

Nice! A Tiger Moth with manners!

There’s a lot of interesting developmental elements to the D-520 story.

But in 1944, they were still using the standard model. And it was not capable as an air superiority fighter by then.

Essentially, yes. Long range over water to return to a MOVED base seemed to justify a dedicated navigator.

(There's also a forgotten belief that bombers were going to be hard to down, and fighters, thus less useful - so adding other roles to fighters didn't seem as a big compromise as it became.)

A man in a suit is about to remove his sunglasses, sitting at a train dining table facing a blonde woman and holding a cocktail. He's Cary Grant playing Roger Thornhill.

Monday Movie Magic: "...you're wanted for murder on every front page in America. Don't be so modest."
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"I told you. It's a nice face."

That level of thinking is next level, literally!

Great model and idea, too.

Ha! *If* I get there (fingers crossed) this will be the largest model I've completed in decades. That said, if you can avoid messing around and/or trying to be clever (like me!) it's a pretty simple kit that mostly looks like it fits well, so there's that...

Photo of the main cockpit structure with one fuselage side and chairs laid out separately.

Blocks of wood clamped together.

Blocks of wood in the fuselage with two threaded bolts running into them.

A cockpit shot of the real Fw 200 civil cockpit.

A bit of progress on #HeaviesGB #histscalemodels Fw 200. ‘Busying up’ the cockpit which, as well as being very empty, bears little resemblance to the real thing. And the seats are nothing like those provided. Meanwhile the mystery boxes and 1:1 screws have come good in V2 of the plan. Details anon.

The three 1/72 Sea Furies are done! A big “Thank You!” to @jdkightly.bsky.social for his generous assistance with decals, without which these would be back in the stash waiting. I still shudder that Airfix released this kit given its limitations, even compared to Hornby Era designs. #histscalemodels

Blocked Tom a while back (on Twitter) as it became increasingly evident No One Was Ever As Right As Tom About Anything.

He also stopped listening a long time ago.

Of the fascism point, the current US is ticks all the criteria of the definition. You know, Tom, FACTS.

The Met Opera’s season ad shows people being transfixed by gorgeous singing in different places in New York. This commenter is very angry: what if the wrong sort of people show up? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Going to be worth your time! @danellin.bsky.social shares great research.

The two fuselage halves showing the ribs and stringer framework created with nearly 40 year old drafting tape. Also masked up with blue masking tape.

Same again with the cabin spray painted silver. Looks good!

A detail shot showing the crude door frame structure. It doesn't need to be great, because it'll only just be visible through the windows.

It was a good airshow! So in my #HeaviesGB #histscalemodels Fw 200 build, I decided the failure of my special bit was just a blip.

In the 'conventional modelling' element of the build, I created an inner frame structure and the inner side of the passenger door. This Fw 200's cabin was stripped out.

A Hawker Demon fighter firing its fuselage guns into the sand of the gun but in the later 1930s. RAAF Museum Archive image, via post author.

A modern (20 year old!) photo of the same gun butt building. While there are a number of WWII era gun butts on military airfields, I'm not aware of any like this. Anyone? Photo copyright James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer.

The Royal Australian Air Force base, RAAF Point Cook, in Victoria, has a rare (possibly unique) pre-WWII aircraft gun butt building.

The modern image was taken on a base tour while the great period shot shows one of the RAAF's Hawker Demon fighters using it.

Any other pre-WWII aircraft gun butts?

a man in a striped shirt is smiling and waving at the camera with the word nice . Alt: The 'Nice' jazz compare. A man in a striped shirt is smiling and waving at the camera with the word "nice".

Oh, indeed! This one it was that everything from focus to framing was fine from the camera. Nice.

I certainly thought so, and Sree Nair could provide data in terms of relative performance, and what I also think is interesting, it's one of those aspects of history that won't have been documented, and thus easily missed.

Talking to an Indian Air Force historian about their WWII early days, he suggested they achieved a (documented) higher level of aircraft serviceability and performance because they worked harder, smarter and longer to pre-empt British racial judgement. Be twice as good to get the same credit?

Photograph showing the front end of a fighter aircraft on take off. It's pulling up the gear, and you can see the pilot and the shark's teeth and eyes. The shark's not the pilot's teeth and eyes, he's wearing a dark visor and helmet. Photo copyright James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer.

I rather like this one. No filters, no tweaks, no processing, straight from the camera. Tocumwal airshow practice, take off, 100 Squadron RAAF CAC Mustang current serial A100-170. (Formerly VH-SVU, A68-170, painted as A68-750.)

Big News! The Toronto Society of Architects is now doing architecture boat tours! I got to ride along for the first one this weekend. Details at torontosocietyofarchitects.ca/events/

There’s a lot of work between displays, most of it not nearly as noticeable as this engine run by Mustang VH-BOB.

You can fly in this Mustang, see mustangjoyflights.com.au or come to the Tocumwal Airshow tomorrow and watch the display with two other Mustangs and more: www.tocumwalairshow.com.au

if you want to understand tailoring, you only need to watch mid-century movies, when actors were dressed by tailors, not brands. in the 1944 film cover girl, gene kelly's suit drapes beautifully, moving with him, not against him. collar stays on his neck, even as he dances.

I see others are going well with #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels.

Hmmm. Here not so much. How DID I end up with this weird clamped ‘thing’ in the middle of a plastic kit?! Definitely in the ‘trough’ stage with this project.

Off to the www.tocumwalairshow.com.au and it’ll ALL look better next week.

Let’s see.

Photo of a high viz gillet, tag and lanyard all saying ‘Tocumwal Airshow’.

Something for the weekend. Clearing out the camera bag for this weekend’s Tocumwal Airshow (NSW Aus), it looks like the current high viz is from the last one! See you there? If not follow along online. www.tocumwalairshow.com.au

A cartoon of the Vickers Wellesley, ink line drawing, eggagerating the aircraft's distinctive features. Caption 'THE UNKIND UNTRUTH (With appologies in all directions) No 11: The Vickers Wesley or Sky-pilot.'

Cover of the Database feature and the Aeroplane magazine cover inset.

Aeroplane Monthly magazine is out in the UK, with my latest Database (No 21!) on the Vickers Wellesley, a remarkable, under represented aircraft. Here's a lovely cartoon of it which wasn't going to be used, and a (hint) link to the website if you'd like a copy! shop.keypublishing.com/products/aer...

Agreed! I never had positive (or even 'strong') feelings about such UK streetscapes, when I walked down so many of them, but this is great. A good measure of successful art.

Tungsten. When you can’t get the depleted uranium.