Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Images

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K4KittyCrew
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Ima

Post by K4KittyCrew »

ME453 wrote:As I understand it the angle of attack/incidence of the wing had to be increased because of the shortened wingspan in order to generate the lift necessary.
Kerry, Max is spot on with his assessment regarding to necessary height / angle of the aircraft to gain lift.
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
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K4KittyCrew
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Ima

Post by K4KittyCrew »

I've added a couple more 'still' images to the collection.
John
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2149#p12121
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
Pilotdreamer
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Ima

Post by Pilotdreamer »

I would be interested to know if Mr Shepherd was a real caracter within the Shorts company or is he a made up caracter.
eye4wings
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Ima

Post by eye4wings »

I really wish that I could have had the film Ian posted to hand three years ago while planning my model!
I have found so many errors that I am wondering if I should build another - perhaps larger if I can figure out how to disassemble it for transport. That shouldn't be beyond the wit of man... though my own mental acuity is noticeably diminished lately!

During the course of building and developing the model I have had plenty of time to think over the shortcomings of the Shorts S.29 design and have wondered why the various decisions were made as they were.

The later (and more successful) Lancaster spanned 102 feet, presumably indicating that the Air Ministry had realised they had 'spoiled the ship' and repented. Why was an insert of about 5 feet not at that stage inserted between the outboard end of the flaps and the ailerons? Was it ever considered?
This would have restored the lifting ability and increased the aspect ratio of the wing and put the Stirling's operational ceiling up there with the Lancaster, albeit at the expense of 5 knotts speed or thereabouts.

We became used during WW2 to naval aircraft having wings or parts of wings hinged for storage on carriers.
Could not the wingtips of the Stirling have been hinged (downwards rather than upwards - for height reasons) so that once out of any hangarage the same effect could be acheived?
I expect the reason for this would be that nobody had yet designed an effective system - but the ingenuity of the undercarriage design strongly suggests that it would have been feasible at the time, right there in house.

The undercarriage itself is a matter of surprise when one thinks about it. The length of the runway required for a Stirling of shorter, more normal, undercarriage is quoted as the reason, but I notice that the tailplane area is also much larger than average, suggesting to my addled brain that this was done in order to get the tail off the ground as quickly as possible so as to reduce the drag from wings and tailplane for the rest of the take-off run.
The cost of this decision was huge in terms of airframe weight, both at the tail (which was half as heavy again as it need have been) and in the weight of material used for that undercarriage. At the point when the first prototype was destroyed due to a locked-on brake did nobody think 'hang on lads - maybe we need a re-think here'? Why was a tricycle undercarriage not considered?
There is plenty of space under that raised cockpit to incorporate a retractable nosewheel, then the main wheels could have been as simple as the (admittedly later) B-24, much lighter, cheaper in strategic materials and the bomb bays would have been both lower and level with the ground, shortening bombing-up time. As for take-off length, minimal drag would have been available right from the start of the run, shortening it, and the landing would have been safer because of the nosewheel configuration.
Even the disaster on that first landing might have been averted with a nosewheel to take the load.

Maybe this has all been discussed before - some of it during the design stage - but none of it changes what was done for good or ill.

And although I did have the passing thought that I could model the Stirling in the configuration suggested above, it would be pretty pointless. The Stirling is (or was) a magnificent machine that deserves to be remembered for itself as well as the part it and its crews played when this country stood alone against one of the biggest evils the world has seen.
If I do model the Stirling again I will be better informed as well as braver and tackle a Mk.III.

Robin
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Ima

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Hi All

The video mentioned has been around for a long time and it seems not been noticed, so can I point out that there is a French film, a drama, that heavily involves the Stirling but in operational use?

There are a good many shots of the Stirling taking off and dropping parachutists along with some nice interior ones of the fuselage. Also a shot of a Stirling turning on one wheel, a practice that was apparently forbidden - tsk! It was on grass though.

I can't remember the name at the moment but you can see it on You Tube, if anyone is interested I'll rake up a link.


James
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Images

Post by K4KittyCrew »

James, this is the thread l was talking about but l notice you have already found it.
Cheers,
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Images

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Hi John,

The 'Speed-up on Stirlings' film is indeed an extremely useful guidance film and I've used it frequently for each part of the aircraft.

Pilot Dreamer - I've just noticed your question and I do believe Mr Shepherd was indeed the real manager, probably too were all the staff shown in the film. I can't remember where I read about him but if you like I could try to find it. His acting is fairly wooden!


James
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Re: Short Stirling Aircraft - Official Production film & Images

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Hi All

No votes for me to track down the 'French Film' but I've done it anyway!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe49SErjAJY

The Stirling pops up in places with good quality footage

or you can search Youtube or other places for 'Le bataillon du ciel'


Enjoy
James
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