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By: - 15th July 2005 at 16:55 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Fabulous looking things - anyone remember the movie 'Slipstream' with that bloke of off Star Wars in it - that had an optica in ...
By: - 15th July 2005 at 17:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Fabulous looking things - anyone remember the movie 'Slipstream' with that bloke of off Star Wars in it - that had an optica in ...
And they made out it was a wind-driven glider...
Flood
By: - 15th July 2005 at 18:35 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I believe G-BMPL was moved by road to Dunsfold in 2003. Anybody know if it is still there. This was also seen at Farnborough air show in 2000. I think this might have some connection with Aces High as it is at Dunsfold.
Any additions/comments ??
By: - 15th July 2005 at 19:50 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes - G-BMPL was still hangared at Dunsfold on 4th June - shame it did not appear in the static park. I'm told it is non-airworthy.
By: - 16th July 2005 at 07:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ah the Optica - the only aircraft I know that looks like the result of a night of lust between a toasting fork and a light bulb
By: - 16th July 2005 at 14:56 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I believe we may still have one operating here in Australia??
VH-BMC FL OA7 OPTICA SERIES 200 s/n 18
regards
Mark Pilkington
By: - 16th July 2005 at 15:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
AIUI a lot of police pilots flew them the wrong side of the stall after which the still intact airframes were grounded. Can anyone clarify this?
By: - 16th July 2005 at 15:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ok Guys,
For us Yanks does anyone have a nice piccie of one so we can all see what your talking about. :D
Cheers
RER
By: - 16th July 2005 at 15:45 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
http://www.midwaysailor.com/blaine/optica.html
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Visschedijk/3070.htm
By: - 16th July 2005 at 20:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ok Guys,For us Yanks does anyone have a nice piccie of one so we can all see what your talking about. :D
Cheers
RER
Wish you hadn't asked Rob? :D
By: - 16th July 2005 at 21:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Wasn't there some kind of Malaysian connection once as I think G-BMPL was re-registered 9M-MPL at some time.
Was this some kind of take over with a possible aim of restarting prodeuction in Malaysia ??
There was a fatal crash at Ringwood, Hants with one which was operating for the Hampshire Police and the factory at Old Sarum caught fire sometime in the mid eighties ?
By: - 17th July 2005 at 11:08 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Spey111, I think "factory caught fire" is a euphemism for "allegedly somebody with a grudge set fire to the place". It was all a bit mysterious and was the subject of a BBC documentary. It all happened as production was ramping up but the fire and the Ringwood crash put paid to that. FLS Aerospace took it on for a while, along with the SAH-1 and they all ended up at North Weald.
I saw the Ozzie one at Hoxton Park near Sydney in 1999 and it was a flyer then.
By: - 17th July 2005 at 11:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes, I thought there were some suspicious circumstances to the fire but didn't like to say in case I was wrong.
By: - 17th July 2005 at 13:34 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I believe there was at one stage review of the Optica for local production in Australia by consortium or GAF /ASTA directly, and that was the cause of the demonstration aircraft in Australia in the first place?
regards
Mark Pilkington
By: - 18th July 2005 at 07:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
AIUI a lot of police pilots flew them the wrong side of the stall after which the still intact airframes were grounded. Can anyone clarify this?I heard it slightly differently. Apparently the Police Air Support Units used pilots with helicopter experience rather than fixed wing and they had a tendency to fly the Optica like a helicopter until they stalled. At the height the PASU pilots operate they were left with insufficient height to recover. Mind you the visibility fron an Optica would reinforce the helicopter feeling, but I still can't help feeling the story I've told is not true.
By: - 14th August 2005 at 07:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I flew the second prototype Optica just after Farnborough ... '84, out of Old Sarum. Not being a helo type, I suppose I flew it as an aeroplane (!). Personally I thought that it was brilliant - for what it was designed to do. The only suggestion that I had for them was to put a thin tape line horizontally around the front of the bubble, to give pilots something to judge the horizon/attitude by (I was missing a nice big fan and noisemaker up front). About the same time I checked out the Grosz powered folding wing glider - with a Porsche engine>
I never forgave the people behind the Optica for failing.
By: - 14th August 2005 at 09:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I heard it slightly differently. Apparently the Police Air Support Units used pilots with helicopter experience rather than fixed wing and they had a tendency to fly the Optica like a helicopter until they stalled. At the height the PASU pilots operate they were left with insufficient height to recover. Mind you the visibility fron an Optica would reinforce the helicopter feeling, but I still can't help feeling the story I've told is not true.
I don't think that was the problem with the crash at Ringwood. The siting of some of the controls and, as I remember, the inexperience of the observer may have had a part to play. I don't remember anything being said about the helicopter/aeroplane problems.
I do remember that Neville Duke was the test pilot.
M
By: - 14th August 2005 at 09:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I do remember that Neville Duke was the test pilot.
And, IIRC, the late Angus McVittie, of the Shuttleworth collection, amonmg other organisations.
By: - 19th August 2005 at 12:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Whatever the stories about it I'd still like to see someone actually manage to make a buisiness out of building them. It would be good to see them in series production.
By: - 21st August 2005 at 03:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes, Neville Duke was their chief test pilot when I went down to fly it. He checked out our chief pilot on the type about a year later - who was forever grateful for my having arranged it - he got Neville Duke's signature in his log book!
As I recall the flying characteristics, the stall was the gentlest and most forgiving. You could repeatedly let it stall and recover, right down to the ground. It hardly ever seemed to drop a wing.
Posts: 554
By: J31/32 - 15th July 2005 at 15:35
Afternoon all,
Just had a flick through a book and saw a pic of an optica. What happened to them and are any still flying? G-info has some registered at aces high but that's about it. An odd aircraft.
J man