Wasps

[RizzoTheRat]

I've never even seen a static one before but I'm pretty sure I saw a Westland Wasp following the A303 west of Mere this afternoon. According to Wikipedia there's a couple of private hands based in Surrey. I only recognised it because someone put this pic up on the photos thread recently. Is there anything else with a similar layout it could have been?

[Nick_F]

Skids or wheels as above?

[Eric Mc]

Wasp has wheels
Scout has skids

There is one example of its ancestor, the piston powered Skeeter in use by the Army Historic Flight as well.

Westland Wasp



Westland Scout



Saro Skeeter

[RizzoTheRat]

Definatly a Wasp based on Eric's pics. I've seen the Scout before (plus I love the movie Who Dares Wins when I was a kid), but it was the wheels that gave it away.

[Skywalker]

[speedtwelve]

There's a privately owned Wasp in a hangar at Yeovilton which flies regularly, just down the A303.

EDIT: Eric, the AAC Historic Flight's Skeeter is not cleared to fly, unfortunately. It was finally made airworthy a couple of years back, but there is an ongoing problem with the wooden rotor blades which prevent it from being flown.

Edited by speedtwelve on Tuesday 24th November 20:17

[dr_gn]

RizzoTheRat said:

I've never even seen a static one before but I'm pretty sure I saw a Westland Wasp following the A303 west of Mere this afternoon. According to Wikipedia there's a couple of private hands based in Surrey. I only recognised it because someone put this pic up on the photos thread recently. Is there anything else with a similar layout it could have been?

DID YOU KNOW.....that before working at Westland, the person who designed the landing gear for the Wasp used to design hospital trolleys?

[Skywalker]

I know I posted this about 200 pages back on the cool phot thread- but have a little

[FourWheelDrift]

I popped up to Milton Keynes one day in August 2006 to see how the new stadium was coming along and what did I see parked outside the Asda store next door...............



The Sea Cadets had got one there with their recruiting van.

[Nick_F]

RizzoTheRat said:

Definatly a Wasp based on Eric's pics. I've seen the Scout before (plus I love the movie Who Dares Wins when I was a kid), but it was the wheels that gave it away.

If you'd said skids then there's an an Alouette with the same part-built/homebuild/bloody frightening look as the Scout. Nothing much else looks like a Wasp, though.

Hospital trolleys? He was overqualified.

[eharding]

RizzoTheRat said:

I've never even seen a static one before but I'm pretty sure I saw a Westland Wasp following the A303 west of Mere this afternoon. According to Wikipedia there's a couple of private hands based in Surrey. I only recognised it because someone put this pic up on the photos thread recently. Is there anything else with a similar layout it could have been?

The CAA have the following registered:

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&amp...

One of which is has a registered address at Sturminster Newton, not a million miles from the A303.

There used to be one lurking in the hangar at Draycott Farm, south of Swindon, but I seem to recall it came to grief with fuel contamination.

[dr_gn]

Nick_F said:

RizzoTheRat said:

Definatly a Wasp based on Eric's pics. I've seen the Scout before (plus I love the movie Who Dares Wins when I was a kid), but it was the wheels that gave it away.

If you'd said skids then there's an an Alouette with the same part-built/homebuild/bloody frightening look as the Scout. Nothing much else looks like a Wasp, though.

Hospital trolleys? He was overqualified.

[Eric Mc]

There are two main types of Alouette

The Alouette II




and the Alouette III



The Irish Air Corps Aloutte IIIs were familiar sights in Irish skies up until a couple of years ago.

[Nick_F]

I stand corrected - the resemblance is less than I remember.

The trauma of that childhood trip in a Scout must have affected me more deeply than I thought.

[RizzoTheRat]

speedtwelve said:

There's a privately owned Wasp in a hangar at Yeovilton which flies regularly, just down the A303.

I wasn't far from Yeovilton so that sounds likely, presumably the one mentioned that's registered to a bloke in Sturminster Newton which is pretty close.

[Geneve]

I do love the Alouettes.

Still the tool of choice for mountain work

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Zermatt/Aerospa...

Edited by Geneve on Wednesday 25th November 11:44

[dr_gn]

Geneve said:

I do love the Alouettes.

Still the tool of choice for mountain work

Edited by Geneve on Wednesday 25th November 11:43

The Lama is a favourite of mine - one of those things that seems to look better than the sum of its parts.

[speedtwelve]

RizzoTheRat said:

speedtwelve said:

There's a privately owned Wasp in a hangar at Yeovilton which flies regularly, just down the A303.

I wasn't far from Yeovilton so that sounds likely, presumably the one mentioned that's registered to a bloke in Sturminster Newton which is pretty close.

Not sure who owns it; saw it a few weeks back when I was at Yeovs with work. The hangar it lives in contains numerous other fun toys, a few Hawker Hunters, Supermarine Seafire, Piston Provost, CAP10 etc, all airworthy.

[RizzoTheRat]

They also keep the historic flight Swordfish at Yeovilton don't they?, I really should get round to visiting the museum at some point, my parents live near Yeovil so I drive virtually right past it fairly often.


ETA:
What's with the pannels above the doors on Skywalkers second pic? Some kind of defelctor to keep downdraft out of the cabin?

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 25th November 12:24

[Eric Mc]

They have two airworthy Swordfish.