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There is a saying in aviation that
‘there are old pilots and there
are bold pilots, but there are no
old, bold pilots. Yet the subject
of this documentary, Captain
Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown RN, is one of
that rare breed. Voiced quietly
to camera by the man himself,
his career is covered in depth,
from Edinburgh University AirSquadron to the Fleet Air
Arm and testing at Boscombe
Down and Farnborough. After
learning to fly in 1938, his
airborne exploits spanned
more than four decades, during
which he amassed the greatest
number of types flown (487)
and most carrier landings
(2,407). His father, also a pilot,
first introduced him to flying,
but his second major aerial
experience was with Luftwaffe
legend Ernst Udet before
World War Two! One of the
few who found deck landings
easy, he conducted numerous
trials on carrier suitability,
including the first landing of a
Mosquito and, more famously,
the de Havilland Vampire inDecember 1945. Due to his
excellent language skills, Brown
was involved heavily in post-war
studies of German aviation, and
he interrogated several senior
officers, including Hartmann
and Göring; subsequently,
he oversaw the training of
the new German Naval Air
Force. Incredibly, just 25 years
separated Brown learning to
fly and his first test flight in an
F-4 Phantom, a period known
as the ‘great age of test flying’,
and this amazing pilot was at
the forefront. Not all work was
military, though, and post-war
he flew many tests that sought
to make airliner travel safer,
including deliberately transiting
the middle of a thunderstormin a Spitfire! There are many
more fascinating incidents
and anecdotes than can't be
mentioned on this page due
to space, and so this DVD is
recommended highly to anyone
with an interest in either aviation
or test-flying in particular. SFAs one of the most iconic aircraft
of World War Two, it is surprising
that there are fewer than 40
surviving airframes, and just two
airworthy ‘Mossies’. One of the
latter, KA114/N114KA/EG-Y, was built
as an FB Mk.26 (Canadian version
of the FB Mk.VI) in Toronto, but it
never served in wartime and spent
the majority of its life in storage,
where its condition deteriorated.
Restoration of the aircraft, which
took eight years, was complicated
by the need to build a complete
replacement fuselage. As all of
the moulds were destroyed in the
years following the end of the
war, the team built a complete setfrom scratch...a move regarded
in the Warbird community as one
of the world’s most outstanding
restorations. While the walk-around
and taxiing footage will be of useto modellers, the main audience
for this collection of flights and
displays will be aviation enthusiasts
in general, particularly those who
love the Mosquito. As well as test
and airshow footage, there are
gems such as a massed World War
Two fighter flypast, with KA114, a
Spitfire, P-51 Mustang and P-40...
truly a sight to behold! Just as
fascinating are the accompanying
anecdotes of what Mosquito
operators achieved during World
War Two, from the famous ultra-
low-level raid across Denmark to
target the Gestapo headquarters
in Aarhus, to breaching the walls
of Amiens prison. For those whobelieve that commentary gets
in the way of listening to the
marvellous sound of the Merlins,
there is an option for ‘engine-only
audio’ to provide one with nearly
two hours of nostalgia. SFDVD SPEC
Eric Brown, A Pilot’s Story
By: Quanta Films
Price: £15.98
Running
Time:80minsAvailable from:
Quanta Films,
http://www.quantafilms.comAXIS AIRCRAFT REFERENCE
AVIATION LEGEND
Yet another mouth-watering
collection of images is provided
in issue 23 of Luftwaffe im
Focus...the unmissable periodical
for German aircraft enthusiastsand modellers alike. After a
short hiatus due to book and
decal publishing, Axel Urbanke
returns with another mixed
bag of fighters, bombers and
transports, and a scattering of
recce and close-support types
thrown in. Highlights include
a splendid colour photo of an
Arado Ar 234 being refuelled
(those with Italeri’s fuel truck
kit take note) and, besides
the aircraft detail one gets a
great glimpse of the vehicle’s
camouflage pattern and rear
pump control area.
The Fw 189 and Ju 88D-1
feature as interesting
reconnaissance subjects, and
two black and white close-ups of the former afford a
wonderful view of the engine/
propeller, and the fuselage
pod, while another image
of a 6./St.G 1 Stuka's nose
offers a very clear appraisal
of the staffel badge above the
exhausts...a snorting rhino.
Bf 109 fans have a treat in
store, courtesy of the Close
Support chapter, which offers
a detailed examination of
Bf 109G-14/AS Red 8, flown
by Ofhr Schwendtmayer,
of 2./EJG 2; Claes Sundin’s
two-page colour profile of
this aircraft is excellent and
inspirational in equal measure.
The aforementioned artist
also provides another greatprofile, of JG 1 boss Hans Philipp’s
interesting Fw 190A-5 named
‘Minke+Pinke’. Other photos and
text on types such as the Fi 156,
He 111H-6 (what a cover photo,
ripe for diorama treatment!),
Ju 87 and Ju 88 complete yet
another excellent volume. CCBOOK SPEC
Luftwaffe im Focus No.23
By: Axel Urbanke
ISBN: 978-3-941437-
23-4
Price: €15.80
Format: A4
Available from:
Luftfahrtverlag-START,
http://www.luftfahrtverlag-start.deDVD SPEC
A Wooden Wonder Restored:
de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito
By: Historical Aviation
Film Unit
Price: £22
Running
Time:140 mins +Available from:
http://www.aviationbookcentre.com92_Books DVDs.CC.indd 92 17/03/2015 14:50