Received the following from Melo:

Ben

====================================
I had a fantastic time in the U.K. visiting with Kit Spackman. I also was fortunate to meet up with Alan Parkinson at Shuttleworth, and Lee James at Heathrow during the trip. We also had plans to meet up with James Anderson at Duxford, but due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, I will have to meet James in person on another trip.

Unfortunately, and with my apologies to Alan, we forgot to get a picture to post when the three of us were together at Shuttleworth.

We had slightly better luck at Heathrow with Lee although the one picture we got was fuzzy. Happens sometimes with my digital camera for no good reason. Anyway the picture is posted below:

Lee is on the left, and Kit is on the right, leaving me in the middle spot.

Lee James said to give his Best Regards to everyone. He is unfortunately unable to login here himself so far to post his own messages.

For those of you who get a chance to meet each other in the "real world", I highly recommend it!

• RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,PL965Melo, 20:52z, 06-01-02
  • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Mike_Greenwood, 03:18z, 06-02-02
    • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,PL965Melo, 06:23z, 06-02-02
      • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Mike_Greenwood, 00:30z, 06-03-02
    • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Guido_Ostkamp, 20:51z, 06-05-02
      • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Mike_Greenwood, 03:32z, 06-06-02
  • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,AlanParkinson, 21:52z, 06-02-02
    • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Ben Chiu, 22:38z, 06-02-02
    • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,PL965Melo, 22:26z, 06-03-02
      • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,AlanParkinson, 01:54z, 06-04-02
        • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,PaulCroft, 07:03z, 06-05-02
          • RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,AlanParkinson, 17:51z, 06-05-02
• RE: UK Spitfire pilgrimage,Ben Chiu, 02:19z, 06-04-02

Ben,

Thanks a lot for posting the picture and text. Here is the other part of the posting:

Kit Spackman was a wonderful tour guide and we covered just about all of the Spitfire sites that we could in the 9 days of the trip. Kit estimates that we put over 200 miles on the car every day. Took over 800 pictures with the digital camera.

Some of the highlights of the trip were Cosford, Shuttleworth, Duxford, Tangmere, Southampton, and the RAF Museum at Hendon. We particularly focused on places that had a connection with Photo-Reconnaissance Spitfires. One of the highlights of the trip for both of us was a visit to RAF Benson where the PR Spitfires used to fly from. It is an operational Helicopter squadron now. Kit's Dad was stationed there years ago. We spent an amazing 4 hours there with the Base Historian. That is the one place where I did not get lots of pictures, for obvious reasons.

With thanks again to Kit Spackman, my Spitfire Pilgrimage was an amazing experience.

Best regards,
Melo

Hi Melo,

Welcome back! It sounds like you had a great time, and well deserved to boot. Too bad you couldn't hook up with James, but meeting Lee was a bonus anyway. Did you get *any* time to relax at all?? <g>

Speaking of Lee, I'm at a complete loss as to why he can't "log on" to the VPC. As far as I know, he's the *sole* individual that cannot. Sure, some folks have had a bit of difficulty, but a quick email or two and they get in just fine (usually, it's java related). Unfortunately, Lee doesn't seem to be trying to hard to get in.

Glad you had a great trip!

--Greenie
**6 miles SSE KSJC**

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.1.0.0 =-
Registered to: Mike Greenwood
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Greenie,

>Welcome back! It sounds like you had a great time, and
>well deserved to boot. . . . Did you get *any* time to >relax at all?? <g>

Yes, the trip was great! Relaxation time, what's that?

We went full throttle for 9 days straight. Kit is probably still recovering from my visit. <g>

>Speaking of Lee, I'm at a complete loss as to why he can't
>"log on" to the VPC.

Was hoping you knew of a quick fix. Lee will probably figure it out if he emails you and works on it.

>Glad you had a great trip!

It was absolutely amazing!

Regards,
Melo

Hi Melo,

>>Was hoping you knew of a quick fix. Lee will probably figure it out if
he emails you and works on it.<<

We (Ben and I) tried way back in November of last year. We gave him the rundown on the usual problems, but it hasn't seemed to work. The strange thing is that he can't seem to log in on either of his systems at home or the one at work...???????? Very strange.

--Greenie
**6 miles SSE KSJC**

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.1.0.0 =-
Registered to: Mike Greenwood
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Mike,

> Speaking of Lee, I'm at a complete loss as to why he can't
> "log on" to the VPC. As far as I know, he's the *sole*
> individual that cannot. Sure, some folks have had a bit
> of difficulty, but a quick email or two and they get in
> just fine (usually, it's java related). Unfortunately,
> Lee doesn't seem to be trying to hard to get in.

Did he have an login? If yes, I suggest removing it so that
he can retry with creating a new one. Maybe he just tries
with a wrong password.

Another chance is that his webbrowser might be configured to
not accept any cookies at all. Without cookies, login is not
possible, as I know from OLR implementation ...

Regards,

Guido

-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Guido,

>>Did he have an login? If yes, I suggest removing it so that
he can retry with creating a new one. Maybe he just tries
with a wrong password.<<

It appears he can't even get close enough to create an account, so there is no registration for him.

>>Another chance is that his webbrowser might be configured to
not accept any cookies at all. Without cookies, login is not
possible, as I know from OLR implementation ...<<

We covered that ground with him waaay back in November. I'm at a loss as to what the problem is...<sigh>

--Greenie
**6 miles SSE KSJC**

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.1.0.0 =-
Registered to: Mike Greenwood
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Melo,

> Yes, the trip was great! Relaxation time, what's that?
>
> We went full throttle for 9 days straight. Kit is probably still
> recovering from my visit. <g>

I'm surprised you survived - my one day left me worn out! Had a wonderful time, though.
I didn't get a group photo either, but I do have one that I'd like to post - what's the procedure?

On a sadder note, I've just heard there was a crash at Duxford today. An aircraft failed to slow down on landing, crossed a field and crashed onto the M11 motorway - fortunately the road traffic was very light, and no cars were involved.

Alan

**** VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.0.0.0 ****
++++ UNREGISTERED ++++
**** OLR.PL Build 1.73 ****

Greetings Alan:

> I didn't get a group photo either, but I do have one that I'd like to
> post - what's the procedure?

You can email it to me or just upload to the file library section. Just FYI, we like to keep pix under 800 pixels wide and no more than 96dpi.

Thanks!

Ben

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.1.0.0 =-
Registered to: Ben Chiu
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Alan,

>I'm surprised you survived - my one day left me worn out!
>Had a wonderful time, though.

I was sure tired after the trip was over. Adrenaline kept me goiing until I got on the plane to come home. It was great to meet you and share the day together. Thanks again.

>I didn't get a group photo either, but I do have one that
>I'd like to post - what's the procedure?

The easiest way is to post it straight to Ben at Ben@flightadventures.com

>On a sadder note, I've just heard there was a crash at
>Duxford today. An aircraft failed to slow down on landing,
>crossed a field and crashed onto the M11 motorway -
>fortunately the road traffic was very light, and no cars
>were involved.

Yikes! Hope the pilot and any passengers were able to walk away from that one.

Regards,
Melo

Hi Melo,

> Yikes! Hope the pilot and any passengers were able to walk away from
> that one.

I saw the news report twice, and both times there was a burst of interference on sound so I didn't catch all the details. I believe the passenger ejected after touchdown, but the captain stayed in the aircraft - he didn't make it. The aircraft was a two seat jet trainer.

Alan

**** VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.0.0.0 ****
++++ UNREGISTERED ++++
**** OLR.PL Build 1.73 ****

Hi Alan

>> I didn't catch all the details. I believe the passenger ejected after touchdown, but the captain stayed in the aircraft - he didn't make it. The aircraft was a two seat jet trainer. <<

Wrong way round according to my paper (Daily Telegraph). Ironically it appears the pilot ejected and was killed while the passenger stayed on board and received only minor cuts and bruises.

For story and pictures try:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F06%2F03%2Fnjet03.xml

If the following can be printed, here is the text of the story:

===================================
Daily Telegraph, Monday, June 3rd, 2002

Pilot killed as jet hits M11
By David Sapsted
(Filed: 03/06/2002)

The pilot of a two-seater jet trainer was killed yesterday when his aircraft ran off the end of a runway and crashed on to a motorway.

The wreckage of the plane blocks the M11 in Cambridgeshire after overshooting the runway
Police said it was "an extraordinary piece of luck" that the Czech-built L-39 trainer did not hit any vehicles on either carriageway of the busy M11 in Cambridgeshire.

The pilot ejected as the aircraft left the runway at Duxford airfield, home of the Imperial War Museum's historic aircraft collection. His body was recovered from a field beside the motorway.

The second man in the privately-owned aircraft clambered from the wreckage with only minor cuts and bruises.

No names were being issued until next of kin had been told.

The accident occurred shortly after 2pm and a three-mile jam quickly built up. The M11, which runs from east London to East Anglia, remained shut last night between junctions 9 and 11 as air accident officials scoured the scene.

The L-39, the standard jet trainer in the Warsaw Pact in the 1970s and 1980s and capable of speeds up to 470mph, had appeared to make a normal landing. A police spokesman said: "It landed on the runway but is believed to have suffered a brake failure.

"It is extraordinary that it did not hit any cars. Traffic has been particularly busy over the holiday weekend, with people pouring on to the roads at lunchtime after England's World Cup match."

Ken Lyndon-Dykes, part-owner of the aircraft, said it was on a training flight from its home aerodrome about 30 miles away at North Weald in Essex. He described the pilot as a "very, very fine man".

He added: "We had breakfast together this morning and he was looking forward to having some fun today."

The crash is the latest in a series at Duxford. Last July a pilot and a photographer escaped serious injury when the vintage T6 Harvard plane they were flying crashed on take-off and burst into flames.

In 1997 the last working Second World War German Messerschmitt Bf109 crash-landed upside down in a field beside the M11.

A year earlier, the pilot of a Second World War P-38 Lightning was killed when he hit a line of parked planes.
========================================

Paul Croft
10 miles SE of Heathrow (EGLL)

**** VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.0.0.0 ****
++++ Registered to: Paul F. Croft ++++
**** OLR.PL Build 1.73 ****

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the correction. That makes it even more tragic.

Alan

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**** OLR.PL Build 1.73 ****

Here's a photo and caption from Alan:

Ben
=======================snip=================

Here's another portrait to add to the thread; Melo in the foreground, with a beloved Spitfire in the background (parked). A bit sharper than the group pic, but you still can't recognise Melo! I never could photograph people.

Alan