Personal Account
We had stopped at a static aircraft display in Summerside, PEI, and as impressive enough as this Argus Maritime Patrol Aircraft was, a short older fellow standing underneath it (and getting in the way of my photo), was even more so. It turned out he was a pilot who had flown the aircraft and enthusiastically shared a fascinating personal account. He told me about the crew of 15, the onboard bunks for rest breaks, the cabin furnace, kitchen complete with oven and coffee machine, the extended patrols lasting 18 hours or more without aerial refueling, 3600 kg loads consisting of bombs, mines, spare parts, and torpedoes. His typical flights would start out late on a Monday afternoon with a mission plan and he finally returned home after debriefing on Wednesday morning. They could fly 1000 miles out to sea, remain on task for eight hours, and return to base with enough fuel to divert for another 500 miles. The four 18 cylinder engines would tick over at just 1600 RPM at cruising speed.
After talking with him, the static display on a cloudless blue sky didn't really seem to do the image any justice. Consequently, with a little back and forth between my computer and an iPhone app, I came up with this composite.
Addendum: Since posting this, I found a newspaper clipping detailing the loss of one aircraft at Summerside. Apparently, they were returning for an emergency landing with one engine out. The weather was stormy with high winds, thunder and lightning, and as they came in, a gust lifted one wing, which dipped the other into a snowbank. They were headed right for the tower and school behind it when the pilot was able to turn enough to avoid it but crashed down the runway. Three crew perished but thirteen survived.
Personal Account
We had stopped at a static aircraft display in Summerside, PEI, and as impressive enough as this Argus Maritime Patrol Aircraft was, a short older fellow standing underneath it (and getting in the way of my photo), was even more so. It turned out he was a pilot who had flown the aircraft and enthusiastically shared a fascinating personal account. He told me about the crew of 15, the onboard bunks for rest breaks, the cabin furnace, kitchen complete with oven and coffee machine, the extended patrols lasting 18 hours or more without aerial refueling, 3600 kg loads consisting of bombs, mines, spare parts, and torpedoes. His typical flights would start out late on a Monday afternoon with a mission plan and he finally returned home after debriefing on Wednesday morning. They could fly 1000 miles out to sea, remain on task for eight hours, and return to base with enough fuel to divert for another 500 miles. The four 18 cylinder engines would tick over at just 1600 RPM at cruising speed.
After talking with him, the static display on a cloudless blue sky didn't really seem to do the image any justice. Consequently, with a little back and forth between my computer and an iPhone app, I came up with this composite.
Addendum: Since posting this, I found a newspaper clipping detailing the loss of one aircraft at Summerside. Apparently, they were returning for an emergency landing with one engine out. The weather was stormy with high winds, thunder and lightning, and as they came in, a gust lifted one wing, which dipped the other into a snowbank. They were headed right for the tower and school behind it when the pilot was able to turn enough to avoid it but crashed down the runway. Three crew perished but thirteen survived.