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One of the vendors had Border Collie puppies for sale. This one was being held by a boy of about 7 or 8. I tried to get both of them in the frame together, but that proved to be quite a challenge. The puppy proved a bit more cooperative, so I took this shot of him.
PIC © Sandy Young 07970 268944
Specially selected passengers have taken a trip on the Borders to Edinburgh railway a day ahead of the opening of the new Scottish Borders rail line to the general public.
The owners of a Golden Ticket traveled on three trains leaving Tweedbank, Galashiels and Stow, each carrying 160 passengers.
Others making the trip were nominated by the public or won competitions.
The 30 miles of new track between Tweedbank in the Borders and Edinburgh opens to the public on Sunday.
sandyyoungphotography.wordpress.com
sj.young@virgin.net
07970 268 944
Installation view, Monash University Museum of Art, 30 April - 2 July 2016
Photos by Christian Capurro
Curator: Francis E. Parker
Artists:Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Allora & Calzadilla, Karen Black, Gunter Christmann, Jin Chul Kyu, Guan Wei, Shilpa Gupta, Khaled Hourani, Raafat Ishak, Isaac Julien, Sonia Leber & David Chesworth, Kai Löffelbein, Ricky Maynard, Carlos Motta, Tony Schwensen, Amy Spiers & Catherine Ryan, Danae Stratou, and Judy Watson
PIC © Sandy Young 07970 268944
Specially selected passengers have taken a trip on the Borders to Edinburgh railway a day ahead of the opening of the new Scottish Borders rail line to the general public.
The owners of a Golden Ticket traveled on three trains leaving Tweedbank, Galashiels and Stow, each carrying 160 passengers.
Others making the trip were nominated by the public or won competitions.
The 30 miles of new track between Tweedbank in the Borders and Edinburgh opens to the public on Sunday.
sandyyoungphotography.wordpress.com
sj.young@virgin.net
07970 268 944
la frontière
the border
Chemin Claybank
Abercorn, Qc
100 iso, f/16, 1/320, -1ev
D7000 & sigma 50mm
HDR
Elk .. not one to be last .. decided to take matters into her own hands and launched from the top of a rock on the right .. think she underestimated just how high it was!
I can has cheezburger? book spotted prominently displayed by the cashier at Borders Books in San Francisco. For Eric.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
First opportunity for the Finnish Air Force to have a look at a MiG-15 happened on 25th January 1954, when a Soviet Air Force aircraft crashed into a forest at Rautjärvi, close to the Soviet border. The surviving pilot said later that he had lost orientation and when fuel was running out, he ejected. The wreck was quickly evaluated before a Soviet rescue troop arrived to dismantle the plane and return it to the Soviet Union. This happened after quick political negotiations to exchange it for 62 Finnish citizens arrested in the Soviet Union.
Maintaining a non-aligned status and being positioned geographically between the NATO nations and the USSR, Finland purchased military equipment from the East and the West alike. A second opportunity was during May 1954 when, in trade negotiations between Finland and the Soviet Union in Moscow, six MiG-15s were offered as part of the bilateral trade deal. A Finnish pilot was sent to make evaluation of the type. After flying a MiG-15UTI and evaluation of the fighter variant, it was found to be technically obsolete and unsuitable for the Finnish Air Force. The MiG-15UTI was also compared with the dh Vampire Trainer, which instead was selected as the first Finnish jet trainer during 1955.
The next time the MiG was on table was during 1956, when a new jet fighter type was being considered. This time the Soviet alternatives were the MiG-15bis or MiG-17. This time the Folland Gnat Mk 1 was selected. It took four years before the MiG-15 was offered again, as a trainer for MiG-19s the Soviets were trying to sell to Finland. This offer was again rejected, as the MiG-19S was found to be obsolete from both weapons and performance points of view. Following this dead end the study of western fighters, Mirage IIIC and Saab 35 Draken, was started. In this situation the Soviets changed their offer from the MiG-19 to the MiG-21F-13. As the purchase was possible to be paid with trade exchange and the MiG's performance was comparable with the Western types, the MiG was selected. Four MiG-15UTI trainer aircraft were added to the purchase as conversion trainers for the fighters - the reason was that the MiG-21 had no immediately available trainer version (the MiG-21U Mongol-A was just entering production in 1962). Agreement with the USSR was signed on 1st February 1962. Before delivery, a group of Finnish pilots and mechanics were trained in the Soviet Union in the latter half of 1962. The MiG-15UTI trainers were flown to Karelia Wing's Rissala base near Kuopio by Soviet pilots during November 1962. These planes were manufactured by Avia in Czechoslovakia and, according to manufacturing plates, these late production examples were type Avia CS-102.
Lauri Pekuri became the first Finnish pilot to fly the UTI-MiG-15 during a visit to Moscow as part of a military delegation. On 10th November 1962 the 31st Fighter Squadron (HävLv 31 Hävittäjä Lentolaivue, fighter squadron) at Kuopio-Rissala AB, which was part of the Karelian Air Wing (Karjalan Lennosto), took delivery of four Czechoslovak-built UTI-MiG-15s (Aero CS-102s). The aircraft, which were ferried amid great secrecy by Soviet pilots, were in the latest configuration, featuring the Afanasyev A-12.7 machine-gun, Bariy-M IFF and OSP-48 ILS. Interestingly, the trainers were diverted from the Soviet order but were nevertheless new aircraft, not second-hand machines.
The trainers received the tactical codes MU-1 (c/n 922221), MU-2 (c/n 822028), MU-3 (c/n 922226) and MU-4 (c/n 722375; sometimes reported in error as 722479); the MU serial prefix and the trainer's squat, tubby appearance promptly gave rise to the nickname 'Mukula' ('chubby' in Finnish). The aircraft were flown in natural metal finish. Each pilot converting to the MiG-21F-13 was given 14 flights (eight hours) in the UTI-MiG-15 before progressing to the fighter. The Midgets were also used for proficiency training. Additionally, the Air Force Flight Test Centre (Koelentuelentolaivue) at Halli AB undertook a short performance test program and used the Midgets for development work - for example, as radar targets for the Finnish Air Force's SAAB J-35S Draken fighters.
In 1968-69 the trainers underwent a major overhaul in the Soviet Union, but all other maintenance was done locally. MU-3 crashed on 27th November 1970 after running out of fuel, but the crew ejected safely. To fill the gap a fifth UTI-MiG-15 was procured, this time directly from Czechoslovakia. Since production had already ended it was a second-hand machine, a revamped Aero CS-102s (c/n 822210), a former ejection seat testbed with low flying hours, formerly operated by the Výzkumný a zkušební letecký ústav (VZLÚ, 'Czech Aerospace Research Centre') for the development of an indigenous ejection seat.
The revamped aircraft arrived in Rissala in early 1971 and received the new tactical code MU-5. This aircraft was insofar noteworthy as it became the only Finnish UTI-MiG-15 that carried camouflage. The scheme had already been applied in Czechoslovakia after a briefing from the Finnish Air Force, but the aircraft was delivered without tactical markings for the transfer flight. However, the requested paint scheme, an experimental camouflage reminiscent of the Finnish WWII scheme in green and black with grey undersides and "clouds" on the flanks that extended into the upper scheme, was executed with local paints, and following Warsaw Pact painting standards. As a result, the scheme was truthfully replicated, but the paints on the upper surfaces turned out to be rather dark. However, MU-5 was accepted with this unique livery and received large Ilmavoimat roundels in six positions (with the fuselage roundels close to the air intake), the tactical code on the flanks behind the wings, and the squadron badge (a leaping black lynx on a white cloud as background) on the fin, just below the stabilizers. Additionally, the aircraft’s callsign “Adam” was painted as a nickname and reminder for the trainees under the front cockpit opening. MU-5 retained its unique camouflage through later overhauls, even though refreshed with domestic paints that changed the upper tones into a lighter hue, and the tactical markings were changed over time, too. In the mid-Seventies the fuselage roundel on all Finnish Midgets was moved to the rear fuselage, the tactical code remained there but was reduced in size, and the lynx emblem was now painted behind the air intake, together with a single large number corresponding to the individual aircraft code.
The remaining three CS-102 veterans were kept in service until the small fleet was superseded by five MiG-21UM Mongol-Bs in 1978. These were, as an anecdotal note, delivered from the USSR in a dark camouflage very similar to MU-5 a couple of years earlier, due to the use of local paints and a rather free interpretation of the Finnish Air Force's paint scheme request! But with the arrival of the Mongols the Finnish UTI-MiG-15s’ career soon ended. MU-1 was struck off charge on 20th April 1979 and is preserved today at the Hallinportti museum just outside Halli AB. MU-2, which made its first flight in Finland on 12th January 1963 at the hands of Lt (SG) Veikko Tähtinen, was struck off charge on 30th May 1979 and is preserved at Vesivehmaa. MU-4 made its last flight from Rissala AB on 7th February 1977, piloted by Capt. Ari Piippo; it was struck off charge on 12th April 1979 and is now on display at the Central Finnish Aviation Museum (Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo) at Luonetjärvi airfield, Tikkakoski. MU-5, finally, was already lost on 15th of November 1977 in a ground fire that could be traced back to an oil leak in the engine section. The aircraft burned down beyond repair; since the airframe was even too damaged to become a museum exhibit it was eventually scrapped in 1979.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 10.04 m (32 ft 10½ in) overall
8,02 m (26 ft 3¼ in) hull only
Wingspan: 10.08 m (33 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 20.6 m² (222 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: TsAGI S-10; tip: TsAGI SR-3
Empty weight: 3.382 kg (7,450 lb)
Gross weight: 4,806 kg (10,585 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 5.260 kg (15,585 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,420 L (380 US gal; 310 imp gal) internal
Powerplant
1× Motorlet/Walter M05 centrifugal-flow turbojet, with 26.5 kN (5,955 lbf) maximum thrust
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,050 km/h (669 mph, 581 kn) / Mach 0.87 at sea level
1,031 km/h (640 mph; 560 kn) / Mach 0.9 at 5,000 m (16,377 ft)
Cruise speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn) / Mach 0.69
Ferry range: 2,520 km (1,570 mi, 1,360 nmi) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
with 2x600 L (160 US gal; 130 imp gal) drop-tanks
Service ceiling: 15,200 m (49,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 42 m/s (8,255 ft/min)
Wing loading: 255 kg/m² (60.7 lb/sq ft) at MTOW
Thrust/weight: 0.54
Armament:
1× 12,7 mm (0.5”) Afanasyev A-12,7 machine gun with 150 rounds
2× underwing hardpoints, usually occupied with drop tanks
The kit and its assembly:
A very simple what-if aircraft model, and it was simply inspired by the question how a camouflaged Finnish UTI-MiG-15 trainer might have looked like? In real life the four aircraft were left in bare metal, only protected with clear lacquer containing aluminum powder, and relatively large markings. When I read about the aircrafts’ history in Finland I came across MU-3’s “sudden death” (most things mentioned in the background are real, just MU-5 and anything concerning this aircraft is fictional) and envisioned a fictional replacement in the early Seventies that would bear camouflage.
The Midget kit is one of the more complex Hobby Boss kits (read: more than just a fuselage plus wings and some bits to stick onto this base) like the company’s F9F or Hawker Seahawk, and for its price point the kit is IMHO pretty good and crisp. It’s still quite simple, but it features many small detail parts to be added on the airframe that yield a convincing model, including a surprisingly well detailed cockpit tub (even though it lacks a rear bulkhead and there’s an ugly gap behind the front seat), a nice landing gear and two different pairs of underwing tanks.
The only upgrades I made: the single-piece canopy was cut into four parts (with a very narrow frame between the cockpits, ugh!) for open display, and a wire antenna (heated black sprue material) was spanned between the fin tip under the dielectric fairing and its attachment point right in front of the free-standing antenna mast on the right fuselage flank, next to the cockpit.
Getting the model on its three wheels was not easy – there’s not much space in the nose, because the air intakes are fully detailed (yet feature ugly and well visible locator pins which should be sanded away) and the splitter insert also contains the front landing gear well – there’s only little space above it, and the lead beads I cramped into the area were just enough to make the model stand “upright”, even though only once the main wheels had been mounted and the separate canopies put into place! Phew!
Painting and markings:
MU-5’s paint scheme took inspiration from two sources: one is the “Hawk” scheme from the late Seventies, which was devised for the Bae Hawk trainers but already introduced with the MiG-21bis and the respective trainers that arrived 2 years earlier.
The pattern was lent from the Hawk, since it has comparable outlines with the Hawk, but the colors were rather inspired by the initial MiG-21U trainers that were directly delivered from the USSR, already painted with Soviet paints that differed markedly from what Finnish-painted aircraft with domestic paints would look like. The Mongols were delivered in a deep but reddish brown, the green was very dark, too, with little contrast and a bluish hue. And the undersides were painted in a deep turquoise blue. For an unusual look I used a mix of Humbrol 10 and 66 for the deep but dull brown, Modelmaster FS 34096 for the green, and the undersides were painted with a pale blue (ModelMaster Russian Flanker Underside Blue).
The cockpit tub’s side walls were painted in the dreaded Soviet anti-fatigue teal, with medium grey lower areas, and aluminums seats with brown cushions. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in a greyish silver tone, with bright green wheel discs as contrast. A similarly bright green antenna fairing was added to the fin tip, and the tail rudders’ counterweights became yellow (a practice that was actually introduced on the late NMF Finnish UTI-MiG-15s).
As a contrast and a reminder of the Finnish UTI-MiG-15’s original/real livery I painted the slipper tanks to resemble natural metal finish.
The roundels came from a Finnish Gnat (Special Hobby), the HävLv 31’s Lynx emblems from a Matchbox MiG-21 kit. The tactical codes were created from single black 6 mm letters (TL Modellbau); the few other stencils were puzzled together from the scrap box. To add some color contrast, I also decided to mark the area above the flaps with 1 mm red decal strips (also generic stuff from TL Modellbau), and the wing walkways were created with 4 mm black decal strip stuff. Some dry-brushing with silver was done on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit for light weathering effect and to make the model look less “clean”. And finally, the model was sealed with matte acrylic varnish.
A very simple project, and a “quick” submission for a Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, following a spontaneous inspiration. The camouflage suits the tubby Midget well, though, it looks very believable, and the beauty shots also confirm the paint scheme’s effectiveness over the typical Finnish forested landscape.
Shot at the U.S/Mexico border looking towards Juarez Mexico from the El Paso,Texas side during sunset.
On the US-Canada border at the northwest corner of Vermont on Lake Champlain. The cottage straddles the border.
After the attack on the Government building, the killed embedded agent was found to be a member of a neighboring country’s special intelligence division, and although these two nations used share a strong alliance, they were now at odds, as the neighboring country was proven to be supporting the current uprising within the nation, presumably to help facilitate a puppet government to take power in order to strengthen their grip on the east. Because of this political tension, the two nations were preparing for war. shutting their borders and mobilizing artillery units- whose sights were aimed at the one country that they considered an ally. Things were different now, and getting worse.
After the attack on the Government building, the killed embedded agent was found to be a member of a neighboring country’s special intelligence division, and although these two nations used share a strong alliance, they were now at odds, as the neighboring country was proven to be supporting the current uprising within the nation, presumably to help facilitate a puppet government to take power in order to strengthen their grip on the east. Because of this political tension, the two nations were preparing for war. shutting their borders and mobilizing artillery units- whose sights were aimed at the one country that they considered an ally. Things were different now, and getting worse.
listing Borders rugby fixtures for 1924-25 and 1925-26
Published by the Edinburgh Evening News, these booklets list the rugby internationals for the years concerned as well as the fixtures of all the main Borders teams. The first picture is the cover of the book for 1925-26, which shows the teams listed inside.
The second picture is the centre pages from the 1924-25 book, showing photographs of some of the players imposed on drawn caricature bodies, being encouraged in the game by the crowd shouting advice such as, 'Never mind the ba'! Get on wi' the game.'
The books also list the Border League Champions over the years - in both books, Hawick are the reigning champions. Some suggest that rugby began in the Borders, its rules later being adopted by Rugby School. Certainly the popularity and spirit of the Borders game seems to be descended from their traditional 'Ba' Games', which involved the spectators almost as much as the players.
Mist struggling to get out - the rock has steep undercut sides - Elk actually found an 'easier' place round the back
ITV Border's Sandy McCracken arrived at the cottage with cameraman Paul yesterday to film a short piece for the ITV programme "Border Life". The sun shone brightly and the Cruck Cottage looked fantastic following the recent repairs carried out to the thatched roof and having been freshly lime washed by our army of community volunteers.
Once again local residents came along to help us make this another "special" occasion, becoming the audience for the day. Interviews were given by Michael, Willie and Bill Lawson providing an insight into the Cruck Cottages past, present and future - they were excellent.
Our thanks to all those who once again gave their time to help us - it is, as always, greatly appreciated!
ITV Border's Sandy McCracken arrived at the cottage with cameraman Paul yesterday to film a short piece for the ITV programme "Border Life". The sun shone brightly and the Cruck Cottage looked fantastic following the recent repairs carried out to the thatched roof and having been freshly lime washed by our army of community volunteers.
Once again local residents came along to help us make this another "special" occasion, becoming the audience for the day. Interviews were given by Michael, Willie and Bill Lawson providing an insight into the Cruck Cottages past, present and future - they were excellent.
Our thanks to all those who once again gave their time to help us - it is, as always, greatly appreciated!
Rory likes to get Pixie to chase him. He's much faster than her, so he has to stop and let her catch up.
I met my dogs through the Blue Ridge Border Collie Rescue www.brbcr.org/