Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:24 am
A quintissentially British ad-hoc solution, or "a storm
this is quite possibly my favourite story of the last few days..
Isn't that wonderful? Instead of panicking and turning back to base, the plucky phlegmatic Brits bung a teapot in the hole and carry on regardless, probably more concerned about their lack of brew-making facilities than werreting about "safety." A crew of another nationality (i'm not saying which!) would probably have initiated dramatic emergency measures (not the Germans though because nothing German ever breaks) And what's more delightful is the knowledge that RAF crews won't take off without their precious teapots, so they can have a nice cup of char for elevenses at 36000 feet with some ham sandwiches the co-pilot's mum made and a slice of battenburg. presumably, should cracks appear in the fuselage, these can be repaired with a rough-and-ready paste made from milk and crumbled jammie dodgers, just in time to listen to the cricket scores on the radio.
it's at times like this I'm proud to be British! It's this sort of ad-hoc "let's-get on-with-the-job" improvised bodge-up that made Britain great! And of course, another example of our innate superiority over certain other countries, who having famously rejected tea and all it's works, wouldn't have had a teapot on their aircraft and thus couldn't have come up with such a delightful and innovative solution to a dangerous situation.
and here's the very teapot..
Carlton Ware from Stoke-onTrent, I think
Edited by - Tawakalna on 12/8/2006 11:47:05 AM
UPI - "A Royal Air Force incident in which crew used a teapot to plug a hole in an aging airborne Nimrod aircraft off the English coast has become a political issue.
The crew was flying from Cornwall in southern England to its home base in Kinloss, Scotland, and the crew of the craft known as a submarine hunter dropped a sonar buoy into the sea from 8,000 feet, Sky News reported. After releasing the buoy, the latch to close the door wouldn't close, leaving a hole where cold outside air was rushing in. That's when the crew used the teapot to stop the airflow, the report said.
Now, Scottish Member of Parliament Angus Robertson is outraged <self-important windbag> and wants Defence Secretary Des "Golden" Browne to investigate the airworthiness of the Nimrod. In September, an RAF Nimrod crashed in Afghanistan, killing 14 soldiers. <blah blah shut up Angus> However, Airman Neil Campbell, who was among those on the teapot flight, said it isn't a big deal. <good for you, Neil!>
"It was a simple case of covering up a hole to stop the wind whistling in," Campbell told Sky News. "It had no safety implications and really is a storm in a teapot."
Isn't that wonderful? Instead of panicking and turning back to base, the plucky phlegmatic Brits bung a teapot in the hole and carry on regardless, probably more concerned about their lack of brew-making facilities than werreting about "safety." A crew of another nationality (i'm not saying which!) would probably have initiated dramatic emergency measures (not the Germans though because nothing German ever breaks) And what's more delightful is the knowledge that RAF crews won't take off without their precious teapots, so they can have a nice cup of char for elevenses at 36000 feet with some ham sandwiches the co-pilot's mum made and a slice of battenburg. presumably, should cracks appear in the fuselage, these can be repaired with a rough-and-ready paste made from milk and crumbled jammie dodgers, just in time to listen to the cricket scores on the radio.
it's at times like this I'm proud to be British! It's this sort of ad-hoc "let's-get on-with-the-job" improvised bodge-up that made Britain great! And of course, another example of our innate superiority over certain other countries, who having famously rejected tea and all it's works, wouldn't have had a teapot on their aircraft and thus couldn't have come up with such a delightful and innovative solution to a dangerous situation.
and here's the very teapot..
Carlton Ware from Stoke-onTrent, I think
Edited by - Tawakalna on 12/8/2006 11:47:05 AM
