Author Topic: Twiddly thing  (Read 2289 times)

Stuart Cyphus

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Twiddly thing
« on: August 09, 2014, 11:41:24 AM »
 Whilst still wading through some of my late Gran's stuff for ebay & such places, one comes to this flight calculator thing which always used to be in the chest of drawers in the front little bedroom. I began to list this a little while back and then realised I had no idea how best to describe it or what it actully did!

 As can be seen, it is seven inches in diameter, is an aluminium base, with plastic dial which rotates, and metal hands which also rotate.

 How would it have been used?

 Is it military & if so, would it have been used inside a bomber or other long-range aircraft or is it civilian & ground-use?

 Roughly how old is it likely to be? WW2 or post-war?

 Cue discussions and arguments.....  ;D


Peel replica, Steve Fisk

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Re: Twiddly thing
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2014, 11:55:22 AM »
Is it a map plotter thing ?

marcus

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Re: Twiddly thing
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2014, 12:56:35 PM »
Shame you did ask this about 2 years ago while my Dad's memory was still reasonable; in the Vera Lynn War he was a trainee Observer/Navigator in the Fleet Air Arm. He probably used things like this in Fairey Swordfish, Albacore and Barracuda, and in a Consolidated PBY Catalina.

My guess is that Wind Speed and Direction would be part of the "Input Settings" to calculate your course.

Dad's longest Pilot was completely up for laughs and undisciplined. One time over the sea at night in Winter off Arbroath, Scotland, he repeatedly refused to obey Dad's new compass heading, so Dad held the speaking tube's mouth piece into the airstream. Dad: "he never disobeyed me again!"

Another time Dad's pilot ignored Dad, and the warning flare, and landed on another Swordfish which was taking off. Fair damage but no injuries. Pilot did lots of other crazy things, then "borrowed" a Stringbag to take a girl friend to a restaurant. Without an O/N he got lost and had to ditch in the Channel.

CO said that it was "Better for the War effort that you leave the service and and make patriotic films, rather than bending valuable aircraft". And so ended Lord Laurence Olivier's military career.
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Bob Purton

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Re: Twiddly thing
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2014, 01:55:55 PM »
Looks like a scaled down version of the Battenburgh [not the cake!]
which is marine though but I recon you may be right and its for aviation.