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By: - 17th August 2006 at 12:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I wish you luck on this.
The Princess was a beautiful aircraft.
:)
By: - 17th August 2006 at 12:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
know of any good books on the subject?
There's always the relevant Putnam's - Saunders and Saro Aircraft since 1917 - if you can find it. Has some interesting pics and info in it. Best of luck with the project; the Princess was an impressive if ill-conceived aircraft which doesn't appear in artwork form very often. Please update via the Forum if it goes ahead
By: - 17th August 2006 at 14:47 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Do you know "From Sea To Air", by AE Tagg & RL Wheeler ?
By: - 17th August 2006 at 15:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Some photos to prove how big she was! I was lucky enough to be on the prototype a few days before she was broken up at Southampton.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 15:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Jeremy Clarkson wrote a great piece about them in his book 'I Know You Got Soul'.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 15:20 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
This will give you the three dimensional view, the prototype made 46 flights and logged about 100 hours flying time.
http://www.airbornegrafix.com/HistoricAircraft/Seaplanes/Princess.htm
By: - 17th August 2006 at 15:29 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I can remember seeing them mothballed at RAF Calshot when I was a boy.
A link here to a video clip of the Princess flying - a nice sequence over the Needles:
By: - 17th August 2006 at 16:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I remember going on a trip on a steamer from Portsmouth to Southampton Docks, circa 1957, to view the ocean liners. The skipper however took us very close in to Calshott so we could see the flying boats and most impressive they were too, were there 2 complete examples and another partly finished on the site.
I believe there was also some hairbrained scheme to put a nuclear reactor in the flying prototype which would somehow drive the props, presumably by steam turbines, and give it unlimited range, anyone have any details of that, would have been interesting had it crashed near a populated area.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 16:25 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I remember going on a trip on a steamer from Portsmouth to Southampton Docks, circa 1957, to view the ocean liners. The skipper however took us very close in to Calshott.
I believe there was also some hairbrained scheme to put a nuclear reactor in the flying prototype which would somehow drive the props, presumably by steam turbines, and give it unlimited range, anyone have any details of that, would have been interesting had it crashed near a populated area.
The name is Calshot! :D I think the nuclear idea was American, or if not, there was a proposal by an American to buy the Princesses.
Yes, further research shows that NASA or the U.S. Navy was interested in producing a nuclear powered Princess, the proposal dated 1958 and cancelled 1959.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 18:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks gentlemen,
some interesting links there and some photo's I haven't seen before. I've got several ideas for the composition and will post some of the drawings when I have got a little more research together to fill in the gaps. Incidentally does anyone know if any bits of of them still survive anywhere, or did the scrap man torch everything?.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 20:20 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Didn't some body make a sailing boat out of one of the floats.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 20:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks gentlemen,
Incidentally does anyone know if any bits of of them still survive anywhere, or did the scrap man torch everything?.
I believe we (Southampton Hall of Aviation now Solent Sky) got the control column from the prototype. Not certain as I am out of touch with them now.
By: - 17th August 2006 at 20:57 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Didn't some body make a sailing boat out of one of the floats.
Apparently somebody used six of the windows as portholes for their yacht.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 06:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi,
if you want info about the Princess - then the bloke to find is Dick Stratton - he was the flight engineer on most of the flights. He does give lectures to aviation societies about his time working for Saunders Roe and is very good. His next talk to a local group (South Hants Historical Aviation Society www.shhas.co.uk) is on the 6th September (Wedmesday) in Romsey, Hants and will be worth going to.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 12:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Sure I remember many years ago Shuttleworth had a section of fuselage skin that contained the name "Princess" ??
Roger Smith.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 13:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The main instrument panel of G-ALUN survives in safe hands(!)
It was at Cockpitfest a few years ago.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 13:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
When did the last vestige of Princess Flying Boat succumb to the scrap-man's pot?
I have a vague recall of seeing what I think was the/a fuselage when making a crossing to the I.O.W. in the summer of 1963. It would have been at the crossing point used by rail passengers from London.
Ringing any bells with anybody?
Mark
By: - 18th August 2006 at 14:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Jeremy Clarkson wrote a great piece about them in his book 'I Know You Got Soul'.
Totally off thread:
Would this be the same book where Clarkson explains how the Spitfire Mark IX was successful because they enlarged the engine to 37 litres? I bought the book, it's rubbish and I bitterly regret the £4.99. It would have been better given to Greenpeace to just annoy the man.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 15:48 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I remember going on a trip on a steamer from Portsmouth to Southampton Docks, circa 1957, to view the ocean liners. The skipper however took us very close in to Calshott so we could see the flying boats and most impressive they were too, were there 2 complete examples and another partly finished on the site.
I believe there was also some hairbrained scheme to put a nuclear reactor in the flying prototype which would somehow drive the props, presumably by steam turbines, and give it unlimited range, anyone have any details of that, would have been interesting had it crashed near a populated area.
It was the U.S Navy & there was a model of the proposed aircraft made by Saunders Roe which is now in a friend of my fathers collection of manufacturers models.
By: - 18th August 2006 at 16:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
When did the last vestige of Princess Flying Boat succumb to the scrap-man's pot?I have a vague recall of seeing what I think was the/a fuselage when making a crossing to the I.O.W. in the summer of 1963. It would have been at the crossing point used by rail passengers from London.
Ringing any bells with anybody?
Mark
You would only have seen anything if taking the ferry from Southampton to the IOW, the main route from London Waterloo would have arrived at Portsmouth Harbour station and connected from the jetty there to Ryde, you would have seen nowt of Calshot, however, if my memory serves me well, you may have been lucky enough to have sailed on one of the paddle steamers still operating at the time, unless you fancied a good walk to Clarence Pier and travelled on one of Mr Cockerills finest inventions.
Also, sigh, on reaching the other end, you would have had to travel on either the unique petrol driven tram along Ryde Pier or caught the last surviving O2 driven steam train via all stations to Ventnor.
Anyone have a time machine going cheap, the nostalgia has got to me.
Posts: 5
By: painter - 17th August 2006 at 11:45
Hello people,
I'm new to forum posting but I need a little help with some research and I thought it's worth a try to post a question here as you are all aviation minded.
I'm an Aviation artist/illustrator and I'm starting a project on the Princess flying boat as a small tribute to my Grandfather who I know worked on this giant back in the 1950's. He passed away before I was old enough to ask him about it and -any photo's or documentation have been lost over time.
Does anyone have any good photos of the Saunders-Roe Princess Flying Boat out there?, or know of any good books on the subject?.
I'm particularly interested in colour photo's or line drawings, anything that can give me a feel for the size, construction or even just that period of British Flying Boat design. It all helps to bring a painting alive.
I've recently been down to the Isle of Wight to get a feel for the place but I need some more technical information on the Boat itself.
Any help would be gratefully received.
If people are interested I'll post a progress report on the painting itself as things develop.(I have an example of my work on the cover of this months Flypast Magazine for an idea of how my paintings look).
Thanks :)
www.paulcrossart.com