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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art Modern Era Pilot Signatures UK D  Dell, Jimmy |
[UP] - Dacre, Phil - Dalton, John - Davies, Dave - Dawson, Helen - Day, Sir John - Dell, Jimmy - Downie, D - Duff, Graham - Dulieu, Dick - Durhamm, Ed |
Jimmy Dell OBE
Jimmy Dell joined the RAF in 1942 and after the war flew F-86Es and the first radar equipped F-86D with the USAF. He was the first RAF Lightning Project Test Pilot and later became Chief Test Pilot at English Electric/BAC test flying Lightning, TSR 2 and Jaguar. One of a unique breed of aviators who have achieved great career success as a fast jet test pilot within both military and commercial environments. Probably best known for his work on the English Electric Lightning, Jimmy Dell has used his skill, courage and intimate knowledge of aerodynamics to reach the very top of a highly demanding profession. Joining the RAF in 1942, Jimmy Dell did his initial pilot training in Southern Rhodesia. By 1944 he had already become a Flying Instructor for advanced trainers. After the war Jimmy performed various training and test flying roles on aircraft such as Spitfires, Meteors, Venoms and Hunters. He also led test flight teams to the USA and France to work on aircraft such as the F-100, F-104, F-105, F-106, Mystere 4 and Mirage 3. In 1960 he joined English Electric on the Lightning development programme and was Chief Test Pilot from 1961 to 1970. Jimmy also worked on the TSR2 programme and flew 12 of the aircraft's 24 test flights, before its untimely cancellation in 1965. He worked on the French / UK Jaguar programme, and finally became Director, Flight Operations with responsibility for all Tornado test flight activities across the three participating countries. Jimmy Dell retired in 1989. Amongst his awards was the OBE for services to test flying. Sadly, Jimmy Dell died on 25th March 2008.
| Jimmy Dell OBE - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Clipped Signature - Jimmy Dell. Served in the RAF as an instructor during World War Two, and later flew the F-86 Sabre with the USAF. Chief Test Pilot for English Electric / BAC, he test flew the Lightning, TSR2 and Jaguar, retiring in 1989. He died in 2008. |
Lightning Tribute by Stephen Brown. Lightning F. Mk 1As of 56 Squadron on a pilot training sortie during 1963. During the early 1960s many Lightning squadrons gave their aircraft colourful paint schemes, none was more striking than 56 Squadron (The Firebirds), who in 1963 doubled as the official RAF display team. |
A Bolt for the Blue by Gerald Coulson. Gerald Coulson's dramatic painting Bolt for the Blue, published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Lightning, captures the very essence of this formidable fighter. Seen climbing out of RAF Wattisham, a Lightning F.3 of Treble One Squadron scrambles to intercept an unidentified intruder plotted on the RAF's early warning radar. Almost certainly it will be Russian, probably he will be escorted out of harms way, but the interceptor is armed with a pair of air-to-air missiles just in case. A superb collector print for all who remember one of the greatest British fighters ever built. |
The Sentinel by Ivan Berryman. High in its element, a lone BAE Lightning F.6 glints in the evening sunshine as it returns from a sortie over the North Sea in the late 1970s. |
Testing Time by Keith Aspinall. A TSR2 deploys its parachute while a Lightning flies by. Test pilot Roland Beamont finally made the first flight from the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, on 27th September 1964. Initial flight tests were all performed with the undercarriage down and engine power strictly controlled - with limits of 250 kn and 10,000 ft on the first (15-minute) flight. Shortly after take off on XR219's second flight, vibration from a fuel pump at the resonant frequency of the human eyeball caused the pilot to throttle back one engine to avoid momentary loss of vision. Only on the 10th test flight was the landing gear successfully retracted - problems preventing this on previous occasions, but serious vibration problems on landing persisted throughout the flight testing programme. The first supersonic test flight (Flight 14) was achieved on the transfer from A&AEE, Boscombe Down, to BAC Warton. During the flight, the aircraft achieved Mach 1 on dry power only (supercruise). Following this, Beamont lit a single reheat unit only (because of problems with the other engine's reheat fuel pump), with the result that the aircraft accelerated away from the chase Lightning flown by Wing Commander James 'Jimmy' Dell, who had to catch up using reheat on both engines. On flying the TSR-2 himself, Dell described the prototype as handling 'like a big Lightning'. Over a period of six months, a total of 24 test flights were conducted. |
QRA Scramble by Ivan Berryman. A pair of 29 Squadron Lightning F.Mk3s tuck their gear up and head skyward from the Wattisham tarmac in the summer of 1972. |
Lightning Strike by Keith Aspinall. No text for this item |
Lightning Legend by Michael Rondot. 226 OCU / 145 Sqn RAF Coltishall EE Lightning T5 XS420 226 OCU / 145 Sqn RAF Coltishall, taking off in full reheat for a max performance rotation and climb. No other jet fighter has been sorely missed since the Lightning retired from RAF service and the Counter Aviation Authority (CAA) set about keeping surviving examples grounded. However, not all fighters die, and some Lightnings did not fade away either. They lived on because there were people willing to spend time and fortunes lavishing TLC on them until 1999, against all odds and officialdom, Lightnings are back in the sky. The return of the Lightning is celebrated in Michael Rondots brilliant portrayal of a Lightning T5 in the markings of 226 OCU/145 Squadron taking off in full re-heat for a maximum rotation climbout. This outrageous, extravagant display of scorching performance is just one of the heady delights of the gloriously overpowered Lightning. It is an aircraft of which legends are made. Stories abound this special aircraft and the pilots who flew it but none were more deserving of legendary status than the test pilots who first flew the Lighting. |
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