Inside The Cockpit - de Havilland Vampire

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

*Consider supporting the channel over Patreon* www.patreon.com/join/Bismarck *or Paypal* www.paypal.me/BismarckYT In regards to my pronunciation of the Nene engine: After asking multiple native speakers in the past, all of whom gave me a different pronunciation of the river [make your minds up...], I recently learned the correct one. However, this was filmed last summer. Fear not, me British friends. In future videos, I shall pronounce Nene as Nean/Neen/Nenn as its supposed to be...

[@StephenFarthing]

The truth is that there are two different pronunciations of Nene depending on where in England you lived as a child and learned to speak with the local accent. The Nene is a river, the engine was named after it. It’s pronounced locally as “Nen” ignoring the last e. Anywhere else it’s pronounced “Nene” which rhymes with “seen”, “bean” and “clean”. Anyway, keep up the excellent work, you have the best aviation history channel anywhere!

[@reggiebuffat]

nene rhymes with mean

[@rhyono020_5]

Wait why is he not yelling a bo?

[@LiamE69]

@@StephenFarthing What he said. Nen or neen, never naynay.

[@bruceparr1678]

One advantage of English is that pronunciation is not very important. I never even noticed the nene thing amongst all the other novel pronunciations. BTW, love your accent.

[@Bird_Dog00]

"It's a bit cramped..." Understatement level: british.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

When in Rome...

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Until quite recently everything was designed about a 5'8" adult size. Bismark doesn't fit that model.

[@robertcoleman7071]

@@MilitaryAviationHistory for a bit of perspective, how tall are you Bismarck?

[@chriswalton720]

One wonders if the designers used the famously cramped Spitfire as a template, as it’s a safe bet that most RAF pilots were coming from that aircraft (or from the Seafire for FAA pilots).

[@Bird_Dog00]

@Chris Walton Well, engineering is the art of compromise. If you keep the cockpit small, you can keep the rest of the aircraft small and light. Sacrifice one thing to gain something else. Though in general, I would question if sacrificing crew ergonomics will ever pay off. Now, I don't know how cramped the cockpit would have ben for a more.. average sized person shall we say. But if your knee obscures some of the readouts, I don't think 10 centimeter less would realy change that...

[@GaldirEonai]

I love how little modification would be needed to turn this into something that fits into Star Wars :D.

[@Bird_Dog00]

Well, SW has a history of using old weapon designs for props...

[@danieltaylor5231]

True but Porkins would never fit in this.

[@patrickbrennan1317]

George Lucas could have been looking at one of the Vampire fighters when he was designing the spacecraft in the movies.

[@jss78_abc123]

A couple lasers and a second seat for R2D2 would basically do it.

[@Bochi42]

There was a novel about Han Solo that had him flying basically a swing winged version of a Vampire as a planetary defense fighter iirc. I think maybe it was by Zahn but it's been decades since I read it. It was a favorite of mine at the time.

[@watchfordpilot]

As a native Brit I have to confess that I knew very little about this type of aircraft even though I've sat in one. However, your usual excellent video has filled a huge gap, thanks Mr Bismarck

[@YevhenMerzlikin-qq9xs]

And you have very interesting planes.

[@Roll1nThund3r]

When the vampires were retired here in Mexico they had faces painted in them, the mechanics painted a tear in one of them

[@iflycentral]

Very tight little cockpit it looks like. I would imagine that there's a good possibility of injury during an ejection in one of those.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

As far as I know, the cockpit was modified enough to prevent it and the seat would grasp you tightly anyway. I want to have another look at the Mistral, the French might have made some other modifications to their ejection system.

[@iatsd]

well, when the other option is sticking around and dying then it's not really a question, is it?

[@iflycentral]

@@iatsd sure enough, but I was thinking about the engineering side of things. Somone during the design process decided the cockpit should be this size.

[@sheeplord4976]

@@MilitaryAviationHistory hopefully the seat did the trick. I know the skyraider's ejection system was kind of iffy without the seat. People not being pulled all the way out because of being caught on parts of the plane and what not.

[@francoiswildi8087]

A former buddy from the sailplane club had to eject from a vampire after 10 turns (and 3000m) in a spin. He actually broke his two ankles. But as far as I remember this happened when his feet hit the horizontal stabilizer

[@koffieslikkersenior]

The vampire and venom are some of the most beautiful aircraft out there, imo

[@Panzerfan93]

The left over Haspano-Suiza 20mm guns, from the first batch of Vampires getting retired were used to give our M113s more firepower. They were mounted on the same turret the swedish army used in their PBV 302. And a little fact about the ejection seat: they were a retrofit. During conversion, the Vampires with ejection seats were first given to married pilots

[@erikgranqvist3680]

Here in Sweden, they bought 380 Vampire, and called them J28 (j=jakt - it means hunt, or in English terms - fighter). We also had 57 Vampire T mk 55, designated J28C. And the airforce bought 60 Venom, called J33. Apart from some Hawker Hunter, that is all the imported jet fighters we had thru the years rolled out in active service.

[@peterstickney7608]

Great job as usual, Bismark! I've got a couple of hours in the Vampire (A T.35 2-seater), and it was one of my favorite airplanes to fly and work on. Now, I'm a big guy (About 6'4") and it's a tight fit, but if you want to fly bad enough, you find a way. In the air, it's a fine handling little beast, underpowered at low speeds like all early jets, and, being a Brit/European ship, very short on fuel to American eyes. (We used to joke that every takeoff allowed 2 Energency Declarations - Low Fuel, and a Fire on Board (In the engine, of course - we also used to say the same thing about the MiGs that were around). Limiting Mach is a bit low, and you can get into trouble that way, but it's nt usually a factor. The best way to describe handing is Heavy, but Responsive - this isn't a bad thing, as it allows you to through the airplane around without too much fear of breaking it, and it made it a pretty fair gun platform. It really earned the nickname "Kiddy Car" - it's still a high performance aircraft, and has to be treated with respect, but it doesn't try to bite you. Oh, yeah, it will turn like nobody's business - I never got that tight, but running the numbers puts it down with the Spitfire. (Short range, simple, maneuverable - it basically _is_ a jet Spitfire.) Keeping one flying is, fir a jet, not a huge effort, All the controls are manual, the engine and systems are fairly easy to get to - although that low ground clearance makes getting under a real hassle. I'd rate it at the difficulty/maintenance effort and skillset level as about that of a turboprop twin, like a King Air or Mu-2. They were an axcellent platform for introducing jets into service, with a fairly easy transition, and it's not hard to see why they were so popular with postwar or post-colonial Air Forces that needed to re-equip. (Oh, and for getting out without the ejection seats - full nose-down trim, jettison the canopy, put your left hand on the seatbelt release, roll inverted, and simultaneously let go of the stick, and release the seatbelt/shoulder harness. The jet will pitch up, and the Gs from that and gravity will, usually, fling you out - as long as you're well above the ground.

[@Dasspapirfly]

Really love the "Inside The Cockpit" series mate, it's gives me a completely different perspective on these planes that I love but mostly know of from how they look on the outside. Any chance for a Panavia Tornado any time soon?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Oh yes, soonTM!

[@Raptorrat]

"OMG, The jet's on fire!" :) Informative, as always.

[@manichamartia8775]

The vampire wasn't the best fighter jet at the time, but it was the best fighter jet for Britain at that time. For various reasons Etc.

[@tobywenman4769]

@@manichamartia8775 what was the best fighter in 1945 then?

[@davidmacdonald1695]

Manic Hamartia ME262 wasn’t either and I suspect the Vampire would have run rings around it in any dogfighting. The Heinkel design was famously superior to the ME. But none of the early jets were that effective. The British engines were far more reliable however.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@tobywenman4769 The Me-262 was without any doubt the best jet fighter in 1945.

[@tobywenman4769]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 with its 20 hour engine life? I would personally choose a vampire over a 262 anyday.

[@MoparNewport]

There is a Mark 3 Vampire at the Langley Air Museum in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Its in an outdoor roofed static display, very much worth the look if you are near Vancouver. Good to see the inside here!

[@adorimable9690]

I usually prefer props over jets, but the Vampire always reminds me how awesome some jets are.

[@johnjephcote7636]

My parents' first house was on the airfield boundary of de Havilland's engine plant at Leavesden, Herts from 1950. All day long their jet engines were running and shutting down (as well as the piston Gypsies). Vampire became a household name.

[@chrisedwards9543]

Hello from New Zealand and thank you for doing this video. It was of particular interest to me as I am currently volunteering with a team here in NZ who are, among other things, restoring a Vampire FB. 5, so it was interesting not only to watch an explanation of the cockpit, but also to see a completed cockpit, and see the differences between Swiss and standard models. Also, a note on bailing, I have heard that the best way to bail was "Open the canopy and invert the aircraft," but I would strongly advise taking that with a large bag of salt. Thanks again for the incredible video.

[@andrewhume3090]

My father flew Vampire jets in NZ early 1950s.

[@garytarr8216]

Enjoyed this as the DH100 Vampire is one of my favourite early UK jets.Unfortunately the presenter neglected to mention that the development of the aircraft was held up for nearly a year because tje Americans were given the only 2 Halford 2 engines (early version of the Goblin) for developmental flights of the Lockheed P80 in 1943/4.The Americans lost the first engine in a crash then were given (demanded) the only other one .Which stopped development of the Vampire which could have entered RAF service only a few months after the Meteor in July 1944

[@oberstkostlich6794]

Aerodynamics: 6/10 Weaponary: 7/10 Poweroutput: 3/10 Cuteness: 99/10

[@jettah2149]

Considering designed in 1941 , 101/10 on all counts.

[@tsbrownie]

There was a Vampire sitting in a hangar in Houston, TX in the mid 1980s. I got to see it in various stages of disassembly.

[@mikethemoomin8604]

Frederick Forsyth's short novel "The Shepherd" got a RAF Vampire in it. Pretty cool story for Christmas too!

[@cannonfodder4376]

Yet another fantastic and informative video as always Bismarck. And regarding getting out of the airplane, just remember; under the stress of a significant emotional event, you will find a way out quickly if you are not in a Swiss Vampire. 2019 has been a spectacular year for you and this channel, I look forward to 2020 and wish you a Happy New Year.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks very much, happy New Year to you too!

[@michaelketley1252]

I was a Vampire air radio specialist in the RAF. I sat in the seats of the T11 many times.

[@francoiswildi8087]

What you do not speak about are the flight characteristics of this plane. Because it was so much underpowered they had to use very aggressive airfoil profiles. That made the Venom dangerous to fly. A colleague of mine had to eject after he got into a spin he could not get out of. A very common fate. The saying was "never stall a Vampire, you never know if you'll get out of the spin. And a buddy of mine died in 1987 while in one of that last crop of young pilots still trained on the Vampire. He got into a dynamic stall while on a seemingly quiet flight crossing into the Verbier ski resort area. He was too close to the ground to eject and hit the ground upside down at 45 degree incidence.

[@chrisjeneson3763]

Thanks for this video, it brought back many memories. In 1967 I was a schoolboy attending Ferndown Secondary Modern school in Ferndown, Dorset. The school had it's own Air Training Squadron, number 2358 ATC and I and a few friends joined it. We were mad about flying. Outside of the squadron hut on the school grounds was parked a DH Vampire, donated to the squadron, I forget by who. The canopy of this two seat version was sealed but as the engine had been removed a couple of us found that we could crawl up the jet pipe and enter the cockpit that way, the cockpit was pretty much complete and we were able to sit in the seats and imagine flying through the clouds whilst clenching our pipes between our teeth in a military manor! As far as I know the plane is still there but the school is now the middle school as a new senior school was built after we left in 1969 aged 16. I cannot check because I now live in Spain but if anyone knows perhaps they could leave a comment? Neither of us joined the Air force, I am colour blind and my friend decided to become a priest, but I never lost my love of flying.

[@gangleweed]

One of my fiends had flat feet.....so he was out for the army but got in for a while in the S. A. navy.....LOL.

[@FixedWing82]

The FAA instructor who did my private pilot flight exam crashed one of these, a Mk3 Vampire, at our airport in Rochester NY back in 2009. Happened just before my test. At the time, that particular aircraft was the oldest flight-worthy jet fighter in the world, if I recall. I remember looking over the plane while it was on display at the airshow, running my hand along the wing, just a couple hours before it turned into a twisted wreckage on the infield. Thankfully my instructor survived (how, I have no idea). I asked him about it during my exam, but he did not want to talk about it!

[@steelscooter]

The Vampire is an achingly beautiful aircraft. I have been lucky enough to see the Vampire in the air several times over the years and it makes an unholy racket when flying that is completely at odds with its graceful lines. Nice video. 😁👍

[@Vapir87]

Been a fan of yours since the early days of War Thunder. Really nice to see what you're doing now with the channel! Thanks for the wonderful information and look forward to more professional videos!

[@djbiscuit1818]

Rewatching this after your recent community post, and I have to say your English and camera presence have improved noticeably! In more recent episodes, you clearly have a much finer mastery of the language and are more comfortable in front of the camera. Well done 👍

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks, James! Glad it is noticeably better :)

[@daverage4729]

The Irish Air Force used to use these little beauties - their first and only jet fighter. Sadly, they were phased out some years ago. Stunning looking aircraft.

[@EricIrl]

Irish Air CORPS (we don't have an air force as such). The versions used by the IAC were T55 (the export version of the T11 two seat trainer) although, as advanced trainers, they were fitted with guns - and ejector seats.

[@captain007x]

The Irish Air Corps also used French Fouga Magisters after the Vampire.

[@LoneWolf051]

love seeing these racing at the Reno Air Races

[@iamrichrocker]

the History Guy and You have my respect and admiration for showing history..and that all generations continue to learn...and appreciate all aspects..the good and bad..

[@stephenland9361]

For many years my Christmas Eve tradition has been to listen to Alan Maitland (Fireside Al) read Frederick Forsythe's novella, "The Shepherd". A young RAF pilot flying on Christmas Eve from West Germany back to England to spend Christmas with his family has a serious electrical failure and loses all the electrically powered instruments as well as his radio. He is in a De Havilland Vampire. I've always wondered just what that was and now I know. It's a wonderful story. By the way, Forsythe is an ex RAF pilot and flew the Vampire.

[@captain007x]

The sound of a Vampire whistling overhead inspired me to get a pilots licence.

[@dazaspc]

A comment about the cramped cockpit. When designed there was no ejection seat taking up 8" of forward space. I believe the early versions were a bit more spacious. I have sat in one and at the time I was 6' tall and it wasn't cramped. The Vampire was by a very long way the best of the first generation Jet Fighters.

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

I have flown in a two seater Vampire, and sat in a single seater on the tarmac. Those cockpits are TINY.

[@jonhiggins504]

Two interesting facts on the DH100 Vampire. It was originally named the 'Spider Crab', and fuselages taken from the production line where used in the construction of the DH108 Britons first supersonic aircraft.

[@Axonteer]

Yes finally a video about our Vampy. Go swiss air force ! 💪🏼

[@Tigershark_3082]

New subscriber here. Your videos are insanely informative, and they've taught me so much about aircraft. The FGR.2 video actually is what got me watching, after Gaijin added it to War Thunder. Anyway, thank you for doing these videos, and you're awesome

[@chriswalton720]

I always appreciate how Swiss military aircraft have all labels in at least two and sometimes three languages.

[@marc-olivierdiserens8958]

Thanks for the video, I often saw Vampires flying as a kid when skiing in the swiss Alps, I always loved this plane!

[@johnelrick8945]

There's a photograph, in a family album somewhere, of me, at the age of 3, sitting in one of these at (then) Condor air base, near Arbroath. The last time in my life I would have stood any chance of fitting in one...

[@adamdubin1276]

Definitely an interesting looking aircraft, I always liked De Havilland's tendency to design and produce aircraft with intakes integrated into the wing, always thought that it made them look sleek and futuristic.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

DeHavilands tendency to build jets that crashed is why the company folded back in 1958.

[@gangleweed]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 Probably bigger and better was the password for the designers who didn't know shit from cheese.

[@byronbailey9229]

The instrument panel was a dog’s breakfast. Switches everywhere. It was a relief to convert onto the Avon Sabre.

[@DrivermanO]

On holiday in Switzerland in the late 60s I can remember seeing these buzzing around the mountains. Fantastic.

[@MonkPetite]

Nice report , a note to the air intakes. For the engine it did not matter where the air was taken from. Meaning that that the air was filling the space around the engine and tailpipe to leak out the back end. A Nice cooling effect for all parts but not really a ram-air effect to help the engine. Obviously the goblin and similar engines did not accept any ram air due to its construction. Only air temperatures where an issue. The engine had no computer to aid the pilot .. so he had to have Eyes and ears to the dials and pointers every minut. Opening the throttle at one go was not a wise thing. It would blow out and or blow to bits. On a go around you had to milk it to gain more trust to speed up.

[@jettah2149]

"blow to bits" ? really ?

[@MonkPetite]

Jettah Yes .. in our airforce this was an issue, on a go around several blew up until pilots became aware of the possibility.

[@shawnadams1965]

Interesting plane, it looks very small (like all the early jets did) to the jet fighters that came later. BTW Bismark, my copy of H. Dv. 470/7 arrived right before the new year. Thanks again to you and Bernhard for such an interesting book. I wish you a healthy and successful 2020.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Cheers Shawn, same to you!

[@sequoiahughes8536]

It is EXTREMELY small--I saw one at an airshow 3 or 4 years ago. it was cool watching it zip around

[@jerry2357]

The Rolls Royce Nene engine was named after the River Nene (many Rolls Royce turbine engines were named after rivers). The river is pronounced “Nenn” or “Neen”, depending on exactly where along the river you are (see the Wikipedia page about the river for more information about the pronunciation).

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

After asking multiple native speakers, all of whom gave me a different pronunciation of the river, I recently learned the correct one. However, this was filmed last summer.

[@johnusher1921]

@@MilitaryAviationHistory Sadly, English is very irregular, and many Brits simply don't know the correct pronunciations, especially if not local to them. Don't go to Norfolk where many place name pronunciations bear no relationship to the spelling, let alone allowing for accent and dialect - e.g. Happisburgh is pronounced 'Haisbrah' and Wymnondam is 'Windam'! Then we have names such as Cholmondeley (Chummley) and Beauchamp (Beacham)... Ah well.

[@garrington120]

The Vampire never used a Nene engine formally only as a trial . Originally used a Halford H2 which became the DH Goblin

[@nevsmate8663]

I love all these early jets, thanks for producing these videos.

[@Brigantius]

When I was young there was a vampire (and a meteor) squadron stationed nearby, so I used to see them overhead regularly and at annual air shows until they were replaced (mostly by Hawker Hunters). I never realised how small the Vampire cockpit was. Thanks for the very informative video.

[@vygotsky17]

If you're interested in the details, the Swiss modifications include the addition of the following components: Large blade, Small blade, Nail file/cleaner, metal file, metal saw , Wood saw, Fish scaler, hook disgorger, ruler, Scissors, Electrician's blade/wire scraper Pruning blade, Pharmaceutical spatula, Pliers, wire cutter, Phillips screwdriver, Hoof cleaner, slotted screwdriver, bottle opener, 6 mm slotted screwdriver, wire stripper, can opener, 5 mm slotted screwdriver / wire stripper, Chisel, Corkscrew, Phillips driver, Mini screwdriver,Tweezers, Toothpick.

[@gusti187]

„with a bit of schmackes“😂 In der Tat😅

[@rickhobson3211]

Great video! Wish people would include the P-80 in the list of jet fighters on active duty during the war. It was flying sorties in Italy before the surrender.

[@johncashwell1024]

Another all time fav!

[@AsbestosMuffins]

Slight question: Does the addition of an ejector seat reduce the room in the cockpit? I'd assume there's got to be several inches of precious space that had to be removed to fit any ejection system into the original cockpit

[@nightjarflying]

Yes, it reduces headroom & there's no room for a dingy, which doesn't matter much to the Swiss of course. However leg length is a problem on all Vampires - best to be short or lose your legs at the knees

[@wilhelmsallsten7706]

That is like arguing that a parachute takes away space in the cockpit.

[@nightjarflying]

@@wilhelmsallsten7706 An ejector seat requires extra space front to back & more canopy headroom.

[@alaingadbois2276]

The central part of the back wall of the cockpit was cut away to make room for the ejector seat.

[@TheMrgoodtool]

A close friend and instructor, helped in the restoration of a vampire at "Van Nuys" airport, in California, in the seventies. I was there and brought my video camera. there's no sound, but I still have a record, in the super-8 film format, of the maiden flight after restoration. two P-51's also took off at the same time, to chase the vampire. We were listening on the radio, as the vampire opened up the throttle, in a speed run, well away from the airport. The vampire very quickly pulled away from the P-51's......We knew it was faster, what amazed us was how quickly it happend.

[@dougiebrown9318]

I remember as a kid in the 50’s my Dad was stationed at RAF Wittering U.K. flying Valiant’s in 138 Squadron.. At the very end of the runways there was a dump with old vehicles to one side & the other side there were parts of aircraft’s & whole aircraft.. There was a near complete Lincoln Bomber, the front of a Gloster Meteor & a Vampire too.. I & my mates used to play in these for hours on end.. Obviously back then security wasn’t as it is today We played weather permitting most weekends.. Our hearts were broken when the Airforce emergency service’s decided to use all the broken aircraft for fire practice.. What a waste 😢

[@ainsleystones4600]

Your presentation of this fine aircraft is very impressive. Well done chap! 👍🙂

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this there is a DH Vampire near me in a museum they were operated by our RNZAF...there is also DH Sea Venom warbird here as well in flying condition.. thanks from NZ🇳🇿👍✈️

[@Decrepit_biker]

Love the vampire! I used to work on a military base and the gate guardian was a vampire 😊

[@shaddowsword]

Great video! I've seen one fly a couple times here in the United States, very nice jet to look at.

[@frankemcgillivray6695]

I grew up north of Toronto, quite near the Downsview Military Airport. In the late 40's and 50's Vampires flew over our house daily, it was the first jet I ever saw in the air.

[@wideyxyz2271]

Great video Bis of one of my favourite cold war jets...Alles Gute für das neue Jahr an Sie und Ihre Familie und Freunde.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thank you, you too!

[@martentrudeau6948]

Interesting jet airplane, it was an evolutionary design development toward later jet designs, excellent history.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Not really, more like a dead-end branch in the evolutionary history of the jet fighter. Wood construction and twin tail booms exemplify DeHaviland's utter failure to transition into the jet age... the "Vamp-enom" would be the company's first and last jet fighter before its collapse in 1958.

[@Gfdsa40]

Sander Van der Kammen Sander is a Nazi and a Wehraboo

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@Gfdsa40 The only Nazi here is *You* The Nazi KZbin troll.

[@RaduB.]

Only goodies in that museum! And the Vampire looks to be really cramped.... Thanks again.

[@ulisesguzman8574]

We have one in the museum of the mexican army and air force here in Guadalajara, it is an incredibly gorgeous aircraft

[@MultiZirkon]

Shouldn't one mention "The Sheperd" by Frederick Forsyth every time one mention the Vampire??

[@peterstickney7608]

Part of my Christmas Tradition.

[@Fortisnocte149]

Peter Stickney mine too👍

[@MultiZirkon]

Perhaps Bismarck lacks the story in the bookshelf? How to get it there??

[@BleedingUranium]

Listening to the CBC Radio version of that is something I grew up with most years, I love that story.

[@KitKabinet]

Hopefully when he covers the Mosquito.

[@olivierdurandberenguer5455]

Excellent as usual.

[@MililaniJag]

Layout reminds me of Geoffrey de Havillands WWI Airco DH.2 design updated for a jet engine. A Captain at my airline had a Vampire. Cheers!

[@chrispza]

Would it be wrong to refer to such a deadly and capable aircraft as cute? Thank you, Herr Bismark, for this unique, fascinating, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented exposition. I think it would be extremely interesting to listen to pilots-many should still be among us-relate their experiences with this little gem.

[@gangleweed]

I would think that anything sporting four 20mm cannon was deadly and far from cute.

[@SCVIndy]

Excellent review

[@getsmarter5412]

Good thing Capt. Eric Brown who was the first to land the Vampire on a carrier, was only 5’5”. He also claimed being shorter kept him from getting the top of his head blown off!

[@jeremymutz4745]

Excellent video!

[@GG-ir1hw]

Rolls Royce Nene isn’t pronounced as Nay nay it’s pronounced as Neen. (Like the River) because most Rolls Royce jet engines are named after British rivers. Sorry had to correct that.

[@dipling.pitzler7650]

Ah, this makes sense now ! I always wondered why a jet engines name sounded like the name a toddler would give to a favorite fluffy toy.

[@Sylvain211100]

Very good video! I must say there is one swiss plane that I would be particularly intersted in seeing in you format. It is the FFA P-16; the last combat jet designed in Switzerland which sadly never saw service but was the base for the learjet. There is one exposed at the swiss air force museum in Dübendorf. Other than that I really look forward to future episodes!

[@badassaviator5040]

P-16 und N-20 Aiguillon 👍

[@MarktheRude]

I saw a Havilland Vampire in a airshow last summer, it was super cool sounding and looking.

[@fernandorosales03]

Greetings from a Venezuelan enthusiast. This was the first fighter jet in service in Venezuela. An important number of this aircraft were bought in the administration of the General Marcos Perez Jimenez, amid increasing border tensions with Colombia under the government of Rojas Pinilla.

[@joemontgomery6658]

Its smaller than I imagined it to be but looks epic

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

I had a friend with me who helped to film, he is a bit smaller than me and had less trouble. Was still a bit constricting though.

[@Completeaerogeek]

Great video about one of my favourite aircraft.. Just a small note, I am pretty sure the Australian FB31 Vampires had ejection seats. We can't seem to leave aircraft alone and always try to make them 'special'. (it mostly works - see the Avon Sabre!) Our single seaters all had the 5,000lb Nene engine for sportier performance. Keep up the good work!

[@JB-fh3ls]

Correct. First ejection was 15/08/57 from a RAAF Vampire A79-601

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

There's something very elegant about Geoffrey Dehaviland's designs, he's the 'Colin Chapman' of the aircraft industry

[@adventtrooper]

Thank you for this, it's always useful to see them in context. Such a small airframe! There was a size (height & leg length) limit for the Vampire pilots (lower than the Meteor) which might explain why the control positions were difficult for you.

[@badassaviator5040]

10:20 the little blue-yellow plane in the background, IFR simulator

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

Vampire was a very good design which was never realized.

[@angrywehraboosnoises8016]

Proud to be swiss and having all those nice museums

[@leftnoname]

De Haviland got this one right. This aircraft is still flying air shows. It was simple, agile, fast and had enough firepower for its time. And the swiss got them and had jet fighters right after WWII. Not all major powers had serviceable jets in their airforce at that time. And, just as a sidenote, damn it is just an eye candy to look at :-)

[@douglasb5046]

Super job.

[@balsumfractus]

Cool video. Visually, I much prefer the single seaters over the bulbous nose 2 seaters.. My father in law flew vampires in the early 1950’s, and even survived a mid air collision when his squadron mate in front of him suddenly decelerated. He landed his damaged aircraft safely, unfortunately, the other fellow was not so lucky......

[@petertothRC-FPV]

a work of art💕Vampire & Venom👍

[@garysergeant9086]

I remember seeing them fly mid sixties in New Zealand. Beautiful looking plane

[@iancarnell5020]

Did my basic aviation engineering training on this. Goblin 32. The Jet Provost and Hawker Hunter succeeded. Lasted a long time in the Swiss air force.

[@MauriatOttolink]

Which / who was the most beautiful? The Mosquito, The Vampire, The Venom, Joan Fontaine or Olivia de Havilland? They were all out of the same stable! As a post war teenager, I was totally in love with them ALL!

[@jaakkooksa5374]

There are two of these on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum near Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport. Additionally, there is a detached Goblin engine on display there. The Goblin engine is a centrifugal design, unlike modern engines which are all axial. The centrifugal design makes the diameter of the engine unusually great, and when you look at the shape of the fuselage of this aircraft, the shape suggests that it was designed around the engine.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

That spring loaded foot rest is a work of genius

[@athame57]

Rhodesian Air Force Vampires also had ejection. Older models donated by South Africa didn't and these were kept as a spare parts pool.

[@wfp9378]

There is a very good example of an RNZAF one in MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology) in Auckland New Zealand.

[@MSM5500]

One Vampire like that is kept in our local museum of aviation. There is De Havilland Street nearby.

[@aaronseet2738]

always entertaining to watch Bismarck struggling into tight aircraft spaces.

[@jeromewagschal9485]

Great video, very well-made and informative... I'm always surprised with the size of this aircraft, it's so small and yet it managed to reach very high speeds for its time... British

[@MikeBanks2003]

Vampires were still in use in New Zealand as ground support up to the 1960's.

[@brucefelger4015]

You don't get into a Vampire, you put it on.

[@myparceltape1169]

I walked past one holding my father's hand and thought it was a toy. He told me it was real. Full size. I kept looking.

[@mbak7801]

Back in the early 1970s we had a vampire at our school in England. It was sans the engine but did have an ejector seat. I have no idea if it was armed (very unlikely) though all the warnings and pins seemed to be in place. As with most of my past the school has been demolished so have no idea what happened to the jet. Hopefully it went to a good home.

[@LessAiredvanU]

Amusingly, there were height restriction for pilots in the RAF right up until (I believe) the 1970's - when some 1950's types were retired. It became obvious that putting a really good potential fighter into a Shackleton because he was over 5'9" was a waste of resources... It would have been the thinking that a small pilot for an early jet aircraft was a "good thing" for the RAF, because it took less beer per lb to get him drunk. Or something.

[@wilhelmsallsten7706]

Many countries had height restrictions for fighter pilots because a short guy can take higher G forces. If you want to try a really cramped cockpit try to squeeze into a Bf 109.