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Geoffrey Tyson repeated the feat of picking up a handkerchief with a spike on the wingtip of his Tiger Moth more than 800 times while flying with National Aviation Day Displays, 1934-36. in Great Britain Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 1 of 47 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- A pair (if you include the photo aircraft) of Italian Savoia Marchetti SIAI SM-79s scares the ravioli out of a group of Italian airmen in North Africa in 1942 Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 2 of 47 A USAAF P-47 Thunderbolt at extreme low level. Note that the sweep of the camera's pan has bent the buildings in the background Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 3 of 47 This P-40 pilot is risking his life only a little less than the man taking the photo of this ridiculously low level pass across the runway. He’s not much higher than he would be if he was standing on his landing gear! If you trace the invisible line of his prop arc, this skilled numbskull’s tips are only about 4 feet off the ground. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 4 of 47 An American P-38 Lightning pilot makes sure of his shot as he lines up a ground target in a Panamanian range during the Second World War Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 5 of 47 A Vickers Wellington I medium bomber is about to scare the bejeesus out of this RAF photographer at RAF Bassingbourn, in 1940 Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 6 of 47 A Halifax of 77 Squadron beats up a group of appreciative ground crew at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire in 1943. The pilot of this aircraft couldn't have much more than a few hundred hours, but clearly a lot of testosterone Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 7 of 47 An RAF Blenheim IV light bomber flies low to lay a smokescreen during a demonstration of air power in front of a gathering of Regular and Home Guard officers and NCOs in East Anglia, 29 March 1942. During the display fighter aircraft strafed ground targets, bombers carried out low-level attacks and parachute and glider forces were also deployed Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 8 of 47 'One more beat-up, me lads.' Flying Officer Cobber Kain, DFC, a New Zealander and the RAF's first ace of the Second World War makes a fatal mistake. On the 6th of June 1940, Kain was informed he would be returning to England the next day. The following morning, a group of his squadron mates gathered at the airfield at Échemines , France to bid him farewell as he took off in his Hurricane to fly to Le Mans to collect his kit. Unexpectedly, Kain began a "beat- up" of the airfield, performing a series of low level aerobatics in Hurricane I L1826. Commencing a series of "flick" rolls, on his third roll, the ace misjudged his altitude and hit the ground heavily in a level attitude. Kain died when he was pitched out of the cockpit, striking the ground 27 m in front of the exploding Hurricane. Kain is buried in Choloy Military Cemetery . Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 9 of 47 Some aircraft, such as this Spitfire, reach that fine line between crashing and flying low... about 12 inches too low in the case of this 64 Squadron Spitfire with shattered wooden blades. The aircraft, no doubt shaking badly was nursed back to the safety of an Allied base. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 10 of 47 An Allied pilot flying a Macchi 200 buzzing Taranto , Italy . It sadly proved that these kind of stunts aren't without danger as the pilot hit a member of the ground crew and more or less decapitated him. The pilot hadn't noticed a thing and after landing was confronted with a dent in his wing's leading edge, containing skull fragments. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 11 of 47 Lockheed Lodestar dragging its wing in the turn out Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 12 of 47 A P-47 of the 64th Fighter Squadron, while on a mission to Milan , struck the ground during a low level strafing run. Despite the bent props and crushed chin, the pilot nursed the Jug 150 miles home to Grosseto . Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 13 of 47 A P-47 flown by Lt. Richard Sulzbach of the 364th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force on April 1,1945. Lt. Sulzbach had a little run-in with some trees while on a strafing run over Italy . He was able to fly the plane 120 miles back to base and land safely. It's a real testament to how tough the P-47 was. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 14 of 47 Thought two feathered engines on the same side was impressive for low level flight? How about three feathered and 20 feet below? This Avro Lancaster appears to be post war with the nose turret de-actvated and a dome in the dorsal position. This is a very foolish maneouvre.The aircraft can't be flown on a single engine. It's done by a dive, a high speed pass and a zoom climb at the far end of the runway with a mad scramble to unfeather. The situation gets serious if the first unfeathering knocks the generator on the good engine off line, leaving only battery power Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 15 of 47 Testosterone fired, speed addicted, and happy-to-still-be-alive youth were the primary source of pilots of the Second World War. At 6 foot, 4 inches, I wouldn't want to be standing up on the runway for this beat-up by a Mosquito. This aircraft had the military serial number RR299 and was built as an unarmed, dual control trainer at Leavesden in 1945. It served in the Middle East until 1949, when it returned to the United Kingdom . It then served with a variety of RAF units, this service being interspersed with periods in storage. The aircraft was retired from the RAF in 1963 and was acquired by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (now British Aerospace) at Chester . The first Permit to Fly was issued on 9 September 1963. The aircraft continued to be based and maintained at Chester and typically flew around 50 hours per year. The Mosquito crashed in 1996 with the loss of the crew. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 16 of 47 Modern day action shot of a super low B-17 Flying Fortress performing for a film crew and followed by a P-51D Mustang and a P-47 Thunderbolt Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 17 of 47 On a particularly hot day, a Royal Australian Air Force English Electric A84 Canberra bomber drops to within 25 feet as thrill-seeking mechanics get ready for the visceral experience of 13,000 lbs of Rolls Royce Avon power full in the face. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 18 of 47 A low flypast during the filming of the Steve McQueen-Richard Wagner film, The War Lover. Nothing like a good buzz job to get the juices flowing, in this case one of the War Lover ex PB- 1Ws being flown by John Crewdson for a key scene in the movie. Crewdson reportedly flew the airplane solo for the sequence Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 19 of 47 Royal New Zealand Air Force Short Sunderland doing a touch and go at Wellington airport in 1959 - Surely no-one can go lower than that! A touch an go in a wheel-less flying boat is not recommended. You couldn't get a damn slice of pastrami between the hull and the runway. There exists a crystal-clear shot in one of the RNZAF flight-safety publications that showed the aircraft just after it had done the "touch and go" clearly showing the bilge water escaping. Spectators were treated to a shower of dirty bilge water as it climbed away. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 20 of 47 The legendary Don Bullock was well known for his low level flying... in particular in B-17s. Here, he beats up the field at Biggin Hill. Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 21 of 47 Also at Biggin Hill, Don Bullock coming "out" of the valley at the 1979 Biggin Hill Air fair Over 80 years of Aircraft Buzz Jobs Page 22 of 47 A particularly heart stopping photo of a Hawker Hunter of the Sultan of Oman 's Air Force beating up the base at Thumrait. The Sultan employed former RAF pilots to fly Hunters and Strikemasters to help put down the Dhofar rebels in the south. They clearly were bored from time to time! Kevin Turner writes: I used to work at Thumrait back in the 1980's and 90's and this was standard practice when returning from a sortie in those bad old days, most of the pilots were seconded from the RAF or contract pilots. I think the Jaguar was being flown by Dick Manning, an ex-Phantom jockey from the RAF and a regular low level "offender". He used to aim for anyone walking out on the pan! You could hear the Hunter coming as it had this low frequency howl before it arrived, but the Jag was totally silent until it arrived and your senses were shattered by the noise! We even had a Jag hit a car being driven by one of the Hunter pilots coming back from Salalah.

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