The inaugral flight of the F4U Corsair, at Beachy Head.

I went there with Geordie and Brendan. There was a bloke there with a radio controlled helicopter, a Jetranger. Geordie and Brendan were watching him fly it while I was setting up the Corsair, and he kept telling them to 'stand back, stand well back'. Geordie told him that if he said 'stand well back' one more time he'd break his thumbs.

First go on the plane: Me...
I place the Corsair onto the grass, facing the incoming wind, and open the throttle on the radio unit. Nothing happeneds. I opened the throttle some more. Still nothing. I open the throttle to full and the plane remains stationary.

Second go: Geordie...
Geordie worked out that you had to actually start the engine first. So now the engine is chattering. He opens the throttle by degrees until the chattering turs into a high pitched scream, like an amplified dentist's drill. Clear blue smoke and unburnt splats of fuel are vomiting from the tiny exhaust. Full throttle. But still the plane doesn't move.

Third go: Brendan...
"The grass is too long for its bloody wheels," said Brendan, so we relocated to a different area of the clfftop field. He opens the throttle. Bingo! It started to roll forwards. He opens it to full and in seconds the plane is hacking along, bouncing about, trying to pull itself into the air. Then the engine cut out - and then the still rolling plane runs out of runway, reaches the edge of the cliff, and falls off.

I could go on about 'how amazing' it was that Brendan managed to land the powerless Corsair on the beach 700 feet below, but he went on about it so much himself there's no point adding anything.

Duncan

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