All I could do was sit there looking at the holes where the props should have been, and thinking, ‘I see it, but I don’t believe it! What’s holding me up?’” “It was very quiet because you were up in front of the engines.
F/O McKenzie recalled that the most difficult thing was to get accustomed to jet flight. Basically, they taxied the Meteor for several minutes and then took off. The pilots did not receive dual instruction. I had excellent cockpit visibility which was aided by a tricycle undercarriage and the absence of a piston engine up front. The pilots of this squadron had flown Spitfires before converting, and had been assigned to twin-engine training on Oxford aircraft, unaware their training was leading to jet flight. This unit included two members of the RCAF, F/O William H. Halliday wrote an article for Legion magazine, noting that in July 1944, the first Meteor Mk. The RCAF found the crash site and the aircraft was recovered in surprisingly intact condition and removed. The RCAF believed at first that he had been lost, and on 15 July, the WEE diary noted that a “Committee of Adjustment appointed to deal with the effects and affairs of Flight Lieutenant McKenzie.” Fortunately, he had survived and after camping in the bush for three weeks, he was rescued on 25 July and returned to jet test flying soon after. McKenzie ran out of fuel and ditched in Helenbar Lake, near Blind River, Ontario, in late June 1946. An improvised external fuel tank was rigged to extend the range, but it failed to work. EE311 came to an unfortunate end late in June 1946, when McKenzie was detailed to fly it from Edmonton to Hamilton for an air show in the presence of the minister of National Defence. In its life at WEE, the aircraft flew 48 hours. The WEE diary thereafter mentioned numerous trials, including “flame extinction tests” at various altitudes, when one engine would be shut down, then restarted. As in Ottawa, the jet attracted many visitors its first Edmonton flight was witnessed by local reporters. Cameron was reported as the pilot on 4 April 1946, and five more pilots flew it in May. There was a very gradual expansion of the circle of pilots who were checked out on it. Rich, Baudoux and McKenzie accompanied it. In December 1945, EE311 was dismantled and shipped by rail to Edmonton for trials at the Winter Experimental Establishment (WEE). Winter Experimental Establishment (WEE) flight test pilots, with Jack Robert Ritch on the left, Everett L. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. Today, the MacKenzie Hiking Trail around Mississagi Ontario Provincial Park is named for the RCAF pilot who against the odds survived for so long in the wilderness. Although the lake where the Meteor ditched was shallow and the aircraft was in good shape, it was still written off. He remained with the aircraft in the remote area for 26 days, until he heard a motor boat and hiked to another lake where a fisherman brought him to safety. He ditched the Meteor in Helenbar Lake in northern Ontario. On 29 June 1946, while in transit from the Winter Experimental Establishment at RCAF Station Namao, Alberta to RCAF Station Hamilton, Ontario the pilot, F/L Hugh MacKenzie, experienced poor weather and ran out of fuel due to a faulty belly tank. It was initially assigned to the RCAF Test & Development Establishment in Sept 1945. EE311), being flight tested in Canada, Oct 1945. Pilots could control the aircraft pretty decently but would prove to be uncomfortable in long duration flights, similar to what some bomber nose gunners, bomb sight operators would say about WW2 designs.(RCAF Photo courtesy of the Shearwater Aviation Museum) The development of special aviation clothing offered a simpler solution to the problem of counteracting ‘g’ forces and the prone position was abandoned. The aircraft was never flown solo from the front cockpit. It varied from pilot to pilot but it was generally decent at controlling G-Force affects without pressure suits, however the main issue is that it made bailing out much more difficult.įollowing some fifty-five hours of flight testing it was concluded that the prone position concept was feasible, but only if absolutely necessary for aerodynamic reasons.
It's main function was in G-Force control. FAA Supplemental Type Certificate searchĪviationpics flying helicopters atc flightsim gliding cockpits homebuilt aviationgifs aviationpornĪ guide to become a pilot in the United States.FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin search.Sub Rules Be sure to check out the WIKI/FAQ!įAQ Ultralight This subreddit is for enthusiasts fascinated with flight to post and discuss news, events, technology, specifications, pictures, history, and anything related to aviation.
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