Bitzer project

[Airspeed]

I hope that your good lady doesn't make a habit of this. Once the swimming is done, you'll have to put the kettle on AGAIN!
I agree, Mrs PeteP MUST be crazy, there was a bloke talking live from Dover, re trucks coping with new export paperwork; the steam from his mouth would put your kettle to shame.

[PeteP]

Sadly, Mike, she does. She swims in the sea up to 5 times a week all year round. One of my former colleagues at Angel Radio regularly referred to her on air as 'The Madwoman'. He got no arguments from me - or her for that matter.

Pete

[Airspeed]

Pete, are you just a bit worried that she prefers the freezing sea to breakfast with you?

[PeteP]

Not at all, Mike, it gives me a couple of hours of peace and quiet in the morning to read the papers and do the crossword.
Pete

[511Flyer]

They're only easy if you know them of course. I've trawled through so many websites, without success, that my brain now feels like the first scrambled picture. I assume it's the cockpit?

[PeteP]

Ah, I did put a smiley at the end of the sentence to show I was attempting to be humorous, Den, but it obviously didn't come across. It was Mike's very generous clue that put me on the right track - it would have taken me much longer without it.
Pete

[Airspeed]

They're only easy if you know them of course. I've trawled through so many websites, without success, that my brain now feels like the first scrambled picture. I assume it's the cockpit?

Hi Den,
The extracts which I posted look worse than I expected, as the original was a few thousand pixels wide; must have been low resolution to start with.
A is the port side of the engine, including exhaust.
B is the observer/whatever sitting behind a solid wall of fuselage. The diagonal stripe and large number tell you what Service it belongs to.
C is the actual pilot, sitting high.
As Pete says, the original clue given will help when you're near the mark.

[511Flyer]

I was thinking Fleet Air Arm, but can't find anything where the pilot is sitting so far forward.

Then I thought Grumman.

Then I thought .....................

[Airspeed]

This is how they fit together, Gentlemen:

Aha, now you don't see it!

[Airspeed]

Here it is, in all its entirety!
The Blackburn Blackburn:


In order of appearance:
1st January
Keith (Dev One) at 16:45
PeteP 18:20
2nd January
AllanL at 07:30
Gentlemen that you are, please kindly share your virtual badge:

There were other nibbles at the Blackburn stable, but the "echo" clue didn't work for everyone.
Maybe my interest in cryptic crosswords made the clue too cryptic?