Ian Conway

(i didn't do it) •
cycling, whisky, radio4 • & cargo bikes ftw
Born @ 318

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@bbcquestiontime I think we should start calling #potholes by a more appropriate name, perhaps #carholes ? seeing as they're the cause

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Oppose ULEZ? barely heard a peep about since it started
Oppose LTNs? there aren't any in Brunswick Ward

[Virginie Sigonney 🇫🇷 @GinieSigonney]

In 1940, British pilots were dying without ever being hit by the enemy.

The cause was purely technical.

They were flying the Spitfire—already an exceptional aircraft in terms of aerodynamics and maneuverability—but one critical flaw remained: engine fuel supply under strong negative acceleration.

During a steep dive to escape a Messerschmitt, negative G-forces caused fuel to surge into the carburetor.

The mixture instantly became too rich.

The engine lost combustion, spluttered, then cut out completely.

A few seconds were enough to turn an agile fighter into a stationary target.

German aircraft, equipped with direct fuel injection, retained full power in dives and pull-outs.

The tactical advantage was real, measurable, and deadly.

RAF engineers were well aware of the problem.

But the “ideal” solution required a complete redesign of the Merlin engine—unrealistic in the midst of the Battle of Britain.

That is where Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling came in, an aeronautical engineer and recognized specialist in high-performance mechanics.

Accustomed to pushing engines to their limits in motorcycle racing, she approached systems not as abstract theory, but under real extreme conditions.

Rather than redesigning the engine, she carefully analyzed the fluid dynamics of the fuel delivery system.

Her diagnosis was simple and rigorous: the issue was not combustion, but an instantaneous excess of fuel flow.

She calculated a critical threshold.

The engine had to receive enough fuel to maintain maximum power, but never enough to flood the carburetor under negative G.

Her solution was brutally effective.

A simple brass flow restrictor, drilled with millimetric precision, installed upstream of the carburetor.

A passive component, with no moving parts, no failure risk, dimensioned exactly to the Merlin’s requirements.

She personally validated the device, then traveled from airbase to airbase to have it installed.

No committees, no delays—tests, measurements, results.

Once in place, the engine remained fueled during dives.

Spitfires could maintain power, follow the enemy through vertical maneuvers, and finally exploit their full aerodynamic potential.

Officially, the device became known as the “R.A.E. restrictor.”

On the airfields, pilots simply called it “Miss Shilling’s orifice.”

It was not an elegant solution in the academic sense.

It was a performant, robust, immediately operational solution.

Exactly what war demanded.

Without flying an aircraft or firing a single shot, Beatrice Shilling turned a critical disadvantage into a measurable tactical gain.

A striking example of what engineering can achieve when guided by technical mastery, sound calculation, and the courage to act quickly.

©️ Eric Fdl / Imperial War Museum / National Geographic
History
📷©️Wikipedia

[Omid Djalili @omid9]

One thing the situation in Iran has made crystal clear is that whichever country, regime, group or political ideology, no matter how vile, disgusting or repressive, however many people are massacred or exterminated, as long as they are anti-West, specifically anti-US (and by extension anti-Israel), they will have the unquestioning support of the majority of the liberal left and the entertainment world.

The same “progressive left” who happily live in the west, profit from its relative freedoms, yet turn their activism on and off like a switch, or in some cases, even make a living out of it.

It is disappointing and exhausting.

But grateful to all those who have spoken out. Especially in the comedy community. It takes a lot of guts to do so when everyone around you is looking the other way.

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@BarnetCouncil I'm all in favour of School Streets, but couldn't you have planters, like in neighbouring @EnfieldCouncil ? I've just received a 2nd PCN because I missed the signs 15ft up a pole!

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@curiosityonx Wow, it's like having trees but without all the good stuff

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@N0Kaller1D @interesting_aIl Indeed, and how do you work out the prescription?

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Hi @asda_mobile How can I find out how my 93yr old mother-in-law has spent £5 in three days on her text & voice only PAYG £5/month contract?

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@but_cyclists Must be a cyclist behind the wheel

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Been several months off of here. Trawling through the feed there were quite a few posts that were annoying & some blood pressure rairing posts too.
Also, what happened? It no longer holds your place in your timeline - v annoying

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@ThreeUKSupport June 2024

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Hi @ThreeUKSupport I'm logged into the app. Does this screen tell me if I have data roaming in EU or not? #veryambiguous

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Hi @walkers_crisps I have a question. Pack of Bugles Southern Style BBQ, allergy advice is "wheat, gluten, Milk. Soya, Barley, Mustard, Crustaceans" - none incl in ingredients, also says suitable for vegetarians - are they?

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

@labourlewis's Water Bill will have its first debate on 28th March.

This is our unmissable chance to put public ownership of water back on the table.

Ask your MP to be there and back the Bill: https://t.co/Se60lFfQ7O

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Crap infra in Borehamwood. Jct Elstree Way/Maxwell Rd, where I've narowly escaped being side-swiped by a left turning car in the past.... Today, the drivist saw me, so no danger (but still hooted me, presumably for having priority?)
#crapdriving #crapinfrastructure

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

Ooh it's that feeling again...
Wake up, turn on the radio...
The American people have elected a buffoon
#couldntmakeitup

[Dom Joly @domjoly]

Bravo Channel 4 - Stormy Daniels and Boris Johnson together at last. I’ve found my US Election channel #C4Americadecides

[Jay Foreman @jayforeman]

If the gunpowder plot predates the Gregorian calendar, shouldn’t we be celebrating Guy Fawkes night in…

Oh, who cares.

[Orpington Cyclist @orpingtoncyclist.bsky.social @CycleOrpington]

When Outlook gets one of your emails stuck in Outbox and randomly sends it two years later

[Ian Conway @ianPconway]

me thinks he won't be so smiley when he gets the £200 fine & 6 penalty points
#phoneDrivers