Captain Slow misses the point about Austin Sevens in todays Daily Telegraph(8-12-07)
http://tinyurl.com/2nh2oh

He certainly does miss a major point. When the 7 was born the average height of a person was considerably less than today, which would have made the Austin far more four-up-friendly - and would explain why at 6'4" I can't drive a Nippy...

Same is true of aircraft. The Spitfire is not built for anyone over about 5'10". By the 80's nothing much had changed. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in the cockpit of a ready-to-go Tornado and would have been able to fly but for the fact that my knees extended under the instrument panel. The pilot couldn't take me up because 'If you have to eject you'll leave your legs in the cockpit'. Not a pleasant prospect. He went on to explain that the Americans have always built machines for bigger people - 'You'd fit in a Phantom with room to spare...'

I think there is a certain amount of tongue in cheek to his article, after all it is in a newspaper!!!

Ref size of legs....

I looked forward last year to a "driving day" were members of the Cornwall Club drove each others cars. I'm afraid that my friends Nippy was almost impossible to get into let alone drive, I never "opened it up" for fear of losing what little control I had! The "Ulster" replicas look like torture machines to me , I do not believe I could drive one on the road.

Steve

I think Steve has got it right, journalists never let the facts get in the way of a good story. (Bit like the government.) Anyway I was always under the impression that Herbert Austin wanted to get the man off his motor cycle combination and onto four wheels. He succeeded - and saved the Company.

I have to agree about the Spitfire comment, at 6' 2" I was disappointed to find that I didn't fit, (well I did but I couldn't close the canopy or look through the view finder so wouldn't have been much use.

Although I do fit in my Ulster replica, (although it is snug). There isn't a hood on it, so haven't tried with one on. I did wonder about taking two "scallops" out of the dashboard so that my knees would go further up.

I fail to see what he's beefing about. When he and the Yorkshire Buffoon were riding in the Chummy at Beaulieu, they both got in okay JM is 6' and the YB is over 6' 4". Which sounds like the joke which begins "How do you get two gorillas in an Austin Seven.."