Author Topic: Aircraft we like..  (Read 243643 times)

Offline VirginiaJim

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Aircraft we like..
« on: November 03, 2013, 06:52:26 AM »
Of course, you know about what I like....props and the old jets from about the 70's on back...but this can be a place to discuss any aircraft and possibly space planes....or even space ships.

This one is the Convair XC-99.  It was based on the B-36 airframe.  It was the largest piston engine land-based transport ever built.  It's still around you know, but it's a bit of a basket case unfortunately.  It's waiting to be restored at Wright Pat by the USAF Museum...but that could be decades from now.

Shameless plug  http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

The B-36 shown in the video is a B model variant. 

Convair XC-99 takeoff in color

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_XC-99

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Offline Rhino

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2013, 08:03:57 AM »
I used to own a 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champion and was partners on a 1958 Mooney M20A. I loved both those airplanes. But the airplane on my bucket list to at least go for a ride in is a P-51 Mustang. Sexiest looking airplane ever built.

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2013, 08:27:41 AM »
I like the P-38 better.  I don't know the stats between the P-51 vs the P-38, but I like the styling better.  I think that the P-38 came on-line first, though and I also think that they had different missions in the beginning.

FIVE (5) P-38 Lightnings in the air AT ONCE !!! @ 2013 PLANES OF FAME AIR SHOW
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Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2013, 08:55:22 AM »
I went to a small local air show a few years ago (I think it was in Elkhart In) and low an behold there was a P-38 on the ground there; love the small air shows as they usually don't keep you separated from the planes on the ground.... When I told my brother that I had touched the OD Green skin he cussed me for being so lucky.... To this day the only sound that is better than a P-51 is the sound made by a P-38 Lightning....

Also got to see the Jet Waco fly at one of these tiny local airshows too; it was an absolute hoot to see and hear this plane all but leap off the ground in like 50 feet or so....

http://www.franklinairshow.com/History%20Jet%20Waco.htm
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline Charlie747

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2013, 02:12:40 PM »
I used to own a 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champion and was partners on a 1958 Mooney M20A. I loved both those airplanes. But the airplane on my bucket list to at least go for a ride in is a P-51 Mustang. Sexiest looking airplane ever built.

It has to be a P51D or H for me but for a late big reciprocating piston engine prop job it takes a lot to beat an original Hawker Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury Argonaut Pass

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=af8_1377604176&comments=1

Sea Fury.wmv

Just for Jim

ROYAL NAVY AVIATION IN THE 60 s

HMS Ark Royal aviation opération

Enjoy with a plate full of Bangers & Mash with onion gravy   :chugbeer:

Offline Charlie747

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2013, 02:40:45 PM »
OK Jim you had B52 we had the V Bombers (Valeant Vulcan Victor)

The Victor is just a beautiful shape and when you consider the year it entered service very advanced.

HANDLEY PAGE VICTOR TRIBUTE

You had the Century Fighters we had the Lightning a plane that had a climb rate not bettered till the F15 era

A tribute to man and machine

Last Flight English Electric Lightning, Dave Stock

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2013, 03:09:03 PM »
Victor and Vulcan bombers at Westover AFB in the mid-60s amongst other aircraft...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12675355@N04/sets/72157622593975242/

That's me in the stocks, BTW.

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Offline Two Skies

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2013, 03:45:58 PM »
Statistically, the P-51 was a better plane than the P-38 once the Merlin was added.  This is why you don't see P-38's in competition at the Reno Air races these days.  They just couldn't keep up with the souped up Mustangs.

That being said, I still like the P-38 better.

Here is a craft that looks somewhat similar to the P-38,that I DID see at the Reno air races a couple of years back.  It was outclassed by the other jets in the competition, but still beautiful nonetheless...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

We've mentioned the XB-70 before.  Walking under the one remaining craft at Wright Patterson and touching the underbelly was a 'religious' experience for me...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_XB-70_Valkyrie

Growing up under the flight path to the local bombing range from the local airbase, I can still remember the distinct whine of the F-4's flying overhead.  F-4's were one of the few craft that saw service in the Air Force, Navy, and Marines simultaneously, used for a time by both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds.  Checking the Wiki, it looks like South Korea, Greece, and Turkey are among countries still flying the F-4, along with Iran...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

I still think that the YF-23 looks more interesting then the F-22...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YF-23

And, of course, I must mention the X-29.  Not sure if the forward swept wings would lend themselves at all to stealthy characteristics, but they do look cool!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_X-29


I've attached one of the photos of the Vampire that I took at the Reno Air races.  An electrical short prevented the craft from taking off that day (pinched cable when an access panel was closed - ugh), but it did compete on the following day.  The Delfins and Albatros'es dominated the competition that year, and continue to do so... BTW, the Jet Class has a less than 15 degree maximum sweep requirement in case you were wondering...
http://www.racingjets.com/content/jets
2006 w/50,000+ miles and a few bruises.

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Offline VirginiaJim

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RB-36
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2013, 04:38:14 AM »
The RB-36 is a reconnaisance variant of the B-36.  The B-36 was developed to bridge an ocean to protect the US in case England was lost to the Germans.  It had nearly a 10k mile cruising range and could stay aloft more than 48 hours.  Unfortunately for it, the jet age began after WWII and for some (especially the US Navy) thought it shouldn't have seen the light of day.  The Navy wanted more carriers, of course, and didn't think that the government should spend money on a new bomber.  They lost that argument.

The B-36 was a hybrid of sorts as it had 6 rotary engines and 4 jets.  The wingspan was so large that inflight maintenance could be performed, if necessary, as there was sufficient room to crawl into the wings.

The RB was a platform for the Boston camera and they were used to photograph many of the east block countries in it's day.  They were solitary aircraft for the most part and very rarely traveled in any formation.  The B's usually traveled in packs of three.

The B/RB-36 kept the Russians at bay until the B-52 was fully operational, mid to late 50's.  The jets of the early 50's could not fly high enough (with any power) to shoot it down.  The advent of surface to air missiles, however, was another nail in it's coffin and by 1959 all were smelted down...

My dad was crew chief at Ellsworth in the early 50's on the RB.  I've linked a picture of his aircraft (748).  It was one of the longest surviving aircraft as it was used in nuclear airborne testing in the summer of 1958 as an observer aircraft.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12675355@N04/2279730356/#in/set-72157603949465943
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Offline Rhino

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2013, 07:43:55 AM »
"6 turning and 4 burning" would have loved to see one of those fly.

Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2013, 07:53:09 AM »
What no comments of the Jet powered Waco?    :o

Talk about the ultimate farkle!    ;)
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2013, 09:10:44 AM »
"6 turning and 4 burning" would have loved to see one of those fly.

Me too.  Only 4 survive.   USAF Museum in Dayton.  SAC Museum outside of Omaha.  Pima has the last one off the assembly line.  And last but not least, Castle AFB has the only remaining RB in existence and it was from my dad's old squadron (718th).  I've seen all of them except the one in Pima.
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Offline Rhino

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #12 on: November 04, 2013, 09:16:55 AM »
Me too.  Only 4 survive.   USAF Museum in Dayton.  SAC Museum outside of Omaha.  Pima has the last one off the assembly line.  And last but not least, Castle AFB has the only remaining RB in existence and it was from my dad's old squadron (718th).  I've seen all of them except the one in Pima.

The only one I've ever seen is the one in Pima.

Offline sherob

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #13 on: November 04, 2013, 09:50:07 AM »
My two favs...

A10 Warthog



... and an much older German version...

JU-87 Stuka

Rob
Brighton, CO... missing Texas!

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2013, 09:55:18 AM »
My Concours Travels:
2014 New England Tour http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=17336.msg212077#msg212077

Offline Jim M.

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #15 on: November 04, 2013, 10:50:52 AM »

Offline Cholla

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #16 on: November 04, 2013, 10:53:44 AM »
The -36 at Pima used to be the gate guard at Greater Southwest Airport (Ft. Worth-located on a corner of the DFW site) and was in danger of being scrapped because they couldn't find a place for it and the Air Force wouldn't turn it over to a civilian organization because they feared it could be used in terrorist attacks on other countries.
At the AF museum they have the camera assembly from a -36 on display. Incredibly similar to the much smaller units (120mm) I used to work on that were at one time wing cameras in Focke-Wulf 190s.
The film in the -36 camera was about 3 feet wide.
Another thing about that plane-when flying it "wiggled". The fuselage was so long it sort of "wagged its tail".
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Offline Rhino

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Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #18 on: November 04, 2013, 01:35:51 PM »
The -36 at Pima used to be the gate guard at Greater Southwest Airport (Ft. Worth-located on a corner of the DFW site) and was in danger of being scrapped because they couldn't find a place for it and the Air Force wouldn't turn it over to a civilian organization because they feared it could be used in terrorist attacks on other countries.
At the AF museum they have the camera assembly from a -36 on display. Incredibly similar to the much smaller units (120mm) I used to work on that were at one time wing cameras in Focke-Wulf 190s.
The film in the -36 camera was about 3 feet wide.
Another thing about that plane-when flying it "wiggled". The fuselage was so long it sort of "wagged its tail".

I think they have the Boston camera there...

Virtual cockpit walk through on the '36...  Go down the page to get to the links.  Other aircraft are available to walk through as well.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/virtualtour/cockpits.asp
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Offline Charlie747

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Re: Aircraft we like..
« Reply #19 on: November 04, 2013, 04:55:51 PM »
OK Guys

This is a nice little demo VT of planes we all enjoy from what we are posting. I'm sure you have seen it before but these old war birds are so beautiful in there natural environment.

Breitling Fighers - Low Level Flying