Aircraft we like..

[rocknrod]

Ya they were tough birds. They could launch with 24 - 500lbs bombs and a belly tank.

I've always had a fondness for the Intruders..
Intruder A-6 Tribute

[Rhino]

They are, I forget the launch and recover weight. But we used a hand held nose steering bar on them to position them on the Cat. Couldn't do that now days. Of course the launch stroke of the cats are almost 100 feet longer than they were on the Oriskany (O-Boat) or Coral Maru.

I've been on the Oriskany. I was 130' underwater when I did it. Under water the Mighty O looks immense! Standing on the deck at the base of the tower, even with good visibility, you cannot see the edge on the port side never mind the bow and stern. Your imagination just fills in the rest and it just seems to be an endless plane. Standing (actually floating) there I tried to imagine what it was like when it was launching and recovering aircraft. Thought about all the men that worked that deck and below deck over the years. Thank you for your service Master Chief.

[rocknrod]

It wasn't my pleasure most of the time but thank you.

[Rhino]

Flew a Taylorcraft BC12D for the first time last weekend. I was pleasantly surprised. I've heard some pilots put down the Taylorcraft. I owned an Aeronca 7AC Champion with a Continental O-200 100hp engine. The 65hp Taylorcraft was as fast or faster then my 100hp Champ (if you can use the word "fast" when talking about 95mph aircraft). Got off the ground easy with 2 people and a full nose tank. Lighter ailerons then the Champ. The only downside was that the Taylorcraft doesn't have very good visibility. But overall I was impressed with this little 65hp bird.

Not the one I flew, just some pic off the net.

[VirginiaJim]

This day in USAF History

 On this day in Air Force history --
 
1912:        Navy pilot Lt Theodore G. Ellyson launches the first airplane from a catapult on the seawall at Annapolis; it immediately crashes.
 
1952:        PROJECT HOP-A-LONG. Two MATS Sikorsky H-19 helicopters complete 1st trans-Atlantic helicopter flight, touching down five times en route.
 
1957:        The DEW Line, a distant early warning radar defense installation extending across the Canadian Arctic, becomes fully operational.
 
1970:        1st class of foreign students in the President’s Vietnamization Program completes undergraduate pilot training at Keesler AFB.
 
 

[rocknrod]

When did they start calling the Army Air Corps the Air Force? Was it after WWII? I don't remember.

[VirginiaJim]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Air_Force

[Pilgrim]

F-16 with RECCE pod.

[VirginiaJim]

 

[VirginiaJim]

 On this day in Air Force history --
 
1942:        The Coast Guard’s Squadron 212 sinks the first enemy submarine, off the passes of the Mississippi.
 
1943:        Operation TIDAL WAVE. See http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=17993 <http://afhistoricalfoundation.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=07d6fdac3700f01772883f7cf&id=78ccd3b483&e=3ad5431931>
 
1943:       For Operation Tidal Wave five men receive the Medal of Honor: Cols Baker, Johnson, and Kane; Maj Jerstad; 2Lt Hughes.
 
1950:        The Collins-Vandenberg Agreement establishes cooperation between ADC and the Army Antiaircraft Command for air defense of the US.
 
1961:        The AFRES mobilizes five C-124 groups and more than 15,000 reservists in response to the construction of the Berlin Wall.
 
1969:        #USAF begins using broadcasts recorded by a ground radioman and rebroadcast thru airborne loudspeakers in its psyops program in SEA.
 

[SapperLdr]

A few pics I have.

[Pilgrim]

The MQ-9 Reaper

[VirginiaJim]

While some may like these new fangled aircraft, I can certainly say that I don't.  I like large aircraft, piloted directly by human beings, that drop very large bombs and cause massive destruction...all for world peace, of course.

[rocknrod]

Yep, thats like the new drone they put on carriers. I dont much care for em either:

[gPink]

Yep, thats like the new drone they put on carriers. I dont much care for em either:

Why not?

[VirginiaJim]

They're unmanned and don't have propellers or proper jet engines.  They remind me of Terminator.

[Racer Boy]

It is Seafair weekend in Seattle, and I am going to ride down to Boeing Field and watch the Blue Angels take off today! There are also a bunch of other very cool aircraft there right now, so it should be a fun afternoon.

[VirginiaJim]

 

[VirginiaJim]

 On this day in Air Force history --
 
1944:        Operation APHRODITE. 8AF launches radio-controlled B-17 drones against V-1 rocket sites in Pas de Calais, France.
 
1950:        KOREAN WAR. B-29 attacks key bridges above the 38th parallel to start FEAF “Interdiction Campaign No. 1.”
 
1955:        China releases crew of Special Ops B-29 “The Stardust 40”, captured on 13 Jan 1953 and held longer than any other POWs in Korean War.
 
1964:        North Vietnamese torpedo boats attack US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin; triggering 1st US airstrikes against North Vietnam.
 
1982:        The first KC-135R (number 61-0293) with the new CFM-56 engines makes its first flight.
 
2007:        Phoenix Mars Lander launches. After 422 million-mile journey it lands in the arctic region of northern Mars on 25 May 2008.
 

[Rhino]

On this day in Air Force history --
 
1944:        Operation APHRODITE. 8AF launches radio-controlled B-17 drones against V-1 rocket sites in Pas de Calais, France.
 

I'm going to have to look that one up. I didn't know about that.