Official Aviation Thread...

[MX339]

Uh, yes please! Too bad they are rare as hens teeth. As far as I know, there are only 3 in North America, one flying, one that might fly (flew to its current location in Oshkosh) and one in Vancouver BC that should fly in the very near future. As of now however, there is still only one that flies. You gotta love the sound of a pair of Rolls Royce Merlins at full song. Yeah, its the best sound, short of, perhaps, a Rolls Royce Griffon thats been race prepped and pushing 500 mph. (By the way, there is only one of those flying around as well, and it might be all taken apart. The Griffon belongs to a Reno Air Race Unlimited P51 Mustang that has been heavily modified. It makes a sound all its own.)

Will

I don't know of the one in Osh Kosh, but I do know of Fighter Factory's (flying), the one up in Vancouver which may only fly once, and apparently Paul Allen has a bomber variant under restoration in New Zealand.

Now I agree that Mossies are quite bitchin', but I've always been a fan of round engines. I really hope one day we'll see a flying Bristol Beaufighter, oh how I wish. Their Bristol Hercules engines are pretty much unobtanium though, so I doubt we'll ever see one up in the air. And since this thread could always use more pictures:











I can't imagine what four 20mm cannons must sound like.

[Pac1373]

Awesome shots, My Grandfather was in someway involved in developing/working on the Mosquito program. I don't remember the whole story but I think he helped develop the plywood laminating/molding process to build the fuselage. what neat little aircraft they were though....great Pics here.

[BlackbirdM3]

I don't know of the one in Osh Kosh, but I do know of Fighter Factory's (flying), the one up in Vancouver which may only fly once, and apparently Paul Allen has a bomber variant under restoration in New Zealand.

Now I agree that Mossies are quite bitchin', but I've always been a fan of round engines. I really hope one day we'll see a flying Bristol Beaufighter, oh how I wish. Their Bristol Hercules engines are pretty much unobtanium though, so I doubt we'll ever see one up in the air. And since this thread could always use more pictures:











I can't imagine what four 20mm cannons must sound like.

Now there is a rare creature. I think there are only a handful of Beaufighters left.

The Mossie at Oshkosh is actually owned by Kermit Weeks who owns Fantasy of Flight in Florida. He flew it up there and left it on long term display. If it flew in, one would assume that after living inside, one could fly it back out with an annual. Kermit Weeks has some really cool stuff, the Mossie, B26 Marauder, 8 WW1 fighters, 3 different types of Gee Bee, a Short Sunderland (aka Flying Porcupine) flying boat, B17, B24, B25, PBY, Several P51s, Howard Hughes personal Sikorsky S-43 Flying boat.

Here are a couple videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd2M21nlw0w&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mZwrUg2xQM&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5&index=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLDRv9wRgLo&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5&index=24

Those should get you started.

Will

[MX339]

Now there is a rare creature. I think there are only a handful of Beaufighters left.

The Mossie at Oshkosh is actually owned by Kermit Weeks who owns Fantasy of Flight in Florida. He flew it up there and left it on long term display. If it flew in, one would assume that after living inside, one could fly it back out with an annual. Kermit Weeks has some really cool stuff, the Mossie, B26 Marauder, 8 WW1 fighters, 3 different types of Gee Bee, a Short Sunderland (aka Flying Porcupine) flying boat, B17, B24, B25, PBY, Several P51s, Howard Hughes personal Sikorsky S-43 Flying boat.

Here are a couple videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd2M21nlw0w&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mZwrUg2xQM&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5&index=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLDRv9wRgLo&list=PLc9R0Ar11YH1LJEgfdmZT1-GZ-Vtuted5&index=24

Those should get you started.

Will

I couldn't remember who Kermit Weeks was, too many warbird guys around. I'll have to watch the rest of his videos at some point.

Just finished watching this fantastic P-47 documentary. I'd have to say the Jug was the most versatile (and my personal favorite) allied aircraft of the war.


I need to step away from this thread, I'll be here talking about warbirds all day if I don't.

[BlackbirdM3]

I couldn't remember who Kermit Weeks was, too many warbird guys around. I'll have to watch the rest of his videos at some point.

Just finished watching this fantastic P-47 documentary. I'd have to say the Jug was the most versatile (and my personal favorite) allied aircraft of the war.


I need to step away from this thread, I'll be here talking about warbirds all day if I don't.

The P47 was a fantastic plane. It was however huge, and somewhat complex. I can't pinpoint a favorite overall WW2 plane. I would however have to say that the Douglas B-26/A-26 was an impressive performer as well. It was the only aircraft to serve in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, and following Vietnam, many of the remaining ones went on to be air tankers for the Forest Service. I'm not sure if there are any still serving as air tankers (Might be some in Canada), but their service life has spanned a good 60+ years.They were fast, agile, and packed a punch like no other (8 .50 cal in the nose, two .50 cal on each of the turrets, plus the internal bomb load, as well as the ability to carry rockets or externally mounted .50 cals under the wings. They were fast enough to act as very large fighters on their return trips after dropping their bomb loads. I for sure don't want to be on the receiving end of a dozen .50 cal machine guns.

Another couple of impressive birds are the Hawker Tempest and Typhoon. Both were fantastic in their respective rolls.

Will

[MX339]

The P47 was a fantastic plane. It was however huge, and somewhat complex. I can't pinpoint a favorite overall WW2 plane. I would however have to say that the Douglas B-26/A-26 was an impressive performer as well. It was the only aircraft to serve in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, and following Vietnam, many of the remaining ones went on to be air tankers for the Forest Service. I'm not sure if there are any still serving as air tankers (Might be some in Canada), but their service life has spanned a good 60+ years.They were fast, agile, and packed a punch like no other (8 .50 cal in the nose, two .50 cal on each of the turrets, plus the internal bomb load, as well as the ability to carry rockets or externally mounted .50 cals under the wings. They were fast enough to act as very large fighters on their return trips after dropping their bomb loads. I for sure don't want to be on the receiving end of a dozen .50 cal machine guns.

Another couple of impressive birds are the Hawker Tempest and Typhoon. Both were fantastic in their respective rolls.

Will

The Typhoon, Tempest, and Seafury were actually very similar to the P47 in many respects, but if you thought the P47 was complex, you haven't seen the Napier Sabre which powered the Tempest and Typhoon. 24 cylinders in an H layout which produced 2400HP in the Mark V variant in 1944. The Typhoon was actually concieved as a high altitude interceptor, but ended up having a lot of teething issues. It was rushed into service in 1941 because it was the only thing that could catch the A-model FW-190's (which are definitely my favorite aircraft of the war overall, but that's a story for another day.)

Here's the beast in all its glory:

[BlackbirdM3]

The Typhoon, Tempest, and Seafury were actually very similar to the P47 in many respects, but if you thought the P47 was complex, you haven't seen the Napier Sabre which powered the Tempest and Typhoon. 24 cylinders in an H layout which produced 2400HP in the Mark V variant in 1944. The Typhoon was actually concieved as a high altitude interceptor, but ended up having a lot of teething issues. It was rushed into service in 1941 because it was the only thing that could catch the A-model FW-190's (which are definitely my favorite aircraft of the war overall, but that's a story for another day.)

Here's the beast in all its glory:

Oh yes, the Saber was a remarkable engine. I think the only potentially flyable one left is owned by Kermit Weeks for his Typhoon (that is in England). On the Air racing forum there was a discussion about building a race prepped Saber and what it might be capable of producing.

The R2800 on the P47 wasn't that complex, it was the turbocharger system that sat behind the cockpit and had to run from the engine, back, through the turbo, and then back up front. We also talked about building a racing P47 and deemed it far too slow to be worth trying. A cleaned up Sea Fury (good for about 480 mph average speed around an 8 mile lap for 9 laps) would up and run away from the hottest P47 that could be built. By the way, I really like Sea Furies. They are pretty much the pinnacle of prop driven fighter design.

Will

[Beau B]

I dunno how I missed this thread.. but anyways here is some pictures of my old ZHP with some aircraft..





And one anti-aircraft picture ;)

[BlackbirdM3]

Speaking of DeHavilland Doves, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dehavilland-...otors_Aircraft

Will

[Eric]

$20k is cheap for a twin engined plane! well, another $20k to have the annual done...

[MX339]

Speaking of DeHavilland Doves, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dehavilland-...otors_Aircraft

Will

That's interesting; seems like a lot of aircraft for the money. I wonder what the fuel consumption is like on those 6 cylinders.

And silly me, I misspoke about the ultimate De Havilland. That would probably have to be the Vampire/Venom.









One thing is for certain, the Brits sure did make some of the most interesting looking early turbine aircraft.

[BlackbirdM3]

That's interesting; seems like a lot of aircraft for the money. I wonder what the fuel consumption is like on those 6 cylinders.

And silly me, I misspoke about the ultimate De Havilland. That would probably have to be the Vampire/Venom.









One thing is for certain, the Brits sure did make some of the most interesting looking early turbine aircraft.

Yes, Vampires are cool. I got to see one race at the 2010 Reno Air Races.





It was pretty cool to watch. Hopefully the guy will be back this year.

Will

[cbouchez]

[cale]

That's interesting; seems like a lot of aircraft for the money. I wonder what the fuel consumption is like on those 6 cylinders.

And silly me, I misspoke about the ultimate De Havilland. That would probably have to be the Vampire/Venom.









One thing is for certain, the Brits sure did make some of the most interesting looking early turbine aircraft.

We've got one of these sitting in the Hangar at work, apparently they flew it in a few years ago and now they're just waiting to do some work on it.

[flyboyx]

for me, this airplane is the shit!