Aviation Geeks unite?! Anybody else care about planes here?

[Marc]

Rare footage has come to light showing the Short Empire flying boats flown by QANTAS in the 1930s.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11...ary-with-bygone-era-flying-boat-film/12881604

 

[StarCruiser]

Flying boats were quite the thing back before WW2. Post war - not so much. They (sadly) got left behind with longer ranged conventional aircraft and then jets...

 

[Marc]

Flying boats were quite the thing back before WW2. Post war - not so much. They (sadly) got left behind with longer ranged conventional aircraft and then jets...

made for good anti-sub and SAR aircraft during the war years.

many years ago I read They Shall Not Pass Unseen by Australian author Ivan Southall who flew Short Sunderlands during WWII. They never got the coverage of the Spitfires and Lancasters but still played an important role.

 

[publiusr]

Mustard uploads good videos from time to time

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With electric motors for planes, we may see engineers go back to some of these type planes.

This craft looks like an antennae farm eaten by a box kite.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

With electric motors for planes, we may see engineers go back to some of these type planes.

This craft looks like an antennae farm eaten by a box kite.

Electric Motors are better for small Cessna class Single Engine 1-3 seat Trainers / Light Sport Aircraft.

Plug-In Hybrid Aircraft would be a superior application with the current level of battery tech IMO.

 

[J.T.B.]

Rare footage has come to light showing the Short Empire flying boats flown by QANTAS in the 1930s.

That's great, the civilian Sunderland!

many years ago I read They Shall Not Pass Unseen by Australian author Ivan Southall who flew Short Sunderlands during WWII. They never got the coverage of the Spitfires and Lancasters but still played an important role.

Title noted, thanks! Coastal Command was kind of forgotten but did all kinds of important work. The Sunderland was one of the few pre-war designs that held its own throughout the conflict. They could sink a u-boat and rescue the entire crew of a torpedoed ship. It seems like quite a good share of the squadrons were RAAF.



Coastal Command also rescued a lot of downed air crews, a role taken on by the Vickers Warwick (basically a bigger Wellington) which carried a lifeboat on its belly and dropped it where needed.

 

[Marc]

Coastal Command also rescued a lot of downed air crews, a role taken on by the Vickers Warwick (basically a bigger Wellington) which carried a lifeboat on its belly and dropped it where needed.

Think the Suderland was the better rescue option - pick up/fly home rather than a long sail home in a small boat plus from reading the wiki, the SAR use of the Warwick was case of what to do with an aircraft that really didn't live up to design specifications.

It was another design let down by engine issues (some that didn't perform up to spec and others were in short supply).

 

[publiusr]

I seem to remember a news blurb about a baron (European or maybe that was the name of the plane) in a collision with some jet or other.

One such similar plane got itself called “the doctor killer”

Must have been the V tail

 

[J.T.B.]

Think the Suderland was the better rescue option - pick up/fly home rather than a long sail home in a small boat plus from reading the wiki, the SAR use of the Warwick was case of what to do with an aircraft that really didn't live up to design specifications.

It would be but the Sunderland squadrons were already heavily tasked for long-range ASW work. Aircrew SAR was typically short-range but deserved its own dedicated units, so it was a good way to use an otherwise disappointing aircraft.

The lifeboat was intended not so much as the way to get home but to make the ditched crew more immediately safe, with provisions, first aid kits, signaling gear etc., until naval forces could be directed to them. The RAF also operated its own force of high-speed boats for coastal rescue, some of which had aircraft-style plexiglass gun turrets.

I seem to remember a news blurb about a baron (European or maybe that was the name of the plane) in a collision with some jet or other.

The Beechcraft Baron has been around for ages so has had its share of accidents, but I don't think it has a more-dangerous-than-normal reputation.

One such similar plane got itself called “the doctor killer”

Must have been the V tail

Yes the old v-tail version of the Beechcraft Bonanza was nicknamed the "fork-tailed doctor killer" due to the perception of a high proportion of pilot-error accidents from over-confident but under-experienced, well-off private pilots. Data analysis has shown it was probably no more dangerous than other general aviation aircraft of similar performance.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I want a modernized version of the Edgley Optica, that aircraft is truly neat.

Just modernize the design a bit.
1) Single pane front Glass piece instead of being split into two so the pilot can sit in the center.
2) Move the pilot's seat and controls into the center seat so that the passengers can sit to the Left/Right of the pilot instead of the current setup where the pilot is on the left side and the passengers are on the right and center.
3) Use modern FADEC engine and avionics to get higher top speed and lower stall speeds.
4) Use modern composites to lighten up the weight and try to lower the stall speed of (108 km/h (67 mph, 58 kn)) to be as low as possible, I'm sure with modern engineering you can do it.
5) Move the front tricycle wheel setup and make it center instead of offset to the left.
6) Add Aero Fairings to the fixed wheels, there's no reason to induce that much drag onto this aircraft.
7) Improve on the 8hrs of endurance to as much as you can get.
8) New Hartzell Carbon Fiber propellers designed to minimize noise and maximize thrust along with service life.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I want a modernized version of the Edgley Optica, that aircraft is truly neat.

Just modernize the design a bit.
1) Single pane front Glass piece instead of being split into two so the pilot can sit in the center.
2) Move the pilot's seat and controls into the center seat so that the passengers can sit to the Left/Right of the pilot instead of the current setup where the pilot is on the left side and the passengers are on the right and center.
3) Use modern FADEC engine and avionics to get higher top speed and lower stall speeds.
4) Use modern composites to lighten up the weight and try to lower the stall speed of (108 km/h (67 mph, 58 kn)) to be as low as possible, I'm sure with modern engineering you can do it.
5) Move the front tricycle wheel setup and make it center instead of offset to the left.
6) Add Aero Fairings to the fixed wheels, there's no reason to induce that much drag onto this aircraft.
7) Improve on the 8hrs of endurance to as much as you can get.
8) New Hartzell Carbon Fiber propellers designed to minimize noise and maximize thrust along with service life.

The bubble shape makes me think of the bubbleship in Oblivion

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It should remind you of the MD 500 Helicopters

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

It should remind you of the MD 500 Helicopters

It does that too...... I love these.

So many 80s movies and TV shows used them

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It does that too...... I love these.

So many 80s movies and TV shows used them

Too bad Helicopters don't have the loiter time or range of a Fixed Wing Aircraft.

Edgley Optica can loiter for 8 hours =D and has a range of 1,056 km (656 mi, 570 nmi) at 130 km/h (81 mph; 70 kn)

MD 530F has a range of only 232 nmi (267 mi, 430 km)

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Speaking of Helicopters

https://www.wired.com/story/bells-design-helicopters-quieter-safer/

New Quadcopter like Electric Motors are used to replace the tail rotors on a new Bell Helicopter designs to make it quieter in flight.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Speaking of Helicopters

https://www.wired.com/story/bells-design-helicopters-quieter-safer/

New Quadcopter like Electric Motors are used to replace the tail rotors on a new Bell Helicopter designs to make it quieter in flight.

That is an interesting design

 

[Santaman]

I want a modernized version of the Edgley Optica, that aircraft is truly neat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFB_Fantrainer
While not having a bubble cockpit this thing has a ducted fan and it has much better specs.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

While not having a bubble cockpit this thing has a ducted fan and it has much better specs.

The bubble cockpit is what makes it special, otherwise I really wouldn't care that much. As nice as ducted fans are, they aren't necessary IMO for making a great aircraft. The reason I like the Edgley Optica is because of the Bubble Cockpit and it's focused design as a observation aircraft with panoramic windows.

Imagine having two observers sitting to your left/right and having them with camera's just filming everything they can, that sounds like a beautiful time, and loitering for 8 hrs is ridiculous.

If I wanted a performance aircraft, there are plenty of better choices.

 

[Santaman]

Mwah, I'll go double bubble.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-24
One of my favourite helicopters, really fast, thick armor, what's not to love?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Mwah, I'll go double bubble.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-24
One of my favourite helicopters, really fast, thick armor, what's not to love?

It's a perfectly fine helicopter for being a "Armored Attack Transport".

But it's not a Observation Aircraft, completely different purposes.