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

Discussion in 'Science and Technology' started by { Emilia }, Mar 4, 2020.

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What's your level of interest in aviation?!

  1. Setting squawk 7500 when a flight simmer gets anywhere near the cockpit.

    13.3%
  2. Telling an Airbus from a Boeing? Easy. Shape of cockpit side windows!

    37.8%
  3. I AM GOING TO DIE ON THIS PLANE OMG!!!

    17.8%
  4. 737 Max? I'd like fries with it.

    6.7%
  5. Sure, I like animals: mad dogs, warthogs, racoons, otters,...

    4.4%
  6. "Hi, is this the A340 crew? I've got a delivery for you. Four hair dryers?"

    6.7%
  7. I'm just here because I like voting in polls.

    31.1%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    KInda' wish there was an additional voting chad between 2 and 3.

    Not a pilot, don't play sims (or any videogames for that matter (crap reflexes)), but as I noted in a recent TNZ thread, my late uncle (married to a paternal aunt), was a career long military pilot, starting in the Army Air Corps at the start of World War 2;, joined the Air Force once it was established; flew during the Korean conflict and purchased a private plane when he finally retired from the military in the early 60s. He never bragged about his experience. the only reason I learned he flew 187 combat related missions in the Pacific sector (recon as opposed to overt fighting) was because my aunt hung a plaque in the den for any and all to read.

    Admittedly, I know squat about planes in general. I can barely tell the difference between a jet airliner and a bird (the meat and feathers kind). But I do have an affinity for the single engine puppy my uncle owned, a "Ryan Navion".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Navion

    Sadly, I did know anything about the craft while he was alive. I just remember we'd often visit the local airfield when my father drove to Georgia to see his mother. My uncle ferried family and a a few close friends on occasion. His first granddaughter was airborne a mere week after her birth as he brought back his daughter and grandchild from the hospital in Atlanta. His wife, being a talented seamstress, ripped out the standard shades and replaced them with far more decorative curtains having frilly lace edges.

    Alas, his health started to decline around 1980 forcing him to eventually sell his plane. He couldn't fly anymore and so the craft had become a "money pit" of hangar rent and maintenance. His two granddaughters were crying out their eyes the day he signed the papers noting the transfer of ownership. Those tears turned to laughter when the new owner started to taxi the plane from the hangar. Because he had not properly checked that the landing gear control was properly locked, the nose wheel retracted! The plane teetered forward! The nose (and thus the prop) impacted with the ground and the tail levered upward into the frame of the hangar's door! Not 15 minutes after the fool bought the plane, he "crashed" it without even leaving the ground! (I wonder if his name was "Launchpad" McQuack?) From what I hear, the plane was repaired, made airworthy again, but some years later, I think by yet another owner, it got damaged again, that time irreparably.

    For my cousin's 50th birthday (that first grandchild of my uncle's I mentioned), I had intended to acquire the services of a 3d modeler who had a passion for military aircraft. I had told him of my uncle, his service, his passion for flying, etc. The digital artist was so moved, he was going to make a model pro bono, but obviously, he preferred some photo refences to get certain modification details correct. Well, I contacted my cousin (my uncle's daughter) thinking she might have those photos. She couldn't find them. She reached out to her younger daughter. She found them, but her scanner was on the fritz. A couple of months passed and she finally got scans made. I immediately e-mailed the 3D sculptor to tell him I had the reference images. Two days later I got an e-mail from...his widow. He had died earlier that week! Oh, she was very nice, addressing me as though I were a friend, actually apologizing, noting he had been looking forward to the exercise. I felt just wretched for her loss!

    About a year later, I actually stumbled across a reasonably close variant of a Navion model, free no less! the only major difference was that it had wingtip tanks, a feature my uncle's airplane did not have. Thankfully, the wing geometry was complete underneath the tanks. I was able to remove them without leaving gaping holes in the wings.

    More recently, I discovered a model kit company offers a 1/72 scale Navion kit! That I never imagined. It's certainly not one of the better known planes, so I didn't think an injection mold kit company would ever bother creating one! So, I can actually hold in my hand a physical miniature of my uncle's plane if I wish!

    Anyway, that's my anecdote.
     
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  2. Henoch

    Henoch Rear Admiral Premium Member

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    I love jets; these are the first jets that got me first interested in aeronautics during the sixties:
    [​IMG]
    The Quest Dragonfly has similar design features with the TU-144; forward canards; big vertical stabilizer tail; air intake under the body. The Russians probably stole some of the Quest design for their TU-144, too. ;)
     
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  3. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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  4. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    I remember as a teenager buying a copy of some warbird magazine, which I never did because I was generally broke and wasn't really into that kind of thin.The image of that crazy looking plane just made me read up on it.
     
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  5. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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  6. NCC-73515

    NCC-73515 Vice Admiral Admiral

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  7. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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  8. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Location:
    astral plane
    Some of my faves:

    X-15
    X-29
    XB-70

    A-1
    A-10
    AC-130
    A-12, YF-12, SR-71
    B-1
    B-2
    F-5
    F-104
    F-106
    F-14
    F-15
    F/A-18

    UH-1
    AH-64

    MiG-25
    Mil Mi-24

    At an airshow I could not spot the F/A-18 doing a simulated attack dive. Its gray paint was an excellent camouflage against the clear azure sky.
     
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  9. Marc

    Marc Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    Location:
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    See how many I can name without Wiki
    not sure if the X-15 had another name or desigantion,
    X-29 - Dynasoar?
    XB-70 - Valkyrie
    A1 - Skyraider?
    A10 - warthog?
    B1-B - Lancer
    B2 - Spirit
    F5 - Tigershark?
    F-104 - Starfighter (been up close to one of those and yes the leading edges are pretty sharp)
    F-106 - Thunderchief?
    F-14 - Tomcat
    F-15 - Eagle
    F/A-18 - Hornet
    UH-1 - Huey
    AH-64 - Cobra
    Mig-25 - Foxbat
    Mi-24 - Hind
     
  10. Silvercrest

    Silvercrest Vice Admiral Admiral

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    huh ... I always thought "Hind" was another abbreviation like "Mi" or "MiG", not a nickname. Wiki tells me otherwise.
     
  11. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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    F-105 is the Thunderchief which I think is an awesome aircraft.
    F106 is the Delta Dart, I like it and the earlier F-102 Delta Dagger
    There's one F-106 with a rather unusual history, it is now a museum piece.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornfield_Bomber

    I also like older jets like the F-89 Scorpion, the F-101 Voodoo, I love the little A-4 Skyhawk, the F8 Crusader and the A-7 which kinda looks like a Crusader that hit a wall..
     
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  12. Marc

    Marc Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    Read a book on the Thuds many years ago about the missions they flew in Vietnam - especially the wild weasel operations. Must have taken something extra to take on enemy sam sites at low level.

    think the engine intakes was a pretty unique on design on them as well.
     
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  13. J.T.B.

    J.T.B. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Love this kind of thread. Too much to talk about in one post, but...

    I was close to a few big wildfires in the '80s, fire tankers like PB4Ys and C-54s and C-119s gave me a little taste for the WW2 era. I so rarely hear four piston engines anymore, but when I do it takes me right back there. It took my grandpa back to 1944-1945 in Europe, which I don't think he was crazy about.

    I rode in most of the big airlifters of the late '80s: C-130, C-141, C-5, KC-135.

    I was stationed in Spain where the VQ-2 Batmen flew their EA-3Bs. Very cool looking in the flesh. Also saw A-7Es in the fleet. I had a relative who flew A-7s in Vietnam (Constellation), punched out of one over the water .

    The military plane I feel lucky to have seen in actual operation was the Victor tanker. A real sci-fi looking bird.

    Favorite I only got to see at airshows: F-4! The legend.

    Favorite I never saw fly: B-47. A really scary-dangerous aircraft for its crews, on the cutting-edge aerodynamically but the early generation engines were not up to the challenge. But what a beauty! And the backbone of SAC for a few years. I saw Strategic Air Command on TV when I was a kid, and Jimmy Stewart's first view of the Stratojet made a deep impression on me.

    Favorite airline: Western. I remember watching their 720s at SLC in the '70s (missed the old livery, sadly). They were very loud and smoky.

    My favorite airliner is probably my first jumbo, the L-1011 (United SFO-HNL). If you want to see something far out, check this video at about 8:35. It's like something from a Gerry Anderson show.


    One of my favorite books is Fate is the Hunter, though most of the airline part is in DC-2s. There used to be a small air cargo outfit nearby that used a couple DC-3s into the early 2000s, loved watching them.

    From TAC's "every fighter a bomber" era.
     
  14. John Clark

    John Clark Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I prefered the Vulcan myself (and that one I managed to see in a flypast) but the Victor was an interesting looking plane though I've only seen that in a static display.
     
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  15. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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    HInd is a codename the west gave that helicopter, they do the same with everything else military, ships, tanks, submarines, aircraft they all get a codename.

    @John Clark

    The V bombers, Vickers Valiant, Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_Valiant
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Victor
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Vulcan

    I always liked the Vulcan. :

    As for good looking bombers, one is the Mirage IV, it is very small for a bomber but very elegant.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_IV

    The A5 Vigilante is also a very good looking aircraft.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_A-5_Vigilante

    And for the largest and heaviest figter ever: the TU-28 which is around 40(!!) tons.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-28
     
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  16. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Most are right.

    No, the X-20 is the Dyna-Soar. The X-29 is a rebuilt F-5A Freedom Fighter, with no name of its own AFAIK. Its distinguishing feature is the forward swept wing.

    Officially Thunderbolt II, but, yeah. (P-47 was the Thunderbolt.)

    Actually, the Tigershark is the F-20, the F-5 successor (originally, F-5G). F-5A and up were Freedom Fighters, F-5E and up are Tiger IIs. (F-11 was the Tiger.)

    No, it's the Delta Dart, as mentioned. IMO, it's a beautiful aircraft in the relative simplicity of its configuration compared to many others.

    Yes. Officially, it's the Iroquois.

    No, it's the Apache. The Cobra is the AH-1.
     
  17. Silvercrest

    Silvercrest Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think it messed me up because an awful lot of the references were in all caps (HIND-D, etc) — so it looks like an acronym.
    And now I see that "Foxbat" is the NATO codename for the MiG-25, not any kind of Russian internal name.

    So how does it work over here? Are Tomcat, Eagle, Thunderbolt, Iroquois etc. just NATO codenames, or were they also internal names assigned by the manufacturers?

    May be splitting hairs a little hard here.
     
  18. Santaman

    Santaman Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Tomcat is the real model name of the F-14, there's even an official logo for it.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_F-14_Tomcat#Tomcat_logo

    Same for the Eagle and probably most other aircraft.

    As for the NATO designation of the Soviet and Russian military equipment, in the past the actual Soviet names were not known and also they'd be written in Russian, to quickly be able to call out a name they used names like Hind, the Mi-28 we call "Havoc" I'm not sure what the Russians call it though.
     
  19. J.T.B.

    J.T.B. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, the NATO names are often rendered in all caps. They were used because there was often little or incomplete information about the aircraft, especially early in its development. F names for fighters, B names for bombers etc., with an unfortunate result for the MiG -15.

    Now they are usually assigned by the government but they used to come from the manufacturers, and often with a theme: Grumman had cats, Douglas had "sky-something" names, McDonnell supernatural names, Lockheed celestial names etc.
     
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  20. Silvercrest

    Silvercrest Vice Admiral Admiral

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    <looking that one up quickly>
    :guffaw:


    Was the Foxbat's "F" name a mistake, then? They thought it was a regular fighter but it turned out to be an interceptor. Would it have gotten a different name, or is any sort of combat aircraft still "F"?

    Ha! I still wouldn't have noticed that! :beer: