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

[UssGlenn]

They actually retrieved the third one from a boneyard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-57_Canberra

I bought this original concept illustration of the Canberra the other day.

 

[J.T.B.]

I bought this original concept illustration of the Canberra the other day.

Very cool.

For an Australian city, Canberra has done pretty well in the states, with USAF bomber and USN cruiser and LCS namesakes.

 

[Marc]

There were a lot more long runways after WW2, but facilities for a plane that big would have also been expensive, and after the war more passengers at lower fares worked better than Pan Am's pre-war high-fare exclusive model.

And with the increase in travellers there was probably a demand for faster and more direct travel than what was offered with the Clippers.

For an Australian city, Canberra has done pretty well in the states, with USAF bomber and USN cruiser and LCS namesakes.

I think the USN cruise is named in reference to the HMAS Canberra which was sunk during the Battle of The Coral sea.

The B-57 keep the moniker when the designed was obtained from English Electric and wiki tells me aircraft got the name because the Australian government was interested and the RAAF would eventually fly 49 of them.

One is preserved in Adelaide but I've never actually visited the air museum there.

 

[J.T.B.]

And with the increase in travellers there was probably a demand for faster and more direct travel than what was offered with the Clippers.

For sure, and you couldn't feed many routes with just a handful of giant airliners.

I think the USN cruise is named in reference to the HMAS Canberra which was sunk during the Battle of The Coral sea.

The B-57 keep the moniker when the designed was obtained from English Electric and wiki tells me aircraft got the name because the Australian government was interested and the RAAF would eventually fly 49 of them.

All true, but it still traces back to the city!

Meanwhile, a lovely VC10 in '60s BOAC colors in the Netflix series The Crown.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

For sure, and you couldn't feed many routes with just a handful of giant airliners.



All true, but it still traces back to the city!

Meanwhile, a lovely VC10 in '60s BOAC colors in the Netflix series The Crown.
View attachment 17187

That is beautiful

 

[publiusr]

I love T tails

 

[Marc]

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gives a bit of an insight in the avionics bay from the 747-400 but also discusses aircraft information systems from an IT security point as we move from the separated systems on the 744s to the fibre optic based integrated computers systems on the 777-X,787 and A380 (probably also the A350s)

 

[Santaman]

One of the aircraft that I've flown in, spiffy little bird this one, really quick off the starting line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_146

 

[scotpens]

The only time I ever flew on a piston-engine airliner was back in December 1968, when my family took a week-long Mexican vacation. We flew from Mexico City to Acapulco on an Aeromexico DC-6 like this one.

I was surprised by the cabin noise level compared to contemporary jets. That thing was LOUD inside. Did airline passengers in the pre-jet age bring earmuffs with them?

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The only time I ever flew on a piston-engine airliner was back in December 1966, when my family took a week-long Mexican vacation. We flew from Mexico City to Acapulco on an Aeromexico DC-6 like this one.

I was surprised by the cabin noise level compared to contemporary jets. That thing was LOUD inside. Did airline passengers in the pre-jet age bring earmuffs with them?

I don't think they did but just put up with it. Doesn't sound enjoyable.

 

[John Clark]

I've only flown on two piston engine aircraft. I can't remember what the second was (basic puddle jumpler to the Channel Islands), but the other was a DC-3. That was a shorter flight done at one of the airshows and I didn't really pay much attention to the noise (first flight and all that) so I was enjoying it too much.

 

[publiusr]

Anyone have details on RHEINBERRY, AQUILINE or the AQM-91?

 

[John Clark]

Anyone have details on RHEINBERRY, AQUILINE or the AQM-91?

I'dat least heard of the AQM-91 (Drone from the 60s?) but I'm not sure where from. It's a while back. The others didn't ring a bell, but google indicates also unmanned aircraft?

 

[Marc]

I was surprised by the cabin noise level compared to contemporary jets. That thing was LOUD inside. Did airline passengers in the pre-jet age bring earmuffs with them?

if they did, the earmuffs must have been removed and hidden for the photos

Can't say I've ever seen anything talking about the noise and vibration of plane travel in the piston era.

 

[J.T.B.]

One of the aircraft that I've flown in, spiffy little bird this one, really quick off the starting line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_146

The four-engine regional jet! Never had the pleasure, but I heard they really climb.

I was surprised by the cabin noise level compared to contemporary jets. That thing was LOUD inside. Did airline passengers in the pre-jet age bring earmuffs with them?

Sound-proofing came in with the Boeing 247 in the early'30s, then the DC-2 adopted it and improved on it with the DST/DC-3. It was still loud by today's standards. The soundproofing material was all removed from US airliners requisitioned by the armed forces in WW2 to save weight (the Stratoliners' pressurization equipment was also removed). A lot of post-war cargo DC-3s didn't have soundproofing.

I've never flown in a large piston plane. C-130s were plenty loud, though; the crew handed out earplugs.

 

[Santaman]

I can confirm that those 146's accelerate and climb very fast, fastest aircraft in that respect that I've flown in so far, flew in Airbus 320's 737's, Fokker 70 and I think it was a De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop machine when I flew to Newquay airport to visit none other than RevdKathy.

 

[UssGlenn]

I was surprised by the cabin noise level compared to contemporary jets. That thing was LOUD inside. Did airline passengers in the pre-jet age bring earmuffs with them?

I wonder if there is an appreciable difference in cabin noise when the plane is new vs after being in service for many years.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned "Burt Rutan" & his company "Scaled Composites"
He has so many innovative Air Frame designs.

His company was responsible for everything from:
Civil Aviation personal Aircraft like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_VariEze

Record Breaking Aircraft like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Voyager

Next Generation Space Launch Platform:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipTwo

Which is being pushed as a alternative vehicle to get people into space by Virgin Galactic & Richard Branson.

Crazy one-off ideas like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_Stratolaunch

Which has a lot of potential for getting Micro Sats into space at a affordable price.

Burt's personal retirement project for Civil Aviation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_SkiGull

Which I think could be a "Game Changer" for civil Aviation.
A personal Aircraft that can land on AirStrips, Water, Snow, Rough Grass Fields.
Wings fold up so that you can put this plane on a personal trailer and tow it home.
No need to pay Airport parking fees.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

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

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

If you want to talk about Aircraft Designers & staff @ Scaled Composites:
They've explored more Aircraft Wing Designs than most companies ever have.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_configuration

There are ALOT out there historically, and Scaled Composites has tried so many of them.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I wish Three Surface Aircraft & Tandem Wing Aircraft would get more love.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-surface_aircraft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_P.180_Avanti

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_wing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAC_Quickie_Q2

QAC Quickie would be neat if you modify it with a "Equi-Angular Y-Tail" rear configuration and keep the Reverse Tricycle landing gear setup.

That would fix alot of issues people have with "Reverse Tricycle" landing gear setups.

And convert the engine to a 3-Propeller design and put in a modern efficient engine.