The Aircraft Thread

[Owain Taggart]

The Concorde. Technologically obsolete almost before it went into service, a fuel guzzler, permitted to fly supersonically only over water due to the sonic boom, and never profitable even with the premium fares charged for the privilege of traveling between Paris and New York in three-and-a-half hours.

But damned if it wasn’t sheer poetry in flight. The most beautiful commercial transport aircraft ever built, and one of the most beautiful aircraft of any type in the history of aviation.

There's nothing quite like watching a Harrier go to slowflight.....and then just stop in midair.

As I understand it, in combat operations the Harrier is usually flown in STOVL (short takeoff, vertical landing) mode, allowing it to lift off with a useful-sized weapons load without gobbling fuel. The vertical takeoff and hover capability is mostly for airshows.

Aye, it's a shame it cost so much to operate. I have a shot from the Air & Space Museum:

 

[J.T.B.]

Aye, it's a shame it cost so much to operate. I have a shot from the Air & Space Museum:

And that's the legendary Dash-80 in the foreground!

--Justin

 

[judge alba]

my favourite aircraft would have to be this little old girl, the P-61 black widow

 

[Owain Taggart]

Aye, it's a shame it cost so much to operate. I have a shot from the Air & Space Museum:

And that's the legendary Dash-80 in the foreground!

--Justin

This one?

Yep, one of my favourites. I love the look of silver on planes.

 

[Marc]

Aye, it's a shame it cost so much to operate. I have a shot from the Air & Space Museum:

And that's the legendary Dash-80 in the foreground!

--Justin

This one?

Yep, one of my favourites. I love the look of silver on planes.

No that I would say is a DC-4.

The Dash-80 is the large 4 engined jet liner.

A first I thought it was a 707 (but then the Dash-80 is reguarded as the prototype design).

And one has to remember it's different from the Dash-8 which is a turbo-prop made by Dehavilland.

Would love to visit the Air & Space Museum and I'd really love to get into the cockpits - all those buttons to press and switches the throw

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ That's actually the Air & Space Museum Annex, not the original museum itself, which is also a great place to visit.

Unfortunately, in neither are there really any cockpits for any visitors to climb into and play with the switches. (Dang it!) Although I may be mistaken on the original museum in the National Mall -- it's been a few years since I was there last, and the displays are rotated periodically.

There's another warehouse in Maryland where more of the "spill over" airplanes donated to/obtained by the Smithsonian are stored. It's even more packed full of aircraft parts/pieces, most taken apart for ease of storage.

That's where I first saw the Enola Gay, not on display, just stuffed back into a corner. The only item you could see was the nose and name plate (i.e. the panel with her name on it). It was kind of humbling and sad, seeing that kind of history just packed away almost nonchalantly...

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[sojourner]

my favourite aircraft would have to be this little old girl, the P-61 black widow

I love this plane as well. Got to see it up close and personal at the National Air & Space annex.

 

[Owain Taggart]

^ That's actually the Air & Space Museum Annex, not the original museum itself, which is also a great place to visit.

Unfortunately, in neither are there really any cockpits for any visitors to climb into and play with the switches. (Dang it!) Although I may be mistaken on the original museum in the National Mall -- it's been a few years since I was there last, and the displays are rotated periodically.

There's another warehouse in Maryland where more of the "spill over" airplanes donated to/obtained by the Smithsonian are stored. It's even more packed full of aircraft parts/pieces, most taken apart for ease of storage.

That's where I first saw the Enola Gay, not on display, just stuffed back in a far corner. The only item you could see was the nose and name plate (i.e. the panel with her name on it). It was kind of humbling and sad, seeing that kind of history just packed away almost nonchalantly...

Cheers,
-CM-

Yeah, unfortunately we didn't get to visit the original much as unforeseen problems happened that we had to get to, but we had a lot of fun at the Annex which is where we spent most of our time. We'll likely go there again when we visit next time. Oh and oops, I just realized you meant the Boeing plane. Dash 80's the internal name for the 707, right? I was actually very surprised at how small it looked.

 

[Canadave]

And one has to remember it's different from the Dash-8 which is a turbo-prop made by Dehavilland.

Bombardier, now, actually, though it was introduced by DeHavilland Canada.

Dash 80's the internal name for the 707, right? I was actually very surprised at how small it looked.

It refers to the Boeing 367-80, the lone prototype built for the 707.

 

[MANT!]

Is that why the tandem cockpit and bubble canopy of the XB-52 prototype were changed to conventional windows and side-by-side seating for production?

The main reason usually cited is that the a/c and pilot were able to work together and assist each other better on a conventional side-by-side flight deck. I have also read that General LeMay demanded the change after he got a look at a Vickers Valiant.

--Justin

Strategic Air Command lore has it that LeMay( AKA the Godfather of SAC) demanded the change after he tried out the B-52 pilot's seat and could barely fit into it...sadly the change lowered the top speed by 10 MPH..mostly due to the heavier structure required for the "Airliner" cockpit...


Fighters make movies..BOMBERS make HISTORY!!

 

[Switch]

There's nothing quite like watching a Harrier go to slowflight.....and then just stop in midair.

Hmm, what about a good Cobra?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7F8XfSLXHY[/yt]



Embraer KC-390

This is cheating a bit as the KC-390's first flight isn't scheduled to occur till 2014, but w/e. The KC-390 is the largest project ever undertaken by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and will compete most directly with Lockheed's C-130J Super Hercules. Whilst most folks' attention at the moment is directed towards the larger Airbus A400M and Kawasaki C-2, the KC-390 promises to be the sexiest airlifter ever to take to the skies. All opinions to the contrary are wrong.

 

[scotpens]

This one?

Yep, one of my favourites. I love the look of silver on planes.

No that I would say is a DC-4.

Actually the plane with the polished bare metal finish is the single surviving Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized commercial airliner. Only ten were built.

 

[Owain Taggart]

This one?



Yep, one of my favourites. I love the look of silver on planes.

No that I would say is a DC-4.

Actually the plane with the polished bare metal finish is the single surviving Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized commercial airliner. Only ten were built.

Wow, ok. It's no wonder we're getting confused. They look so similar. I thought it was a DC-3 at first.

 

[Canadave]

This is cheating a bit as the KC-390's first flight isn't scheduled to occur till 2014, but w/e. The KC-390 is the largest project ever undertaken by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and will compete most directly with Lockheed's C-130J Super Hercules. Whilst most folks' attention at the moment is directed towards the larger Airbus A400M and Kawasaki C-2, the KC-390 promises to be the sexiest airlifter ever to take to the skies. All opinions to the contrary are wrong.

Embraer is making some lovely planes. I'm a big fan of their commercial jets, having flown on the 195 and 175 a few times. They look quite nice, and have very well-designed interiors. Probably the best medium-ranger airliner out there right now, IMO.

 

[scotpens]

Actually the plane with the polished bare metal finish is the single surviving Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized commercial airliner. Only ten were built.

Wow, ok. It's no wonder we're getting confused. They look so similar. I thought it was a DC-3 at first.

Couldn’t be a DC-3. Wrong number of engines.

And the DC-4 looks totally different from the Boeing 307, especially the nose.

 

[J.T.B.]

It refers to the Boeing 367-80, the lone prototype built for the 707.

Or, more specifically, the prototype model that led to the 707 and the KC-135. The 707 actually had to be given a wider fuselage, to allow for 3+3 seating comparable to the upcoming DC-8. Because the commercial name 707 had already been marketed to airlines (and the name Jet Stratoliner never really caught on), the KC-135 was given the Boeing model number 717 even though it was the earlier design.

The designation “367-80” was a bit of industrial misdirection, making it appear that the new jet was just a development of the prop-engine KC-97 tanker. The Dash-80 was very expensive and somewhat of a gamble because the Air Force tanker contract was not guaranteed and airlines were not yet sold on buying passenger planes from Boeing the bomber-builder. But the gamble paid off as we all know and the rest is jet age history. The Dash-80 is one of the most historically significant single aircraft you’re going to find anywhere.

--Justin

 

[RedShirt]

Embraer KC-390

Awww! It looks like a C-17 had a baby... isn't it just the cutest little thing?
No really, nice looking plane.

 

[Gepard]

One of my favourites has always been the SR-71 and I took the opportunity to photograph it. While photographing it head on, it almost disappears due to its profile.

Lovely photos in this thread – and the Air and Space Museum ones are gorgeous – but... Oh, God, the Revenge of the Fallen flashbacks! Somebody help me...

 

[sojourner]

^I don't get it???

 

[TheSeeker]

I assume he's referencing the SR-71 who transforms into an old geezer in the last Transformers movie.