Post amazingly cool pictures of aircraft (Volume 3)

[aeropilot]

LotusOmega375D said:

Always like parking in Heathrow T2/T3 Long Stay. The runway approach landing lights are literally in the middle of the car park, so you can stand and watch the planes go straight over your head, almost like St Marten! Well not quite, but you get the idea. This photo was taken from the far end of the car park.

For nearly 4 years, pre-Covid, I used to park in the staff car park next to this, which is right at the end of the runway, under the flight path......this was the 135i Coupe I used to own, with an A380 about to fly almost right over it

[MartG]

Douglas XCG-17 assault glider, created by removing the engines from a C-47. Only one built



https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/douglas-xcg-17-...

[5 In a Row]

Shouldn't you be able to see the left hand cowling, etc where the engine was removed?

[JeremyH5]

5 In a Row said:

Shouldn't you be able to see the left hand cowling, etc where the engine was removed?

Apparently not!



But it does exist


Click the link in the original post.

[mylesmcd]

from the 'book needless to say..

The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is a radial aircraft engine developed by the Wright Aeronautical Division of the Curtiss-Wright Company in the 1930s. It's considered one of the most powerful radial engines produced in the US. The engine has 18 cylinders, a displacement of 3,350 cubic inches, and a power output ranging from 2,200 to over 3,700 horsepower. The main military application was powering the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, but the engine had a long development period before being used in the B-29. Initially, it had reliability issues, but it matured and remained in production after the war, being used in both military and civilian aircraft

[havoc]

Top pic looks very likely to be Rare Bear, bottom one is (IIRC) Burt Rutan's attempt at an air racer.

[mylesmcd]

havoc said:

Top pic looks very likely to be Rare Bear, bottom one is (IIRC) Burt Rutan's attempt at an air racer.

Burts plane looks a bit fast!

[havoc]

It had potential but was under-powered and still experimental, vs the rather more robust* and well-tested souped-up warbirds.

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


Rare Bear, by contrast, was one of the ultimate hot-rodded warbirds, and one of the prettiest.
https://www.flightjournal.com/rare-bear-wrecked-f8...
https://lewisairlegends.com/f8f2-bearcat-rare-bear


(as a footnote, while Rutan failed to field a competitive air racer, the Sport Class championship in the US now contains a slew of 300mph+ machines, mainly Super Glasair's and Lancair Super Legacy's, which could probably hold their own against a stock Mustang, despite looking a little more conventional)



* Both the Merlin and the P&W radials were well-known quantities by then.

[jimmydash]

ric p said:

Then you might like this. Some fascinating stuff.

https://youtu.be/SsUCixAeZ0A?si=KWdhGK3Hok5J10FK

This was superb, thank you Ric. Got any more?

[hidetheelephants]

havoc said:

It had potential but was under-powered and still experimental, vs the rather more robust* and well-tested souped-up warbirds.

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

Rare Bear, by contrast, was one of the ultimate hot-rodded warbirds, and one of the prettiest.
https://www.flightjournal.com/rare-bear-wrecked-f8...
https://lewisairlegends.com/f8f2-bearcat-rare-bear

(as a footnote, while Rutan failed to field a competitive air racer, the Sport Class championship in the US now contains a slew of 300mph+ machines, mainly Super Glasair's and Lancair Super Legacy's, which could probably hold their own against a stock Mustang, despite looking a little more conventional)

* Both the Merlin and the P&W radials were well-known quantities by then.

They appear to have set themselves up to fail; car engines can work in aircraft but it's a very different use of them and not doing dyno tests to eliminate teething issues like lubrication and cooling seems amateurish at best.

[GliderRider]

mylesmcd said:

It is quite incredible that aircraft designed for accomodating guns and cannons, coping with landing on aircraft carriers and carrying enough fuel to travel out and back many hundreds of miles, can, with some modification, still beat a purpose-built aircraft benefitting from several extra decades of aerodynamic and engineering knowledge.

[RizzoTheRat]

havoc said:

(as a footnote, while Rutan failed to field a competitive air racer, the Sport Class championship in the US now contains a slew of 300mph+ machines, mainly Super Glasair's and Lancair Super Legacy's, which could probably hold their own against a stock Mustang, despite looking a little more conventional)

While they didn't make the grade with that one, I've always liked a lot of Rutan's unusual looking designs.

Voyager made it right round the world non stop 40 years ago


and Proteus is over 25 years old now and still being used for high altitude research

[Baron Greenback]

Always love the design of Long-EZ

[havoc]

RizzoTheRat said:

While they didn't make the grade with that one, I've always liked a lot of Rutan's unusual looking designs.

Really glad people like him exist in the world.

Baron Greenback said:

Always love the design of Long-EZ

Yep, that and the Vari-eze are definitely cool.

[75Black]

Technically it's an aircraft AND a car, but these are too good not to share. Attended a private Mustang meet last weekend where we got to get up close and personal with "Miss Helen", honestly will never forget the sound of that engine as it flew overhead.

[havoc]

75Black said:

Attended a private Mustang meet last weekend where we got to get up close and personal with "Miss Helen", honestly will never forget the sound of that engine as it flew overhead.

Snap (sort of - same squadron markings, but this one based in the US)

And agreed...a warbird overhead at full chat gets indelibly lodged!

[75Black]

havoc said:

Snap (sort of - same squadron markings, but this one based in the US)

And agreed...a warbird overhead at full chat gets indelibly lodged!

Yep! Both aircraft look to be part of the 352nd FG aka the Blue Nosed bds of Bodney.

[aeropilot]

75Black said:

havoc said:

Snap (sort of - same squadron markings, but this one based in the US)

And agreed...a warbird overhead at full chat gets indelibly lodged!

Yep! Both aircraft look to be part of the 352nd FG aka the Blue Nosed bds of Bodney.

But, Miss Helen here in the UK, is a real 352nd aircraft, and the only surviving P-51 to have served with the 352nd, and the Miss Helen markings is it's original scheme from when double-ace Ray Littge flew it with the 352nd in the last couple months of WW2, naming it Miss Helen after his fiancee at the time.

[75Black]

aeropilot said:

75Black said:

havoc said:

Snap (sort of - same squadron markings, but this one based in the US)

And agreed...a warbird overhead at full chat gets indelibly lodged!

Yep! Both aircraft look to be part of the 352nd FG aka the Blue Nosed bds of Bodney.

But, Miss Helen here in the UK, is a real 352nd aircraft, and the only surviving P-51 to have served with the 352nd, and the Miss Helen markings is it's original scheme from when double-ace Ray Littge flew it with the 352nd in the last couple months of WW2, naming it Miss Helen after his fiancee at the time.

The gallery it flew into (Aces High Aviation Gallery) where we had our private Mustang meet, has also retained originals pieces of the aircraft from after a mission. Body panels and there's a piece of flap or trim with a fist sized hole in it from AA or cannon fire, surreal to see.