The Airplane Thread

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Here's an aircraft with a rather unusual appearance: A modified Dash-7 belonging to Transport Canada and used for environmental surveillance and to monitor illegal fishing activities, etc.

The Dash-7 was built by De Havilland Canada as the DHC-7, now known as Viking Air.

Further information:

"The -150 version of the Dash 7 built in 1985, has a higher gross weight and increased fuel capacity. Ice patrol, mapping and other surveillance work are the main duties of this aircraft. It has an observatory dome on top of the fuselage and bubble windows out each side and. A SLAR (side looking airborne radar) can take a continuous picture 100 miles wide. (50 miles on each side of the aircraft). The SLAR can see the ground or icebergs through cloud and at night. Radar and camera images can be sent to ground stations and CCG icebreakers via an S-band downlink transmitter. A glass bottom bay holds a Zeiss large-format mapping camera to take pictures out the bottom of the aircraft."

[M-technik-3]

From Tustin Blimp hanger. posted already?

[vreihen16]

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...aboard-carrier

F-35C With Mirror-Like Coating Photographed Aboard Carrier

The mirror-like coatings have appeared on F-22s, F-35s, and F-117s, but this is the first time we have seen them in the carrier environment.

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[Llarry]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

From Tustin Blimp hanger. posted already?

Yes, but such an impressive photo that it's worthy of a re-post!

[Llarry]

The number of Mitsubishi A6M type Zero carrier fighters of World War II still flying can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but there is only one that flies with its original Nakajima Sakae engine. This Zero is held in the Planes of Fame collection in Chino, California, and occasionally flies. Here are a couple of photos of its most recent flight a few days ago.

The tail markings denote the unit (X) and the aircraft number (133) in the older photo. The A6M is now marked 61-120.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

...and sea, apparently. This P8 just overshot the runway today and is now sea-based. Luckly, everybody is safe.

The accident P-8A is now out of the water and on the runway at Kaneohe. Pretty clever how they rolled it ashore with the bladders. Now the real assessment can begin -- can this aircraft be saved and fly again?

[Lady Jane]

Pappy's birthday today.

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

[M-technik-3]

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Nose art like that is why we won the war.

I carried my wife's high school graduation picture in my wallet during my 12 months in Vietnam. I can't explain how that kept my spirits up.

[M-technik-3]

Both the crew members survived this one. Jet had misfortune that no way to be hauled back onboard so off to a watery grave.

[Llarry]

Korea has selected the Brazilian Embraer C-390 for air force medium-lift duties. Since the ROKAF operates earlier model C-130Hs and four C-130Js, I think Lockheed Martin thought they had this one in the bag, only to be disappointed when the competitor jet transport was selected. Korea is the 7th nation to buy C-390s.

I haven't read an analysis of capabilities versus the C-130J, but the C-390 has a heavier gross takeoff weight. Perhaps @flybigjet would like to comment.

The initial order is for just three C-390s, but no doubt more orders will be forthcoming from Korea.

Note that the ROKAF aircraft is a photoshop job and the pictured Brazilian Air Force aircraft has the optional refueling probe.

Edit: Found a comparison chart, which is attached.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_C-390_Millennium

[Llarry]

Here's an obscure B-52 detail: When the strategic arms reduction treaty with the Soviet Union was signed, only 46 American B-52H bombers were permitted to have the capability to employ nuclear weapons. But the total number of B-52Hs in use is 76. How to distinguish the nuclear-capable aircraft from the others? The answer was small distinguishing structures on the rear fuselage of the nuke-capable bombers as shown in the attached photo, which could be discerned by Soviet satellites.

[Lady Jane]

Embraer R-99.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_R-99

[M-technik-3]

Few Hawker Hurricanes

[Llarry]

A recap of the U.S. Air Force's Offutt Air Force Base-based 55th Wing's reconnaissance aircraft:

-- RC-135S Cobra Ball: The three RC-135S aircraft have the mission of MASINT (measurement and signature intelligence) collection on ballistic missiles. This includes electronic information as well as imagery collection. The aircraft have black-painted right wings and engine nacelles.

-- RC-135U Combat Sent: The two RC-135Us collect technical intelligence (TECHINT; specialized ELINT) on radar and other electronic emitters. They do not have the extended nose of other variants.

-- RC-135V and RC-135W Rivet Joint: The eight RC-135Vs and nine RC-135Ws conduct SIGINT (signals intelligence) collection. The UK's Royal Air Force also operates three of these aircraft (not pictured), and there is a single NC-135W that is not part of the 55th but is used for the development of systems for the Rivet Joint fleet. There are also three TC-135W aircraft used for training (and I suspect also logistic support such as crew rotation). The TC-135Ws are distinguishable by the relatively few antennas, whereas the RJs have a large number of antennas.

-- WC-135R Constant Phoenix: Three aerial refueling tankers have recently been converted to WC-135Rs for use in air sampling to detect nuclear testing.

These 55th Wing 135s deploy world-wide, often on short notice, in support of national intelligence requirements.

[vreihen16]

From our regional news site this morning.....

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[Llarry]

The Westinghouse J40 turbojet engine -- from hero to zero.

Westinghouse was an early pioneer in jet engines, developing an axial flow turbojet during World War II that was not based on the British Whittle engine technology. Their initial effort, the J30, powered the U.S. Navy's first carrier-capable jet fighter, the McDonnell FH-1. Their later J34 engines powered the McDonnell F2H Banshee and the Douglas F3D of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

When Westinghouse started development on the larger J40 engine, the Navy bet big on the future success of that turbojet. No fewer than four advanced aircraft were designed around the Westinghouse J40 in the late 1940s. Three were fighters: the McDonnell F3H-1N Demon all-weather fighter, the Douglas F4D-1 Skyray interceptor and the Grumman F10F-1 Jaguar fighter with variable geometry wings. The fighters all used afterburning J40s. One was a very high priority heavy attack bomber, the Douglas A3D-1 Skywarrior, which was designed around the all-weather delivery of the then-bulky nuclear bomb and used a non-afterburning J40 variant.

Westinghouse promised very high performance for the time from the J40 engine: 7,500 pounds of thrust in early models with 10,900 pounds of thrust with afterburner. Advanced versions were to deliver 9,500 pounds of thrust with afterburning increasing the rating to 13,700 pounds.

Despite Westinghouse's pioneering background in jet engines, the J40 turned out to be a monumental flop and threw into disarray the development of all four aircraft.

McDonnell jumped the gun on the F3H-1N and started production without a fully-developed engine. As a result, many F3H-1Ns went straight from the production line to the scrap heap. Significant changes were required to reengineer the aircraft to use the Allison J71 turbojet, which went on to serve as the F3H-2 (later F-3B).

The Douglas XF4D-1 with J40 engine set speed and climb records in early flights, but the glory was short-lived. Fortunately, the aircraft was able to use the excellent Air Force-developed Pratt & Whitney J57 engine and entered service as the F4D-1 (later F-6A). The modified delta wing design proved to be problematic in aircraft carrier operations and the F4D-1's operational career was brief.

The Grumman XF10F-1 was beset by more than J40-related engine problems. The variable-geometry wings and control system were perhaps a step too far for the time and the Jaguar never entered service.

The Douglas XA3D-1 with its twin engines in pods below the wings proved easier to fix. Production A3D-1s and later A3D-2s (later A-3A and A-3B) went on to a long career in carrier aviation using non-afterburning versions of the P&W J57 engine.

As for Westinghouse, the failure of the J40 engine -- by 1955, the Navy had pulled the plug on the J40 -- contributed substantially to the company's exit from the aircraft jet engine business.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westinghouse_J40

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Westinghouse J40 turbojet engine -- from hero to zero.

Coincidentally, another early gas turbine engine with a "40" suffix was also a failure. But this time, it was an established engine manufacturer, Allison, and the result was not so dire.

Allison, the company that had developed the liquid-cooled V-12 V-1710 piston engine used in a large number of World War II aircraft (P-38, early P-51, etc.) decided to concentrate on turboprop engines after the war. Their T40 turboprop was actually two smaller T38 engines side by side coupled to a single drive shaft and powering contra-rotating propellors.

The T40 was specified for a four-engine flying boat patrol aircraft by Convair, the XP5Y-1, later to be repurposed as a large transport flying boat, the R3Y Tradewind. While production R3Y-1s and -2s were produced, the number was quite small -- just 11 Tradewinds served the Navy -- and they were retired after just a few years.

The other two T40 applications were attack aircraft:
-- The Douglas XA2D-1 Skyshark was an attempt to improve the performance of the AD (later A-1) Skyraider by substituting a more powerful turboprop for the AD's piston engine. The problematic T40 doomed production plans for the A2D and the AD (A-1) went on to long and honorable service into the 1970s.
-- The North American XA2J-1 Super Savage was designed as a replacement for the company's AJ Savage heavy attack aircraft. The AJ used two piston engines and one turbojet; the A2J was designed for superior performance with twin T40s. Like the A2D, the A2J never made it into production, with the A3D (A-3) Skywarrior taking over the heavy attack mission on U.S. Navy carriers.

The rest of the story is better than that of Westinghouse, as Allison went on to develop the T56 (civil 501) turboprop used by the Lockheed Electra, P-3 and C-130 aircraft, among others. Allison ultimately became part of Rolls-Royce and still produces aero engines.

[vreihen16]

This is probably fake/CGI.....

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8bE9vBgZp0w



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[Llarry]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

This is probably fake/CGI.....

The U.S. footage is legit but reversed, but I agree the footage of the Flanker landing without a wire seems improbable.

[M-technik-3]

A friend of mine bought a pt-26 back in the 50's and he still has it.

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

A friend of mine bought a pt-26 back in the 50's and he still has it.

Holy shite!

I'll take a dozen of each, please.