Daft Aviation Pictures

[Phil Perry]

The ROYAL AIR FORCE.

 

 

 

Buying crazy looking aeroplanes since 1918. . .

 

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

For someone who always wants to get there first. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Looks like a one-off adaptation of an obsolete Meteor for training purposes.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Why did so many early jet aircraft have their engines out on the wings?

 

There were no props to clear the fuselage. It's guaranteed to cause asymetric thrust when one engine fails...

 

Was it just design inertia, lack of imagination, or because pilots expected engines on each wing?

 

 

[kasper]

Why engines on the wings?

 

Well structurally it’s helpful as the load of the engine is out on the wing making the wing structure lighter for the same loaded weights.

 

Given the overal thrust was not huge for the weight of the aircraft saving weight was very important if you had to lug around a couple of very heavy engines.

 

Consider two early jets in a meteor weigh in at 950kg (2,050lbs) and combined produce 4,000lb thrust but gobbled up 2,000kg of kero an hour at full throttle.

 

Airframe weight was critical.

 

 

[red750]

Why did so many early jet aircraft have their engines out on the wings?

So they could perform the Zurabatic Cartwheel.

 

 

[old man emu]

Here is a record of the first time a Zurabatic Cartwheel was done in publi.

 

Highlights Of Farnborough 1951

 

The pilot was Janusz Żurakowski - Wikipedia

 

The day a dream crashed to earth

 

The Avro Canada Arrow was probably the first new generation military aircraft development that was killed off by government ignorance

 

Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow - Wikipedia

 

 

[Birdseye]

It was a test vehicle for a prone pilot position, with the aim to determine if there were any benefits in things like G tolerance.

 

 

[Birdseye]

Just checked, there is even a Wiki page on it : Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot" - Wikipedia

 

 

[pmccarthy]

 

I would rather be in the nose of this Meteor than in the nose of the Spad.

 

 

[nomadpete]

That Spad was innovative. It took me a while to work out how the propulsion worked.

 

No need for trigger synchronisation!

 

 

[ClintonB]

no pointing behind- there goes a bad guy! whoops.

 

 

[IBob]

Yep...you wouldn't want a gunner with a delicate digestive system.........(

 

 

[pmccarthy]

It makes a good crumple zone for the pilot.

 

 

[facthunter]

Perhaps the first $#1t hitting the fan experience.. I wonder where the cartridge cases went ..Nev