willedoo

Just a thread for a place to put interesting links to aviation history websites. Found this one today, it has some good stuff. http://www.aviation-history.com/index.html Cheers, Willie.

That's quite bizarre, Peter. I'd be guessing Jakarta. Amazing the way they fold the awnings back out. Cheers, Willie.

A California wildlife santuary is trying to get three elephants flown down from Toronto in a C-17. It would make a good film documentary if it ever happened. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/22/california-sanctuary-wants-toronto-elephants-flown-south-on-c-17-military-aircraft/ Cheers, Willie.

March 15 - A Mali Air Force Mil Mi-24 Hind crashed into a Burkina Faso army vehicle near Diabaly in Mali, killing a Burkinabe soldier in the vehicle. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE92D11T20130314 [ATTACH=full]1752[/ATTACH] A Mil Mi-8 crashed in heavy fog near the Khankala military base in the Russian Republic of Chechnya earlier today, March 16, with the loss of three of the four crew. One of the pilots survived and was hospitalized. The crew members were the only persons aboard. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130316/180056540/Three-Dead-in-Army-Copter-Crash-in-Chechnya.html [ATTACH=full]1714[/ATTACH] March 31 - A Chinese PLAAF Su-27 crashed in the coastal province of Shandong during a drill, killing two pilots. http://www.ibtimes.com/pla-fighter-jet-crash-two-die-chinese-military-air-drill-video-1164303 [ATTACH=full]1802[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18376[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18390[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18413[/ATTACH]

I've only been to two war cemeteries, at Kanchanaburi and Cowra, but I know what you mean, Geoff; it's a humbling experience. The Australian section at Cowra is the resting place for quite a few who lost their lives at the training camp on the Sydney Road side of Cowra. Some from illness and some from accidents fom what I can gather. It's very sad, I hope we never forget what they did. Cheers, Willie.

USN E/A-6B Prowler from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island crashed on a training flight in Washington State on Monday, March 11, with the loss of three crew. http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/navy-identifies-3-killed-wash-plane-crash [ATTACH=full]1712[/ATTACH] March 12 - A Zambian Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter crash landed at Lusaka City Airport, injuring the co-pilot and killing the pilot. http://www.zambianwatchdog.com/another-zaf-chopper-crash-lands/comment-page-2/ [ATTACH=full]1753[/ATTACH] March 12 - An Israeli Army Bell AH-1 Cobra crashed during a night training flight in southern Israel with the loss of two pilots. http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-army-helicopter-crash-kills-2-pilots-060759069.html [ATTACH=full]1754[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18375[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18391[/ATTACH]

The notes attached to the original YouTube post said it was from a TV special called "James May On The Moon", which was made to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landings. Haven't seen it, will have to keep an eye out for that one. Dave, the UK bases must provide a lot of quality spotting. Hopefully I'll get there one day. Cheers, Willie.

James May hitches a ride in a U-2 trainer to 70,000 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJoMDq4AyLc

Yes, Geoff, it sure is a very entertaining take on the subject. I seem to remember reading about the initial introduction of the L Birds at the start of the war. There was the usual feuds and rivalry between services; a lot of debate between the Army ground forces and the Army Air Corps as to whether it was transport ( a Vee-hickle, and therefore under the control of the Artillery and other ground forces), or an aeroplane ( under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps). I'm not sure if either branch was trying to own the Cubs or dis-own them, as their popularity didn't seem to be well established at that stage. Cheers,Willie.

Thanks, Dexter. That was really enjoyable viewing. Cheers, Willie.

Found out a bit more on the LST flight decks, first used in the Italian campaign in WW2. The decks were around seventy yards long and twelve feet wide. The framework was timber, anchored to the deck with wire cables; the floor of the flight deck being constructed with steel matting. The runway had a slight rise three quarters of the way towards the bow. The ship's bow had ballast to give the pilot a downgrade take-off run for three quarters of the length and a level deck for the remainder. With a ship speed of ten knots into a ten knot wind, the L-4's were airborne in fifty yards. This link is an interesting first hand account with a few photos. http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fF8RlQx_dls/T2IYBUkBBNI/AAAAAAAADmo/0_vX9LggZIE/s1600/3rdID_L4-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://tailspinstales.blogspot.com/2012/03/when-i-landed-war-was-over.html&usg=__Bk05Uf6v5FMMtF-WxUfVogEAHlk=&h=494&w=800&sz=140&hl=en&start=20&zoom=1&tbnid=CBEs1T-dM_YprM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=143&ei=fAYsUctcxJWTBeCQgfAF&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpiper%2Bcub%2Blst%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D1%26site%3Dimghp%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&sa=X&ved=0CFAQrQMwEw [ATTACH=full]1680[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1682[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1683[/ATTACH] Cheers, Willie. [ATTACH]18366[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18370[/ATTACH]

A Reuters article discusses a possible reduction in Australian orders. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/24/us-lockheed-fighter-australia-idUSBRE91N0EK20130224

Interesting viewing; thanks mnewbery & Siz for those links. Always a hit to see the good old military/industrial complex outdoing themselves. The F-35 must be just about the most scrutinized programme in history. Cheers, Willie.

This engine is sort of older (70 years), and while the engine was not unusual, it featured a back-up pull-start mechanism similar to that of a chain saw or lawn mower; it's the Junkers Jumo 004 axial flow turbo-jet from the Messerschmitt Me-262. The turbine was spooled up by a two-stroke Riedel motorcycle engine acting as a pilot motor, similar to that of starting with an APU. The Riedel engine was housed inside the intake diverter body, which had a hole in the centre to accommodate the pull-start cord. I believe the Riedel had it’s own starter motor for regular use, and used the pull-start as an emergency back-up. 1.Front view showing the cut-away and ring pull in the diverter centre. 2.With the diverter removed, showing the Riedel engine. [ATTACH=full]1669[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1670[/ATTACH] Side view. [ATTACH=full]1671[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1672[/ATTACH] The Soviets reverse-engineered the Jumo 004 as the RD-10 which powered the Yak-15, with the same starting system. The BMW 003 was copied as the RD-20, powering the MiG-9. The 003 had the Riedel starting system as well, but I’m not sure if the MiG-9 or Yak-15 had the emergency pull-start. The MiG-9 had twin engines deep in the fuselage, behind and below the cockpit. Photos don't show any obvious opening for the pull-start, so it may have only had the electric start. This Yak-15 shows what looks like a hole in the centre of the diverter, so it may possibly have had the pull-start. Haven't found any references to the RD-10 having it for sure, though. [ATTACH=full]1673[/ATTACH] Cheers, Willie. [ATTACH]18365[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18369[/ATTACH]

A Yemeni Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 crashed into a residential area of Sanaa, Yemen, on the 19th. of February, killing at least twelve people on the ground. The pilot was reported to have ejected, with conflicting reports as to his survival. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132199526871565.html [ATTACH=full]1665[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18364[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18368[/ATTACH]

BAE test pilot, Steve Long shows how he performs a carrier landing pattern in the F-35 carrier simulator at Warton, Lancashire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d2ep8i0sRs

A very short clip testing the Martin-Baker ejection seat for the F-35 Lightning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIz5z9VoLJU Interesting to note that around 15% of each F-35 will be built in the UK. BAE Systems is providing the aft fuselsge, fuel system, crew escape and life-support systems. Other British technology is the flight control system and electro-optics. Cobham Plc manufactures over 100 different components on the Lightning. What's new with the F-35 programme is that all the British contracts were awarded on best value and technology, rather than traditional off-set agreements. Cheers, Willie.

Geoff, as far as I know, water injection died out as a means of thrust augmentation in the seventies, once high by-pass turbofans came on the scene with their ample thust reserves for take-off. It was a good idea at the time though, when they only had turbojets and low BP turbofans. Nomally the water was injected upstream of the compressor, which vaporizes causing temperature to drop, in turn causing density, hence mass to increase, providing the extra thrust due to increased mass flow rate. According to theory, thrust depends on airstream velocity and mass flow rate, which is linked to air density (mass=density x volume). Density increases with pressure and decreases with temperature, so the water injection helped at high altitude airports, and on hot days. Not sure about the methanol mix though,whether it was injected direct into the combustors or not. Here's a rough way to start up on a hot day. It's an An-24 turbo-prop. Fairly sure it's at Chita, just north of the Mongolian border in Eastern Russia. Cheers, Willie.

On the subject of Convairs, here's a 1965 Convair 600 promo. Cheers, Willie.

A small article with some photos of flying inflatables in Vietnam. http://yachtpals.com/flying-boats-7022

Some well meaning enthusiasm from the original author, but the USS Wasp is an amphibious Marine assult ship, not a carrier. They're just retiring Harriers for F-35B Lightnings, so they already had no catapult, no hook. Only thing that's changed is the radar signature and a bit of technology. The carriers will still operate conventional launch and recovery with the non-STOVL F-35C. Nice to see the programme achieving a few benchmarks lately, though. Cheers, Willie.

Republic of Guinea Casa 235-220 transport, 3X-GGG, crashed on approach to Roberts International Airport, Liberia, on February 11th., with no survivors. The flight was transporting a military delegation, including Guinea's military chief to Liberian Armed Forces Day celebrations. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/11/guinea-military-chief-plane-crash [ATTACH=full]1658[/ATTACH] 11 February - An Azerbaijan Air Force Mil Mi-17 crashed into the Caspian Sea, all three crew members were lost. http://xairforces.net/newsd_country.asp?newsid=2162&id=61&newst=3#.UYNOAFLpxqE [ATTACH=full]1749[/ATTACH] 12 February - An Indian Air Force MiG-27MU crashed during a training flight near Allwani Ki Dhani in Rajasthan State, pilot ejected safely. http://www.firstpost.com/india/mig-27-crashes-in-rajasthan-pilot-bails-out-622871.html [ATTACH=full]1750[/ATTACH] 19 February - An Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30 crashed in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district , both the pilots ejected safely. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sukhoi-30-fighter-jet-crashes-in-rajasthan-pilots-safe-333042 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/iaf-crashes-lose-one-fighter-squadron-every-2-yrs-113032100022_1.html [ATTACH=full]1758[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18363[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]18389[/ATTACH]

A couple of photos of the Aeronca C-3. The front end looks a bit like a white pointer shark. [ATTACH=full]1654[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1655[/ATTACH] Cheers, Willie. [ATTACH]18362[/ATTACH]

Looking at it from the perspective of manufacturers, Cessna has around 90,000 in the top ten, and Piper close to 53,000. That's a lot of aeroplanes. Makes you wonder if the founders had any idea it would come to that. Cheers, Willie.

I certainly wouldn't have guessed those numbers of DC-3's; it would have made Douglas a lot of money. The MiG-15 was helped along by foreign production in Poland and Czechoslovakia to the tune of about one third of total production. China also made some 2 seat UTI trainers; not sure of the numbers. Of the more than 13,000 made in the USSR, nearly 3,500 were Mig-15 UTI trainers, as there was no MiG-17 or Mig-19 production trainers. In the Warsaw Pact countries the old twin seat MiG-15 UTI was the primary trainer into the seventies until the L-29 and L-39 replaced it. So that would have boosted production numbers a bit. Another interesting number is the B-24 Liberators. With all the glamour the B-17 attracts, it's easy to forget about the Liberator being the primary bomber produced. Cheers, Willie.