The scourge over Allied and Axis European skies... The Focke Wulf FW-190. Damn good plane other than range throughout the Second World War thanks to its DI engine - full power during negative gs - and extensive upgrades from 39 - 45.
Nice Corsair picture! My father flew the -1 in 1944-1945 and the -4 in 1950-51. While escorting a photo recon plane during the Battle of Inchon, Korea, he got his picture taken: F4U-4B Corsair of the VF-113 squadron in 1950
Hi Dr61: Absolutely fantastic shot. To see your father flying one of the gorgeous birds back then must be truly awe inspiring! Wayne
Hi All: A decent shot of the P-47 Thunderbolt... I read that some European squadrons would not/did not want to transition to the 51 because the Thunderbolt was so damn tough to bring down. That is saying something about its durability despite not having nearly the range of a 51. One tough SOB for sure.
Hi All: This cold war era monster continues to serve even today. Anyone guess what it is? Hint: BOOM!
Oh yeah! I saw one fly overhead a few months ago, in the direction of Barksdale AFB an hour away. It was clear what it was - 4 sets of engines, swept wings mounted far forward, giant delta shaped tail with the body extending past it. I personally like the B-1. Nearly the same payload with more power and variable-pitch wings for supersonic ability.
The original prototype for that plane has a fighter style bubble canopy with the pilots in line similar to the layout on the B-47. It has an interesting method for landing in a cross wind. Normal airplanes approach the runway with a crab angle, then as they start the flare, straighten out, lowering the upwind wing in the process to reduce the uncrabbed downwind drift. Since this aircraft's long negative dihedral wings don't allow it to lower the upwind wing, it maintains the crab angle all of the way onto the runway. Its main landing gear can pivot to accept the crab angle, so the plane lands with the crab angle intact, then straightens out once it is rolling on the runway.
Hi All: From Pintrest... The Nine-O-Nine, a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions, and never lost a crewman as a casualty. B-17G-85-DL, 44-83575, civil register N93012, owned and flown by The Collings Foundation, Stow, Massachusetts, currently appears at airshows marked as the historic Nine-O-Nine.
I helped my grandfather restore the B-17 "Shoo Shoo Baby" that is in the AF Museum. I have looped the Space Shuttle... In a (full-motion!) simulator. I finished the loop about 10,000 feet underground, which hurts a lot less in the simulator... I've always loved the P-38, but it's hard to pick a favorite. The F4F Wildcat was the main Navy fighter early in WWII, superceded by the F6F Hellcat. More of the "massive radial engine with a plane wrapped around it" school. The Navy mostly required aircooled radial engines, as those were much more damage-tolerant than the water-cooled inline or Vee engines, despite them having more surface area and more drag. The Hellcat was something like a 125% scale version of the Wildcat, with a bigger motor, more armament, and better armor. The Me-109 (Bf. 109) was an excellent plane early on. It was well-armed and fast--the earliest version was in fact developed as a racer! The FW-190 was pretty amazing, too. It used a radial engine, situated well back in the fuselage, with a cooling fan up at the front. A different solution than just letting air flow into the cowling. I was a fan of WWII aircraft for many years when I was younger... -soD
Hi All: I visited the U.S.S. Midway the other day and here is one of the highlights. Vought F4U Corsair Whistling Death Wayne
Hi All: While at the U.S.S. Midway Museum the other day, here is the engine that won WW-II... Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800 Engine The 18 cylinder, Pratt&Whitney Double Wasp R-2800 powered the US Navy's Vought F4U Corsair, the first single-engine US fighter plane to exceed 400 mph in level flight in October 1940. The R-2800 also powered the Grumman F6F Hellcat, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, twin-engine Martin B-26 Marauder, Douglas A-26 Invader, and Northrop P-61 Black Widow. By 1944, versions of the R-2800 powering late-model P-47s had a rating of 2,800 hp on 115 Octane fuel with water injection. 2,000+ hp came from an engine that weighed just 2,350 lbs. Wayne
