Who Likes Aircraft ?

[Bladecutter]

Since 'Connie' is flavor of moment, i have to rechime this. When i was 14, i got left seat in a 749 Constellation...a TWA retiree @TUC. Bird was a rock on final, slick down the chute & i put the mains on the numbers. A Friend of Dad's bought the Bird from TWA to build a flying club....members fly together to different vacation spots....cruise ship of sky. I have Always adored the Connie...the opportunity to fly one was heady at the time........the Memory Ages like Fine Wine , Champagne.
Same year i had a hairy assed ride in a Howard 350 Super Ventura....no **** Warbird fast, ballin' the jack in thunder storms.

 

[patrick66]

My airplane, the E-3 AWACS Sentry surveillance aircraft. I've been associated with the E-3 nearly my entire adult life, being USAF active duty, and through two employers after that. Close to 36 years now, altogether. It took me to over 30 countries. No, it can't read license plates or tell what color your underwear are! Though we have used those lines at airshows back when the jet was nice and shiny new! Several nations fly the E-3 - the US (E-3B/C/G), France (E-3F), Great Britain (E-3D), Saudi Arabia (E-3A) and the NATO alliance (E-3). The Japanese fly a 767 AWACS that has the same basic equipment as the 707 E-3s do. Altogether, 68 E-3s and four Japan 767 AWACS were built. One E-3 was recently scrapped, one crashed in Alaska in 1995 with all aboard (24) killed; another US E-3 crash-landed in Nevada with no loss of life, but the airframe was totalled. Lastly, a NATO E-3 crashed on takeoff in Greece late in 1996, with the same result as the Vegas crash. Pretty fair safety record, considering the first jet was delivered in 1976, and the last in 1988.

View attachment 365321

 

[Bladecutter]

My airplane, the E-3 AWACS Sentry surveillance aircraft. I've been associated with the E-3 nearly my entire adult life, being USAF active duty, and through two employers after that. Close to 36 years now, altogether. It took me to over 30 countries. No, it can't read license plates or tell what color your underwear are! Though we have used those lines at airshows back when the jet was nice and shiny new! Several nations fly the E-3 - the US (E-3B/C/G), France (E-3F), Great Britain (E-3D), Saudi Arabia (E-3A) and the NATO alliance (E-3). The Japanese fly a 767 AWACS that has the same basic equipment as the 707 E-3s do. Altogether, 68 E-3s and four Japan 767 AWACS were built. One E-3 was recently scrapped, one crashed in Alaska in 1995 with all aboard (24) killed; another US E-3 crash-landed in Nevada with no loss of life, but the airframe was totalled. Lastly, a NATO E-3 crashed on takeoff in Greece late in 1996, with the same result as the Vegas crash. Pretty fair safety record, considering the first jet was delivered in 1976, and the last in 1988.View attachment 365319 View attachment 365320 View attachment 365321 View attachment 365323

I Love 707's. Very handsome airplanes.

 

[Auggie56]

 

[usaroadrunner]

that was awesome, lmao

 

[Photon440]

After 50 pages, we've seen a lot of aircraft in this thread. Here are some of the same ones again, but with a difference. Sometimes an airplane is captured and ends up with a paint job that wasn't originally planned for it...

Mustangs...

historicaltimes.tumblr.com



BF-109













P-40



Ki-45 (Japan)


a P-38
[URL='https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-axis-lancaster-stunning-pictures-of-allied-planes-captured-and-used-by-the-luftwaffe.html/2']
warhistoryonline.com

[/URL]


[URL='https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-axis-lancaster-stunning-pictures-of-allied-planes-captured-and-used-by-the-luftwaffe.html/2']FW-190 in RAF markings
[/URL]

Arado 234B, a German jet bomber in RAF paint
[URL='https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-axis-lancaster-stunning-pictures-of-allied-planes-captured-and-used-by-the-luftwaffe.html/2'] [/URL]

 

[Bladecutter]

Bombardier looks like He's smokin a doob....Notorious Bird

 

[68gtxman]

I may have posted this before, so sorry if so.

Here I am standing in front of the Connie at Dover AFB's museum. As I was checking out the exterior, my wife was reading the sandwich board with the plane's info. I was telling her how there was a diner in Bristol, PA that had a Connie mounted on its roof and was made into a party room. My wife said, this is the plane. I said "what! That can't be true because the diner plane had been stripped of interior, engines, etc. and this plane is fully complete and looks ready to fly!" She continued to read how the diner closed it down and donated it to the museum. Volunteers worked on it for a long while to make it was it was that day. Awesome!!! This truly is a beautiful plane!

 

[Auggie56]

Saw her fly soon after her restoration flight, at Chino's air museum. She was Jack Northrop's wooden example, that a flying wing was possible. His two military projects went into production. A prop model then a jet model. However, after a fatal crash involving a jet powered one, the concept was scrapped. The B36 was voted in and took center stage as the Air Forces strategic bomber. In my opinion, a tragic mistake.

 

[Auggie56]

 

[Auggie56]

 

[Auggie56]

 

[Bladecutter]

Saw her fly soon after her restoration flight, at Chino's air museum. She was Jack Northrop's wooden example, that a flying wing was possible. His two military projects went into production. A prop model then a jet model. However, after a fatal crash involving a jet powered one, the concept was scrapped. The B36 was voted in and took center stage as the Air Forces strategic bomber. In my opinion, a tragic mistake.

Im pretty acquainted w/ CNO, know both P of F & Yanks museums, have worked CNO, work for Aero Trader in past & have flown off the airport for several years, i know the Wing fairly well. Sounds like we're in close neighborhoods.

 

[Auggie56]

Im pretty acquainted w/ CNO, know both P of F & Yanks museums, have worked CNO, work for Aero Trader in past & have flown off the airport for several years, i know the Wing fairly well. Sounds like we're in close neighborhoods.

I was vacationing at the time in Orange Co. I spent nine days out there, and visited several aircraft museums. Wish I was headed back one day.

 

[Photon440]

View attachment 366065

 

[Photon440]

Long ago, in the 1960s, I used to admire this futuristic sculpture outside the old Vancouver International Airport. It disappeared when the new terminal was built.

 

[Bladecutter]

View attachment 366068 Long ago, in the 1960s, I used to admire this futuristic sculpture outside the old Vancouver International Airport. It disappeared when the new terminal was built.

Kinda resembles 'Fireball XL-5'
Remember that saturday morning show? Marionettes in space.
Too bad they tore it down instead of just moving it.

 

[Photon440]

You know what? It got recreated. The original was built in the 1930's by the Sheet Metal Worker's Union 280 (it has LU 280 on the nose) but because it was so rusty, was dismantled in 1972. In 1985, for the 100th anniversary of the city of Vancouver it was re-made out of stainless and is on display in the city.

 

[Bladecutter]

You know what? It got recreated. The original was built in the 1930's by the Sheet Metal Worker's Union 280 (it has LU 280 on the nose) but because it was so rusty, was dismantled in 1972. In 1985, for the 100th anniversary of the city of Vancouver it was re-made out of stainless and is on display in the city.

View attachment 366089

That's Sweet!!

 

[MOPOWER871]

The development of the first P-47 Thunderbolts where powered by the first Chrysler Hemis. Reportedly capable of over 500 mph, it was doomed by the advent of jet aircraft.

The first Chrysler Hemi was actually the massive 36 liter XIV-2220 inverted V-16 aircraft engine developed by Chrysler during World War II (but never went into production). The engineers who worked on the project gained valuable experience with cylinder head gas flow which they later applied to somewhat smaller engines.