Who Likes Aircraft ?

[Bladecutter]

No pictures but the North American F-86 Sabre was my favorite. When I first joined the AF I worked on T-39 Sabre Liners. The T-39 and F-86 shared the same wing. So at least I got to work on part of my favorite jet! I do agree though, nothing sounds better than the old reciprocating engines. When I joined in 1978 they had the very last piston engine mechanics tech school. That was for the old "push me pull you" aircraft, I think designated as the O-2.

O-2, military counterpart to Cessna 337 Sky master, familiar slang, 'mix-master'
The first fixed gear pro-genitor was the 336.
The Riley conversion of 337 is one hot assed plane, single engine performance on rear engine is an incredible 1500 foot per minute climb.

 

[BubbaMope]

I also worked T-37s and T-33s but just minor stuff on them. We called the 37s "The 6000 Pound Dog Whistle." Extremely high pitched. The T-33s were odd that you stood behind them looking in the exhaust for the Ring of Fire. That's how you could tell both ignitors were working. It took them a long time to get me to believe that was really necessary!

 

[BubbaMope]

BTW, I collect knives. It appears you also have an interest in sharp pointy things.

 

[snakeyes]

 

[ws23jrt]

 

[Budnicks]

That was/is awesome...

 

[Budnicks]

Ski probably was there or in the area...

 

[Budnicks]

A12 {org. name) later the SR-71 Blackbird
awesomeness

 

[Budnicks]

A12 Oxcart (SR71) story
it's sort of long well over an hr
call sign 'Dutch 20'
Frank Murray, an ol' project pilot, in his words

damn it,
now all of a sudden you need to click on the video link
& go to Youtube to watch


bad-asses all of them

 

[Budnicks]

"allegedly" the 1st A12 flight
Groom Lake Nevada (area 51) April 30 1962
someone commented it was actually April 26th 1962

BUT IIRC I read somewhere
that it or I thought that the 1st A12 {Bluebird ?}
was built 1958-ish
{maybe released at a later date, so the Russians didn't see it}


(someone else could maybe confirm)



I always thought the 1st ones were beautiful
Polished Titanium on top
with radar absorbing black paint below too

 

[Photon440]

Absolutely beautiful airplanes, made more amazing when you think that they were flying just twenty years after America entered the second world war.
Because of a goof-up by President Johnson, we all know of the SR-71. It was actually called the RS-71 (reconnaissance / surveillance ) but when the President announced the aircraft to the world, he used SR. Rather than correct him, Lockheed and the air force just made the switch. The SR-71 was longer and heavier than the A12, but the A12 has a slightly higher official top speed.

I don't doubt the 1962 dates. Kelly Johnson only started preliminary design notes on the aircraft in April 1958. The J-58 engine itself had just made its first run on December 1957.

 

[super-bee_ski]

View attachment 636154

I flew in one of these, back in 1981, Castle AFB

 

[Auggie56]

I flew in one of these, back in 1981, Castle AFB

T-Bird, the offshoot of the P-80 our second jet fighter.

I visited my brother in law at Tyndal A F B in 79' where they were using the T-Birds as drones. F-4s have been used and now f-16s.

 

[Auggie56]

This was off an aviation form, I have no idea if it was true.

Project Aphrodite was a WWII USAAF program to take war weary B-17's and convert them into radio controlled drones that could be dived into high value targets, such as sub pens and V-weapons storage sites. They rigged up a control system based on two Azon (Azimuth only) guided bomb control systems, one set up for left and right and one for up and down. The Aphrodite missile B-17's were stripped of everything not needed for the mission, loaded with tons of explosives, and took off under the control of a pilot and a flight engineer. Once the bomber missile was up and level the two men switched it over to radio control and bailed out while still over Great Britain. Another B-17 served as the control aircraft and the operator looking out through the nose maneuvered the missile B-17 to take it to the target and dive it in.

There were many problems, not the least of which was that B-17's were not designed to dive well, and they never had a successful mission. But on one mission they flew almost all the way to the target, only to lose control of the missile B-17, which belly landed in a field in France.

The next day they sent fighters to that location to strafe and destroy the B-17 but could not find anything in that area but a gravel pit. It was only after the Allies overran that area of France that they found out what had occurred. The local French reported that German troops surrounded the bomber and ordered the crew to come out. When the crew did not appear the Germans pried open the door in the aft fuselage and stormed in to capture the crew. The French said the next thing was an enormous explosion.

And all that was left was a gravel pit.

 

[snakeyes]

 

[Slap Stick]

A12 Oxcart (SR71) story
it's sort of long well over an hr
call sign 'Dutch 20'
Frank Murray, an ol' project pilot, in his words

damn it,
now all of a sudden you need to click on the video link
& go to Youtube to watch


bad-asses all of them

See post 5771.

 

[Budnicks]

Kelly Johnson, sitting in the back seat of A12 #60-6927.
View attachment 628162

View attachment 628163
Kelly had envisioned this as an advanced fighter/interceptor that would have served the country for decades.

I just finished reading his biography, really quite an amazing fellow.
View attachment 628164

That's cool as hell too...
Thanks for sharing

 

[Budnicks]

Here is a link to a video a retired AF friend sent me. He was a SR/U2 maintainer.
The video is of Col. Frank Murray, an A-12 pilot.
My friend met the Col. a few times. Says he it a hoot!

Yep that's the one
I didn't go back far enough to see it posted

 

[Auggie56]

 

[GTX.JCW]

Here is a book that details the whole story, including the death of Joseph Kennedy jr, JFK's older brother.
I read it many years ago and it is very interesting...

Aphrodite : Desperate Mission by Jack Olsen

Jeff

This was off an aviation form, I have no idea if it was true.

Project Aphrodite was a WWII USAAF program to take war weary B-17's and convert them into radio controlled drones that could be dived into high value targets, such as sub pens and V-weapons storage sites. They rigged up a control system based on two Azon (Azimuth only) guided bomb control systems, one set up for left and right and one for up and down. The Aphrodite missile B-17's were stripped of everything not needed for the mission, loaded with tons of explosives, and took off under the control of a pilot and a flight engineer. Once the bomber missile was up and level the two men switched it over to radio control and bailed out while still over Great Britain. Another B-17 served as the control aircraft and the operator looking out through the nose maneuvered the missile B-17 to take it to the target and dive it in.

There were many problems, not the least of which was that B-17's were not designed to dive well, and they never had a successful mission. But on one mission they flew almost all the way to the target, only to lose control of the missile B-17, which belly landed in a field in France.

The next day they sent fighters to that location to strafe and destroy the B-17 but could not find anything in that area but a gravel pit. It was only after the Allies overran that area of France that they found out what had occurred. The local French reported that German troops surrounded the bomber and ordered the crew to come out. When the crew did not appear the Germans pried open the door in the aft fuselage and stormed in to capture the crew. The French said the next thing was an enormous explosion.

And all that was left was a gravel pit.