The Airplane Thread

[Lady Jane]

Kalinin K-7:

https://wonderfulengineering.com/you...actually-flew/

Military and Civilian versions.

[Lady Jane]

Canadair CL-84 Dynavert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CL-84_Dynavert

[Sara]

What a fantastic thread

[Jbrown7403]

F-82 Twin Mustang….

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Jbrown7403

F-82 Twin Mustang….

Record-setting

On 27 February 1947, P-82B, named Betty Jo and flown by Colonel Robert E. Thacker, made history when it flew nonstop from Hawaii to New York without refueling, a distance of 5,051 mi (8,129 km) in 14 hr 32 min. It averaged 347.5 mph (559.2 km/h). This flight tested the P-82's range. The aircraft carried a full internal fuel tank of 576 US gal (2,180 l; 480 imp gal), augmented by four 310 US gal (1,200 l; 260 imp gal) tanks for a total of 1,816 US gal (6,870 l; 1,512 imp gal). Colonel Thacker did not drop three external tanks when their fuel was expended, either because of an oversight,[4] or because they were stuck due to a mechanical glitch.[5] This remains the longest nonstop flight ever made by a propeller-driven fighter, and the fastest time in which such a distance has ever been covered in a piston-engine aircraft.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Jbrown7403

F-82 Twin Mustang….

First time I've seen a twin fuselage Mustang.

[Lady Jane]

1936 Nemeth Parasol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemeth_Parasol

[kmarei]

I came here expecting this

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by kmarei

I came here expecting this

Shirley you're joking?

[other_evolved]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Shirley you're joking?

I am serious and don't call me Shirley

[BMWGUYinCO]

Well, MegaMillions actually

[Lady Jane]

Douglas McDonnell 220

https://www.globalair.com/aircraft-f...ns?specid=1051

[Llarry]

After 1945 the U.S. had to grapple with the concept and execution of a new and revolutionary weapon: The nuclear bomb. The Air Force made the case that the Army and Navy were largely obsolete in the nuclear age and that only the heavy bomber was useful in war.

The Navy scrambled to find relevance in the face of this argument and developed the concept of heavy attack, which in effect was nuclear bombing from the deck of an aircraft carrier. The first purpose-designed model was the North American AJ Savage, a three-engine (two piston engines and a single jet engine in the rear fuselage.) The AJ was considered to be about the largest aircraft possible to operate from a carrier deck, but provided the Navy with its initial strategic (nuclear) bombing capability. There were plenty of problems: For instance, to save weight, the AJ's wings and vertical stabilizer could only be folded by the deck crew using special (and cumbersome) equipment. Carrier CO's hated the AJ -- they were too big and took up too much deck space; when deployed, the carrier would often send the AJs ashore in Japan or Morocco with the intention of quickly staging them to the carrier if a nuclear mission were required.

The second-gen heavy attack aircraft was much better: The Douglas A3D (later A-3) Skywarrior. Twin jet engines and larger than the AJ, with much better performance. The A3D still took up a lot of precious space on the carrier deck, but larger carriers were being built; the big ones embarked a 12-aircraft heavy attack squadron (VAH) in addition to all the other aircraft of the air group. And the Navy found that VAH aircraft, with their greater greater fuel capacity were well-suited to refuel other aircraft in flight. The A-3, with its large size, was also adapted to photo recon and electronic warfare.

Developments elsewhere impacted the mission: The Navy developed the ballistic missile submarine to accomplish the strategic nuclear mission and the strategic nuclear mission of the aircraft carrier was de-emphasized.

Just as that was happening, the third-generation heavy attack aircraft first flew (in 1958): The North American A3J (later A-5) Vigilante. This was an advanced supersonic aircraft with a revolutionary weapons capability. In place of the traditional bomb bay of before, the A3J had a weapons tunnel between the twin engines. The bomb and some auxiliary fuel tanks were slid into the tunnel and ejected from the rear of the plane over the target. The concept was great, but the reality was different: In early tests, the ejected bomb tended to follow behind the aircraft rather than dropping cleanly towards the target. Disconcerting to say the least! As an interim fix, nuclear bombs could be carried on wing pylons and the tunnel reserved for extra fuel.

Given the above, the Vigilante looked to be a dud. Mission going away and concept flawed. In addition, the 1950s saw the development of smaller nuclear weapons that did not required a large bomb bay; even small fighters could deliver a nuclear bomb.

The Vigilante, which after all was a superbly-performing airplane, was re-purposed as a recon aircraft and served well in Vietnam in that role, but in smaller numbers. The production line turned out new RA-5C recon aircraft and earlier Vigilantes were remanufactured to the standard as well. The Vigilante was still huge and a headache to handle on deck but the Navy had gained experience and the recon aircraft were not as numerous as their heavy attack ancestors. The RA-5C Vigilante served until the late 1970s.

The last VAH-type airplane in the fleet was actually the unarmed EA-3B SIGINT derivative of the A-3, which served well into the 1980s.

Post-script: President George H.W. Bush directed that nuclear weapons be removed from aircraft carriers during his administration and aircraft carriers no longer have a nuclear mission.

[Lady Jane]

F7U Cutlass.

A.K.A. the Gutless Cutlass and Ensign Eliminator.

Story of the man who tested the plane:

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/e...itey-feightner

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

Record-setting

On 27 February 1947, P-82B, named Betty Jo and flown by Colonel Robert E. Thacker, made history when it flew nonstop from Hawaii to New York without refueling, a distance of 5,051 mi (8,129 km) in 14 hr 32 min. It averaged 347.5 mph (559.2 km/h). This flight tested the P-82's range. The aircraft carried a full internal fuel tank of 576 US gal (2,180 l; 480 imp gal), augmented by four 310 US gal (1,200 l; 260 imp gal) tanks for a total of 1,816 US gal (6,870 l; 1,512 imp gal). Colonel Thacker did not drop three external tanks when their fuel was expended, either because of an oversight,[4] or because they were stuck due to a mechanical glitch.[5] This remains the longest nonstop flight ever made by a propeller-driven fighter, and the fastest time in which such a distance has ever been covered in a piston-engine aircraft.

It's likely that Colonel Thacker benefitted from a very strong west to east tailwind. These winds (jet stream) can exceed 100 MPH at high altitudes. Still, quite an accomplishment.

[Lady Jane]

1967 Dornier VTOL D0-31.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_31

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

It's likely that Colonel Thacker benefitted from a very strong west to east tailwind. These winds (jet stream) can exceed 100 MPH at high altitudes. Still, quite an accomplishment.

Quite possibly as the Jet Stream is found approx. from 20000 to 50000 ft. and he flew his leg in the lower portion.

I found this archived story of his feat with Lt. Ard, his co-pilot:

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/robert-e-thacker/

[3798j]

.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by 3798j

.

Aviators do have a sense of humor...

https://aviationhumor.net/what-happe...craft-carrier/

[Lady Jane]

Dornier DO-29.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_29

[Lady Jane]

Another Dornier: DO-27

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_27

This one was serving with the Portuguese AF. It is interesting to note that the original Lycoming 6 cylinder engines were made by BMW. A few were converted to turboprops.

[Lady Jane]

1937 Gwinn Aircar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwinn_Aircar