The Airplane Thread

[The J-Man]

What you need to know about HVAC is that 99% of all companies will rip you off. HVAC contractors are the most dishonest, least ethical of all trades. Hands down. The repair they are quoting you for will likely net them $500+/hour for their labor…at least. The post above is good advice. Keep getting quotes. Find a smaller local company with a good reputation on Nextdoor. That repair should be no more than $700. I’d repair it first and see what happens before investing in a new unit.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

My dad left Marville, France where he was flying the Mk5 Sabre to train on the CF-104 and returned to Germany as his Squadron had re-located and transitioned to the new plane.

He went from six .50 cal (12.7mm) to a six-barreled 20mm. B-R-A-A-P-P! Fun, fun, fun!

[Llarry]

Speaking of rotary cannon, the ultimate has to be the GAU-8/A 30mm 7-barrel rotating cannon, firing at 2,000 or 4,000 rounds per minute that is an integral part of the A-10 Warthog. (If you remove the cannon, the aircraft tips onto its tail.)

And the other special characteristic of the 'hog has to be the titanium armor that surrounds the pilot, just part of the 2,900 lbs of armor incorporated into the A-10.

Just an awesome airplane!

[Llarry]

The last U.S. combat biplane: The Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver dive/scout bomber. Used by VB-8 and VS-8 on the brand-new USS Hornet for several months after Pearl Harbor and used by Marine squadron VMO-151 in a wartime deployment to American Samoa in 1942. In neither case did the Helldivers fire a shot. Hornet got Douglas SBDs before sailing to the fight at Midway in June of 1942.

The crosses painted on the pictured VB-8 SBC (and escorting F4Fs) were temporary markings applied for an exercise in 1941.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

We just replaced ours about 3-4 months ago. We had a big company come by first, they quoted $14k. I called a friend who introduced me to a locally owned family operated company. The owner and his son installed our new unit, I think we paid a total of $7k. 3.5 ton, so not very big. It's a "goodman" which are American made, but I hear can be hit or miss... so far so good.

At any rate, whatever route you go, be sure to find a locally owned smaller outfit with good reviews, no big companies, all they want to do is make more $ off you.

In fact the first company was trying to sign us up to also come check our fire alarms and some other nonsense, it was absurd.

I agree with small locally-owned businesses. The company we have now for maintenance and repairs has been very good to work with, fair with pricing, and has never proposed a ridiculous unnecessary repair in 10 years or however long we have been working with them. A worker usually does the maintenance but the owner comes out if there is a repair needed. The only downside is if something happens after hours or on the weekend, we have to wait for service because they aren’t a 24/7 operation. But that is rare if systems are well maintained and we have 2 ac units so we just move over to the other side of the house, if necessary.

[tdott]

My Trane evaporator coil also had a leak. It was builder installed in 2016, then I had a guy replace it in 2019. I paid him for the labor and materials, but the evap was covered under Trane warranty, which they replaced with an improved unit which had less copper and more aluminum from what I could see.

So far it's been trouble free.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

We moved into the house in 2020 and the company who installed the system won't honor anything since I'm not the original buyer.

FYI the company that installed it doesn't matter. Trane warranty is based on the serial number, any licensed AC tech should be able to get it warrantied from a Trane supplier.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by Llarry

And the other special characteristic of the 'hog has to be the titanium armor that surrounds the pilot, just part of the 2,900 lbs of armor incorporated into the A-10.

Just an awesome airplane!

Speaking of A10s, I encourage you all to check out this interview with an incredible A10 pilot, Colonel (retired) Kim "KC" Campbell. She earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for getting her battle damaged A10 (and herself) home safely and it's an amazing story. She's also now an inspirational speaker and leader who has written an excellent book:

https://kim-kc-campbell.com/

I also subscribe to "Mooch's" YouTube channel - he has amazing content and is a great interviewer for his guests.
https://www.youtube.com/@WardCarroll/featured

[Lady Jane]

Douglas DC-4 Super Mainliner. Sold to Japan to be reversed engineered and become a bomber against the Allies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-4E

[Lady Jane]

There's one for Llarry


Lockheed U-2s from the 4080th SRW (56-6680 and 56-6703) were fitted with unusual “Rams Horn” antennae for SIGINT/COMINT operations over North Vietnam in 1964. Information about this project is very limited.

[2008M36MT]

Murica. We make em, the rest of the world puts their livery and uses em🤘🤘🤘.

[Tyga11]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. They refilled the refrigerant today. The coils are on backorder. The guy told me I could run the unit however he couldn't diagnose the extent of the leak or know when the refrigerant would 'run out.'

Hopefully the back ordered part arrives soon...complete joke.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by 2008M36MT

Murica. We make em, the rest of the world puts their livery and uses em🤘🤘🤘.

Well, yeah, but now Europe makes 'em, too. Boeing and Airbus have been neck and neck for years, right?

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

There's one for Llarry


Lockheed U-2s from the 4080th SRW (56-6680 and 56-6703) were fitted with unusual “Rams Horn” antennae for SIGINT/COMINT operations over North Vietnam in 1964. Information about this project is very limited.

Info about SIGINT is pretty much *always* going to be limited. On the other hand, we can pretty much talk freely about SIGINT in World War II.

[Llarry]

Aircraft carriers over the years...

The first aircraft carrier was the UK Royal Navy's HMS Argus, which was converted while under construction as a passenger ship and commissioned in September 1918. The Argus set the pattern for carriers to come with a flight deck above and a hangar deck below.

The first purpose-built aircraft carriers were started at about the same time: The IJNS Hosho was commissioned in 1922. One feature that proved controversial from the start was a superstructure or island; the island was needed for ship control/visibility, but aviators wanted a totally flat deck. The Hosho was finished with an island (pictured), but it was removed some time later.

At about the same time, the Royal Navy (RN) started the HMS Hermes, and this ship had a very large island, but was not finished until 1924.

All concerned conducted experiments with various schemes for arresting gear; takeoffs were generally made into the wind without benefit of a catapult.

There things stood for a number of years, although aircraft carriers got ever-larger and ever-heavier aircraft took off and landed at ever-higher speeds. Catapults became necessary on U.S. World War II carriers due to the large number of aircraft onboard; those forward would be catapulted until sufficient space for a non-assisted deck run was available for the rest. The catapults were hydraulic and gave plane and pilot quite a jolt, but carrier planes were built sturdy.

Then some naval officers, primarily in the Royal Navy, started thinking: There was a new generation of aircraft coming powered by jet engines and jets had poor initial acceleration. If an airplane were approaching for landing and suddenly was unable to land due to a previous crash or some other issue, it needed to rapidly add power and go around or "wave off" for another try. Jets had a real problem with this. Captain (later Rear Admiral) Dennis Campbell of the RN is credited with the idea -- what it the landing area were angled or canted so that a wave-off were drama-free? The RN carrier HMS Triumph had her deck markings revised to provide a slight cant and trials were conducted successfully. Immediately, later in 1952, the U.S. Navy modified an Essex-class fleet carrier with an angled deck added on the port side opposite the island. Eureka! The solution was at hand.

Almost immediately, the plans for a new class of USN supercarrier were modified to incorporate the angled deck. The USS Forrestal was the first and was commissioned in 1955. At the same time, both the RN and the USN modified older ships with angled decks.

The next step was to replace the Landing Signal Officer (or Batsman in the RN) with a system to aid the pilot in lineup and glide slope. Again, an RN officer came up with a solution: a curved mirror that would display to the pilot whether he were too high or too low. Legend has it that the solution was found with the mirror from his secretary's purse on top of a desk. The LSO/batsman remained at his station but became more of a safety observer and less a landing director.

By 1970, the mirror had been replaced by a Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System. That remains the system used today.

Returning to the 1950s, once again the RN came up with the concept of a steam-powered catapult; after all, the ships were steam-powered. The steam catapult was more powerful than the older hydraulic units and gave a more consistent shove to the aircraft over the entire 250-300 feet of the catapult track. Again, the USN enthusiastically adopted the UK innovation and the steam catapult became universal on USN carriers.

Angled decks, optical landing systems and steam catapults have been the norm now for many years, but the USN has in recent years made significant changes in all three areas with the commissioning of the first of the latest class of US aircraft carriers: The USS Gerald R. Ford. In an attempt to make future ships all-electric, the USN has developed an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) for the Ford and has also developed advanced arresting gear using an electric brake.

Anyone living near a U.S. Naval Air Station knows that day and night field carrier landing practice is a constant. Naval aviators spend an enormous amount of time and jet fuel practicing carrier landings. A few years ago, the Navy developed a new semi-automated system (Precision Landing Mode) that controls the throttle during the landing process. It was optimistically dubbed "Magic Carpet" and I confess I do not know precisely what the current status of the system is. The promise is that it can make carrier landings much easier and perhaps reduce the incessant landing practice.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Aircraft carriers over the years...

Both the Australian and Canadian navies operated UK Majestic-class small carriers for years with jet aircraft and canted decks. Simultaneous takeoff and landing operations look impossible to me.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Both the Australian and Canadian navies operated UK Majestic-class small carriers for years with jet aircraft and canted decks. Somehow I am unable to download a photo of either countries' carrier. Simultaneous takeoff and landing operations look impossible to me.

https://www.seaforces.org/marint/Can...onaventure.htm

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

https://www.seaforces.org/marint/Can...onaventure.htm

Thanks very much, Chief!

Here is a photo of Bonaventure's Aussie sister showing the deck layout. 1950s photo so she later operated A-4s and S-2s.

It appears to me that even the French CVN cannot conduct simultaneous takeoffs and landings, as the two catapults impinge on the landing area. I believe France is planning a larger successor; perhaps that will fix that problem.

Of course, I suppose anyone -- well, almost anyone -- can buy a U.S.-built CVN but at 10+ billion a copy, I don't see a line forming anytime soon!

Again, merci!

[Llarry]

From the attached artist's conception of the future French carrier, it looks to rival the American carriers' capabilities. Hopefully it won't cost French taxpayers 10 billion Euros!

[Llarry]

Speaking of more capable aircraft carriers, the Chinese have two ex-Soviet carriers as previously posted and they are flying high-performance J-15 Flankers from them. But in the wings -- probably to be finished next year -- they have a much more capable ship with three catapults. That should enable them to conduct simultaneous takeoffs and landings and to embark their airborne early warning plane that is under test. As I've said before, the Chinese are coming on fast!

[Llarry]

The Indian Navy, like the Chinese Navy, has a former Soviet carrier with ski jump. Now they have built a domestically designed carrier themselves and just commissioned the ship six months ago. They use the Russian MiG-29K carrier fighter on their ships, but have also designed a new Indian carrier fighter, the LCA (light combat aircraft) naval variant.

The LCA has been named the Tejas and is being bought in large numbers by the Indian Air Force to replace older MiG-21s. While India had hoped to power the Tejas with an Indian engine, the fighter is powered by a single General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan (as used by the F/A-18 Hornet and SAAB Gripen.) Meanwhile, the Indian Navy, having bought two carrier LCA prototypes, is giving the matter further study and would like to buy a twin-engined carrier fighter. That will be awfully expensive! I'd also note that the Tejas is a delta wing, which has traditionally been problematic for carrier aircraft.

It's interesting that the USSR developed two carrier fighters: One Sukhoi and one Mikoyan-Gurevitch. The former is used by China and the latter by India. Russia has no aircraft carriers and thus no need for carrier fighters; that's what you get when you're a third-rate military power (albeit with nukes.) EDIT: In fact Russia currently has one ski-jump carrier left and is using both the Sukhoi and Mikoyan_Gurevitch carrier fight designs.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by Llarry

It's interesting that the USSR developed two carrier fighters: One Sukhoi and one Mikoyan-Gurevitch. The former is used by China and the latter by India. Russia has no aircraft carriers and thus no need for carrier fighters; that's what you get when you're a third-rate military power (albeit with nukes.)

Not true the have one left Admiral Kuznetsov but it's really just a Cruiser that was modified into a Carrier