Flying Machines

[rake60]

If it's a machine, I'm interested.
If it can fly, I'm even more interested.
If it can fly and fight, I am all in!

Some of you may remember my whining about the US Navy retiring the F14 TomCat.
Now I have seen what has replaced it.

It is a "pretty quick car"!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K99FnXQQAec[/ame]

The X35 markings tell that it was still considered "Experimental" at the time that video
was made. It was being flown by pilots my age. It is now the F35 Lightening and will
be flown by the cocky young men who should be in that drivers seat.

I think it will do just fine.

Rick

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I took my son to an airshow one year at McClellan AFB in CA some years back. They used to service the A10 there. This particular year they had an F14 flyby. The Tomcat took off from Lake Tahoe to make the flyby (100 miles away) and was there in mere minutes with full after burners on, 100 feet above the tarmac coming almost directly toward us. We were allowed to stand very close to the runway that year, much closer than usual for this type of airshow. In the distance you could begin to make out the outline of the fighter jet. As it approached, it was dead silent, well out in front of any sound it was making.As soon as it was directly in front of us the pilot gave it full elevator and went into a vertical climb. Once the plane had passed us, we could finally hear the mighty roar of all that horsepower in full after burn mode and we were so close to it. I'll never forget that moment, nor will my son.

-Trout

 

[metalmuncher]

Thats a great plane if it goes into production, Have to say it was the british that perfected the VTOL concept.

Trout

I can remember going to the Mildenhall airshow when the SR71 Blackbird was flying and feeling the shockwaves on your chest when it was on afterburners. It was a great plane to watch, a shame it was withdrawn from service.

 

[Kermit]

We have already sold someone two adapter kits for getting the engine mounted on current model engine test stands. ;D

kermit

 

[black85vette]

Pretty nice. I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps working on the A6 and F4. Happened to be at MCAS Cherry Point NC when the first of our Harriers was delivered. That was one jaw dropping experience. Pilot did a mini air show so everyone went out to the flight line to watch. He ended by setting it down on a helicopter pad near the control tower.

The technology we have now is just astonishing. (at least the parts they let us know about). Think I still have a bit of jet fuel running in my bloodstream. Thanks for the video.

 

[rake60]

The coolest thing I ever saw was not at an air show.
I was a visitor at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

An F-15 came screaming down a runway at full afterburner power.
As soon as the wheels left the concrete, the pilot stood that plane on it's tail
and went straight up until it was out of sight. I don't have any pictures. At that
time cameras were forbidden anywhere close to the runways of aircraft.

It looked EXACTLY like this!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtqasYWfDUM[/ame]

While I was searching for a video of that I found another example.
It is from a different view point.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsNYvmGrZKc[/ame]

NICE!

Rick

 

[black85vette]

I missed out on a ride in a Phantom. In Da Nang the C.O. would take maint crew up for a ride in his plane. We had a roster you signed up on. Unfortunately we redeployed to Iwakuni Japan before my turn came up. Once we were out of county we had to play by the rules again. But then again finishing my overseas tour in Japan was much better than Da Nang.

A sort of perk of being in Marine aviation was that the Blue Angels showed up almost every year. Since our shop was always near the flight line we got front row seats.

If you like planes you might look at this site. A guy posted his pictures of the air museum near Dulles Airport in DC.

http://www.cdsg.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=320&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

 

[kf2qd]

Been an airplane nut since I was a kid, the modern aircraft i have been impressed with were the Harrier and the F14 and the F4. Got to see the F14 and the Harrier at the Dayton Airfair back in 1980. Was a truly sad day when the F14 was replaced by the newer and inferior new stuff. Got to see the F4 flying out of the Yarmuk Valley and over the kibbutz in Israel in summer of 1978. Loaded heavy and could not see the outline of the wing. Beautiful Site.

 

[doc1955]

Back in the late 70's or early 80's we had a F14 come and they did an air show just for us at the plant where I work.
We manufactured the missile systems and bomb ejector racks at that time. We got to see the F14 Known as the Tom Cat up close the pilots motto was "Any Time Baby".
Back then we had a few military contracts plus I worked on an experimental plane the X-29 only 2 were built.
I built the tail sections I believe one is in the air Smithsonian and the other NASA has.
Here is a short video
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GpSPAzzFwg[/ame]

That was about the coolest thing I have worked on worked on a lot of things like the cruise missile.
We no longer work on much of anything military anymore mostly cargo systems for Boeing and Airbus.

 

[rake60]

Great stuff Doc!

My boy is doing his graduate work in DC.
Every time I go to visit him at least 3 hours are scheduled in for the
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I've been there about 4 times now but
every time I go back I see something new.

The most shocking thing I saw there was the Apollo Lunar Lander.
That thing looks like it was made of aluminum tent poles and cellophane.

Then I have to spend a half hour looking over the original engine of the
Wright Flyer. I wouldn't lay down beside that thing if it was running!

Rick

 

[doc1955]

The X-29 is mostly composite material and flown under computer control trouble was when the computer went down it went into a tumble (so I was told) and put computer back online and it would straighten up. I had heard the computer made something like 1000 corrections per minute during flight.
I would like to visit the Smithsonian some day I know I could find lots of things to look at!

 

[rake60]

Things don't always go to plan.
I don't think Youtube would let this fly, so to speak, so I will
host it HERE

The word 'Oops' comes to mind.

Rick

 

[black85vette]

The most shocking thing I saw there was the Apollo Lunar Lander.
That thing looks like it was made of aluminum tent poles and cellophane.

Rick; did they have the Russian space capsule when you went? Compared to our lunar lander theirs looked like it was surplus Navy diving bells welded together.

 

[SAM in LA]

Things don't always go to plan.
I don't think Youtube would let this fly, so to speak, so I will
host it HERE

The word 'Oops' comes to mind.

Rick

Looks like we were our own worst enemy. I sure hope the pilots made it out OK.

SAM

 

[rake60]

Rick; did they have the Russian space capsule when you went? Compared to our lunar lander theirs looked like it was surplus Navy diving bells welded together.

I don't remember seeing a Russian capsule. I must have missed that.
I was shocked to see the actual size of the Mercury and Gemini capsules.
They didn't get into those, they put them on!

Rick

 

[shred]

Kittinger's ultra-high-altitude jump balloon baskets are pretty cool as well-- tinfoil baskets with a little door and a sign at foot-level "this is the tallest step in the world". They had one at NASA Houston last I was there.

The Space Shuttle cockpit mockup is also pretty tight walking through. Then you read the sign that they moved the rear bulkhead back 6 feet to make the mockup more accessible.

 

[bentprop]

Those are not real aeroplanes!Real ones have the bang-bang on the front :big:
I like the vertical take-off though.The pilot must be pretty fit to cope with the g-force of that sort of sudden change of direction.

 

[Twmaster]

All this chatter about planes. Since I was a boy I've been an aircraft nut. Some say just a nut though.

I fly RC planes and crash RC helis. I've been kicking the idea of going back to school around. Even at 46 years old.

There's an FAA approved A&P school less than 30 minutes from here. I may have to do this....

 

[rickharris]

Many moons ago I spent a few months a year working in Russia. One time I was watching Russian TV (nothing else to do - no I don't speak much Russian) and they showed some tribute the Russian Space effort (pre ISS) Whereas we were used to seeing the USA space craft - clean tidy and professional looking the interior of MIA and the Russian space fleet looked like a WW2 submarine with pipe everywhere and heavy looking utilitarian equipment rather than designed for the task sleek miniaturised stuff.

I was installing Computer aided design equipment. In one factory I observed that I had seen what looked like a Russian copy of one of our older systems but built on a much larger scale when walking past an open door to another section - Why don't I keep my mouth shut. that got me the third degree for the rest of the day and I seriously thought I was going to get locked up for stealing state secrets.

Didn't like going there much.

When in the RAF in Germany we had a squadron of English Electric Lightnings - to see one scramble and climb vertical to intercept some one who had crossed the no fly zone between east and west was some thing else

[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vjQe92-w_I&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vjQe92-w_I&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]

 

[Maryak]

Why don't I keep my mouth shut. that got me the third degree for the rest of the day and I seriously thought I was going to get locked up for stealing state secrets.

My better half received a 2 week session complete with corrective lectures and where did you get it for having an English/Russian dictionary on her desk They sure must have been fun times.

Best Regards
Bob