Old plane buffs?

[Sardondi]

I think it's the Memphis Belle - a B17

Ah...great!  This is the B-17 I get the pleasure of seeing and hearing at times....

I think the B-17 was one of the sexiest, most beautifully proportioned and downright near-indestructible planes ever designed. There might have been 4-engine bombers which could fly farther, and deliver a heavier bomb load (sometimes considerably heavier, à la the Avro Lancaster), but I guarantee none could fly with as much structural damage or bring more of their crews home.

[West of the Rockies]

Do you know what type of bomber?  I can always tell when the airshow is coming to my area.  I hear the roar of a B-17 passing overhead several times during the day.

I love when the local air show is taking place for the reason you just mentioned.  It's such a thrill to be outside and hear a distant roar and look up to see one of those grand old birds flying by at a fairly low altitude.  A little later maybe a fighter formation goes blasting past or a A-10 Warthog, maybe a big ol' rumbling cargo plane.  Good stuff....

[Unquenchable Angst]

WW2 Bombers - 1943 color footage documentary

25th mission of the Memphis Bell

[Unquenchable Angst]

B29 Superfortress Bombers in Action Over Japan (1945) WWII Footages in Color_Full Length Documentary

B-29

[Unquenchable Angst]

http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperiorHistory/videos

200+ aircraft, naval, military films

[West of the Rockies]

Does anyone know the basic timeline of the big WWII bombers?  I know we went B17 to B24 to B29 (Flying Fortress, Liberator, Supe Fortress)... when did the B52 come in and become the top dog? Does it have a nickname?   

[Yorkshire pud]

Does anyone know the basic timeline of the big WWII bombers?  I know we went B17 to B24 to B29 (Flying Fortress, Liberator, Supe Fortress)... when did the B52 come in and become the top dog? Does it have a nickname?   

B52 I think first flew about 49-50...the prototype had a different cockpit glazing configuration and other differences I seem t recall. It's nickname was/is BUFF...big ugly fat fucker/fella

[ItsOver]

The B-52 Stratofortress had it's maiden flight in 1952 and entered active USAF service in 1955.  The B-52 marked its 50th anniversary of continuous service with its original operator in 2005 and after being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to serve into the 2040s.  Thanks to Wiki.

[West of the Rockies]

Thanks, gents... wow, that's an impressive run.  I can think of no other vessel (marine, space, or air) that has run/is anticipated to run for 90 years (19502-2040's).

[Unquenchable Angst]

C130 Hercules:  Came in to being about 1953 and has just entered  a "J" model

[Unquenchable Angst]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_aircraft_of_the_United_States#Unified_bomber_sequence.2C_1926.E2.80.931962

source for everything about US military aircraft

[West of the Rockies]

C130 Hercules:  Came in to being about 1953 and has just entered  a "J" model

Don't we have some fighter jets that are still in use after several decades on the job?  I know the F14 and F16 were in use for quite a spell.  I suspect that some of the heliochoppers (helicopters) have been workhorses, too.  Ocean-going vessels will see long runs.  I wonder what the older boats/subs are.  Do we have any marine forces geeks here?

[Unquenchable Angst]

I took a ride in one of those old Bell hello's in 1953 when my dad was Ford's pilot as he was thinking of learning to fly hello's then.( The kind that you saw on M.A.S.H.)

[Sardondi]

I took a ride in one of those old Bell hello's in 1953 when my dad was Ford's pilot as he was thinking of learning to fly hello's then.( The kind that you saw on M.A.S.H.)

Like this, with the addition of a cage along the rail on the side opposite the pilot, where the patient was strapped in for transport?




This was much like the kind they flew on on the late 50's Z-grade tv show "Whirlybirds" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050077/ which IMDB says lasted 3 whole seasons, although I don't see how the show lasted that long. How many shows about, "There's a forest fire over there, Jim!". But then I thought the same about "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges (just how many shows can you do about a dangerous shipwreck with dynamite, or "Mike" getting his foot caught under a rock or in a wreck in a race against time as his oxygen tanks ran out?).

[Yorkshire pud]

Like this, with the addition of a cage along the rail on the side opposite the pilot, where the patient was strapped in for transport?




This was much like the kind they flew on on the late 50's Z-grade tv show "Whirlybirds" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050077/ which IMDB says lasted 3 whole seasons, although I don't see how the show lasted that long. How many shows about, "There's a forest fire over there, Jim!". But then I thought the same about "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges (just how many shows can you do about a dangerous shipwreck with dynamite, or "Mike" getting his foot caught under a rock or in a wreck in a race against time as his oxygen tanks ran out?).

Damn you man, can't you suspend disbelief even when it's every week in the same show?

[Yorkshire pud]

Don't we have some fighter jets that are still in use after several decades on the job?  I know the F14 and F16 were in use for quite a spell.  I suspect that some of the heliochoppers (helicopters) have been workhorses, too.  Ocean-going vessels will see long runs.  I wonder what the older boats/subs are.  Do we have any marine forces geeks here?

Harrier? It's history goes way back, and the version the USM use isn't the early one by any stretch, but it's lineage can be traced back to the P1127 Kestrel, sort of. AFAIK the Pegasus is the most powerful non re-hearted turbine ever made. But carves up runways if the nozzles point down on them for too long..look on YT for that!

[Sardondi]

Damn you man, can't you suspend disbelief even when it's every week in the same show?

Heh. Hey, I loved those shows as a 5-year-old, when they were already in syndication. And when I look at them today, I see why I had to be 5 to enjoy them! FWIW, Kenneth Tobey, the craggy star pilot of "Whirlybirds" was also the craggy chief U.S. Air Force pilot in the classic The Thing aka The Thing From Another World from 1951. That was a fantastic UFO/alien movie, and one of the very earliest of the genre. Directed by Hollywood legend Howard Hawks, it also contains some of the most realistic dialogue you'll ever hear in a movie, with people speaking over each other for long stretches as well as speaking very rapidly. A great, great movie. The 1982 remake with Kurt Russell and a wonderful supporting cast of character actors like Wilford Brimley and Keith David among several others is also excellent, but, other than the very basic plot outlines, it is an entirely different movie than the 1951 original. I know nothing about the 2011 remake.

[Unquenchable Angst]

Seaplanes of the Luftwaffe
Wings of the Luftwaffe
Wings of the Luftwaffe - Sea Planes (13 of 14)

[Yorkshire pud]

This will be a sight to see this summertime...

http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/raf-bbmf-to-host-canadian-warplane-heritage-museum-lancaster-during-visit-to-england-24022014

[Unquenchable Angst]

Morgan of the Memphis Belle was my fathers CO on Saipan for a while. Knew him growing up in NC.

[Unquenchable Angst]

First group of B-29 crews on Saipan

[maureen]

grand-dad Arundell flew for the RFC and was shot down in WW1... and with schrapnel in his back he was turned into a morphine addict. Does this fit the thread?

[Yorkshire pud]

grand-dad Arundell flew for the RFC and was shot down in WW1... and with schrapnel in his back he was turned into a morphine addict. Does this fit the thread?

Do you know what he flew? SE5? Sopwith Camel? Bristol fighter? Any photos?

[Uncle Duke]

Do you know what he flew? SE5? Sopwith Camel? Bristol fighter? Any photos?

Ah, the Brisfit, my favorite WWI a/c.  It's success ultimately came back to bite RAF and FAA pilots in the ass as the concept of the two-man fighter evolved into the Defiant and Roc of WWII.  There is a story of a German He-59, a large ponderous biplane with floats, out running a Roc. How embarassing would that be?

Getting a ride in a Bell 47 (as above) would complete my "I want to fly in that" bucket list.  Well, that and the Grace Spitfire, but the latter won't happen.

[maureen]

Do you know what he flew? SE5? Sopwith Camel? Bristol fighter? Any photos?

sorry... photos have been lost, and we were never told what he flew... he does have a couple of anti-icing patents... Arundell Wallis Faulkner, died in 1954

[Yorkshire pud]

Ah, the Brisfit, my favorite WWI a/c.  It's success ultimately came back to bite RAF and FAA pilots in the ass as the concept of the two-man fighter evolved into the Defiant and Roc of WWII.  There is a story of a German He-59, a large ponderous biplane with floats, out running a Roc. How embarassing would that be?

Getting a ride in a Bell 47 (as above) would complete my "I want to fly in that" bucket list.  Well, that and the Grace Spitfire, but the latter won't happen.

My father used to be involved in the Royal Airforces Association. They have subsidised holiday homes all over the country, and a few years ago the Red Arrows were displaying at Blackpool, Lancashire over the sea. The holiday home is not far away and a couple of pilots came over on a good will visit and chatted with some of the old boys who had fought in WW2. One had been a Hurricane fighter pilot and my old man said these two fast jet pilots were open mouthed like schoolboys in awe of what they heard!

We had a programme here about the B of B, and the pilots who fought in it, and one old boy well into his 80's was recounting how at 19, they saw the Spitfire as a teenager would now see being given the keys to a Ferrari. They didn't feel scared, just excited at being able to fly such a wonderful aeroplane.

[Uncle Duke]

My father used to be involved in the Royal Airforces Association. They have subsidised holiday homes all over the country, and a few years ago the Red Arrows were displaying at Blackpool, Lancashire over the sea. The holiday home is not far away and a couple of pilots came over on a good will visit and chatted with some of the old boys who had fought in WW2. One had been a Hurricane fighter pilot and my old man said these two fast jet pilots were open mouthed like schoolboys in awe of what they heard!

We had a programme here about the B of B, and the pilots who fought in it, and one old boy well into his 80's was recounting how at 19, they saw the Spitfire as a teenager would now see being given the keys to a Ferrari. They didn't feel scared, just excited at being able to fly such a wonderful aeroplane.

Are you old enough to have seen the Red Arrows fly the Folland Gnat?  Great little a/c, and I do mean "little."

[Yorkshire pud]

Are you old enough to have seen the Red Arrows fly the Folland Gnat?  Great little a/c, and I do mean "little."

Yes. I was in the Air cadets in my teens. We went on camp to RAF Valley, Angelsey North Wales in the mid 70's. The Arrows (Gnats) were there at the time, Hawks were just being introduced..My very first powered flight was in a DH Chipmunk and the pilot was an ex Arrows pilot... There wasn't much vomit.

The Gnat was also done as a single seater, and I found out that the main gear doors were the airbrakes.

[Uncle Duke]

Yes. I was in the Air cadets in my teens. We went on camp to RAF Valley, Angelsey North Wales in the mid 70's. The Arrows (Gnats) were there at the time, Hawks were just being introduced..My very first powered flight was in a DH Chipmunk and the pilot was an ex Arrows pilot... There wasn't much vomit.

The Gnat was also done as a single seater, and I found out that the main gear doors were the airbrakes.

Yes, the Indians used them very effectively against Pakistani Sabres.  Amazing just how small the Gnat really is.

[gbneely]

My baby in the Marine Corps. Sadly, they have all been retired now. This one is actually from my squadron, HMM-162.