Sitting in the living room and hear the sound of a big 4 engine prop plane, Hmmm what could that one be?!
Get up and go outside to see a B29 flying directly over my head, could count the rivets close. Coming in for a landing at Sarasota Bradenton International (SRQ). What a magnificent sight. Odd to be here, Sun 'n Fun flyin is another month away. To take for a spin around the block is rather expensive, wondering what's up with that 🙂
With Formula 1 in St. Pete and the unlimited class racing boats you've got to be ontop of things. All sorts of cool super powerful engines to be heard. Tho can't hear them, is awesome to see NASA launches at the Cape even if over a hundred miles away.
Get up and go outside to see a B29 flying directly over my head, could count the rivets close. Coming in for a landing at Sarasota Bradenton International (SRQ). What a magnificent sight. Odd to be here, Sun 'n Fun flyin is another month away. To take for a spin around the block is rather expensive, wondering what's up with that 🙂
With Formula 1 in St. Pete and the unlimited class racing boats you've got to be ontop of things. All sorts of cool super powerful engines to be heard. Tho can't hear them, is awesome to see NASA launches at the Cape even if over a hundred miles away.
I find there is nothing as aesthetic as old planes, I love to see the WW2 planes flying overhead.
Saw a Youtube video some years ago done over in the UK reporting on WWII planes. In the distance as far as the eye could see was all clear, blue skies. Reporter went on to talk about the Spitfire, an awesome fighter plane. When out of nowhere and close to the deck one flew over so close the reporter hit the ground, screaming Holy Sh*it over and over. Too funny. Great plane designed by a great engineer whom understood laminar flow in the very early years of aerodynamic research.
Can you believe these planes ran on 140+ octane fuel! Best they can supply them with today is 120 octane, greatly reducing their potential.
BTW can hear it flying around the area atm, looks to headed toward Tampa (north). May be doing a required engine run getting everything ready for next month.
Can you believe these planes ran on 140+ octane fuel! Best they can supply them with today is 120 octane, greatly reducing their potential.
BTW can hear it flying around the area atm, looks to headed toward Tampa (north). May be doing a required engine run getting everything ready for next month.
Wasn't it the P-38 that took the wing shape directly from the Spitfire?
I do know the wing of the Lightning was "used" for the Constellation. I did see an old photo of a Connie standing on its wingtip going around A Reno Air-races pylon.....she had a P51 Mustang off her 4 O, clock.....the wingtip of the Connie some fifty feet off the deck.
__________________________________________________Rick......
I remember in High School back in '70 or so, waiting for my parents to pick me up after something or the other - I was lucky enough to see an old Lockheed Constellation zoom over for a landing at the municipal airport a mile or two away. The tail assembly was distinctive, and made the plane instantly recognizable. I was in Orlando, FL at the time, with a SAC base just to the south, so I also saw B-52s (with white-painted bellies - you know what that means), U-2s, and an occasional SR-71.
I remember back in the 1950's the special sound of the huge B36 airplanes. No other plane sounded anything like it and you could hear it while it was still many miles away.
Convair B-36 Peacemaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Convair B-36 Peacemaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The only B-29 still flying that I’m aware of is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) B-29 FIFI. Looks like their spending a lot of time in Florida this spring.
CAF Airpower History Tour
CAF Airpower History Tour
Well - I can hear turboprop drone every day..... It's either the 4-engine Lockheed P3C Orions, or the civilian workhorse of this region, the twin DeHavilland Dash-8's... 🙂
In 2012, RNoAF celebrated the 100 yrs ov military aviation, - we had Dakota, Catalina, Vampire, Spifire..... and lots more..
Jolly good show... 🙂
Piccies here: https://www.google.no/search?q=andø...rat.no%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D105472;1023;682
In 2012, RNoAF celebrated the 100 yrs ov military aviation, - we had Dakota, Catalina, Vampire, Spifire..... and lots more..
Jolly good show... 🙂
Piccies here: https://www.google.no/search?q=andø...rat.no%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D105472;1023;682
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Back in the 90's I worked at a "skunkworks" facility near the Boca airfield in South Florida. One day we were out in the parking lot goofing off when I heard a most awesome sound in the sky. One by one two WWII bombers and four Fighters landed at the airfield. The P51 Mustang has another very distinctive sound.
I later found out that there were a group of WWII aircraft restorers and pilots that tour the country displaying their planes, and for enough money, offering rides.
About 2, maybe 3 weeks ago, I heard the same sound you heard, and looked up to see a B29 settling into final approach for Executive Airport. Later that weekend I saw a DC-3 headed for the same airport, but they are not too uncommon.
I was discussing this at our Monday Pizza lunch and a friend pulled out his phone and showed me pictures of the inside of the cockpit taken while the plane was aloft. One of the guys I used to work with had bought a ride on the plane you saw. He took pictures and posted them on Facebook. I don't have Facebook, but I will see if my friend can get the pictures.
B36 was known as "6 turnin and 4 burnin." It had 6 propeller engines, and 4 small jet engines used for takeoff with a full load of bombs. I grew up near Homestead AFB. My father has base access, and we went to all the air shows, but I never saw a B36 that could fly. Homestead was flying the B52's by the time I was old enough to remember anything. There was at least one B52 in the air with a live nuke at all times during the cold war. They rotated shifts, One landed, and another took off. Homestead was in the rotation. The base is now pretty much inactive. I still remember the F104 Starfighters going supersonic right about the time they passed over out house.
There was another base, Richmond Naval Air Station. It had a runway big enough for the B36 but had been "closed" in the 50's. There was some RF eavesdropping equipment deployed there during the Cuban missle crisis. The base went inactive again during the mid 60's. We used to drag race on that runway in the early 70's. It is now the Miami Metrozoo.
I later found out that there were a group of WWII aircraft restorers and pilots that tour the country displaying their planes, and for enough money, offering rides.
About 2, maybe 3 weeks ago, I heard the same sound you heard, and looked up to see a B29 settling into final approach for Executive Airport. Later that weekend I saw a DC-3 headed for the same airport, but they are not too uncommon.
I was discussing this at our Monday Pizza lunch and a friend pulled out his phone and showed me pictures of the inside of the cockpit taken while the plane was aloft. One of the guys I used to work with had bought a ride on the plane you saw. He took pictures and posted them on Facebook. I don't have Facebook, but I will see if my friend can get the pictures.
B36 was known as "6 turnin and 4 burnin." It had 6 propeller engines, and 4 small jet engines used for takeoff with a full load of bombs. I grew up near Homestead AFB. My father has base access, and we went to all the air shows, but I never saw a B36 that could fly. Homestead was flying the B52's by the time I was old enough to remember anything. There was at least one B52 in the air with a live nuke at all times during the cold war. They rotated shifts, One landed, and another took off. Homestead was in the rotation. The base is now pretty much inactive. I still remember the F104 Starfighters going supersonic right about the time they passed over out house.
There was another base, Richmond Naval Air Station. It had a runway big enough for the B36 but had been "closed" in the 50's. There was some RF eavesdropping equipment deployed there during the Cuban missle crisis. The base went inactive again during the mid 60's. We used to drag race on that runway in the early 70's. It is now the Miami Metrozoo.
Love the classic lines of the Constellation.
Worked on BUFF's, H's. Runway was 15,000 plus. Had SR's U2's parked down the ramp. Grew up near Write Pat. School friends parents were the researchers there, explains a bit why it's the Center for all military R&D. Have heard all the hokus pokus stories about the place, tis cool 🙂 Late HS prior to my military stint, worked at the Airplane Factory in Dayton (Brandt) off of old rt 40. Owner, Walt Hoy, was retired USAF fighter pilot, master in aerodynamic engineering and a masters in business. This was his "hobby" business. Best friends of Dick and Burt Rutan, met many of the geniuses and wise crackers through Walt's connections and the EAA where we sold our crafts which were mainly optically perfect canopies, but if you needed a plane built we did that too, like vari eze's, long eze's, custom, mattered not. Had a radar drone hanging from the ceiling that was designed to carry a tactical nuke, cold war era. Perhaps another time will tell the story of how we confiscated an SP's M16 and made a few phone calls. Our shop was a secure facility, you dont get in to retrieve, ECM classified. Won Best in 8th Air Force first time for an H squadron in '83
Sounds like they have it here still. Heard them doing engine tests earlier. Will have a drive down in a bit, wife at the store, kid asleep 🙂
Worked on BUFF's, H's. Runway was 15,000 plus. Had SR's U2's parked down the ramp. Grew up near Write Pat. School friends parents were the researchers there, explains a bit why it's the Center for all military R&D. Have heard all the hokus pokus stories about the place, tis cool 🙂 Late HS prior to my military stint, worked at the Airplane Factory in Dayton (Brandt) off of old rt 40. Owner, Walt Hoy, was retired USAF fighter pilot, master in aerodynamic engineering and a masters in business. This was his "hobby" business. Best friends of Dick and Burt Rutan, met many of the geniuses and wise crackers through Walt's connections and the EAA where we sold our crafts which were mainly optically perfect canopies, but if you needed a plane built we did that too, like vari eze's, long eze's, custom, mattered not. Had a radar drone hanging from the ceiling that was designed to carry a tactical nuke, cold war era. Perhaps another time will tell the story of how we confiscated an SP's M16 and made a few phone calls. Our shop was a secure facility, you dont get in to retrieve, ECM classified. Won Best in 8th Air Force first time for an H squadron in '83
Sounds like they have it here still. Heard them doing engine tests earlier. Will have a drive down in a bit, wife at the store, kid asleep 🙂
Unfortunately in the UK the air laws are tighter so fewer and fewer old planes are allowed into the skies. Not many people here can afford to keep them up to the flying specs required.
I read the other day that some American entrepreneur is actually building and selling Spitfire replicas, sadly with a modern engine no-where near the magnificent Rolls Royce original.
I read the other day that some American entrepreneur is actually building and selling Spitfire replicas, sadly with a modern engine no-where near the magnificent Rolls Royce original.
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When we lived back Stateside, we had our place in Hillsboro Oregon, near to the Hillsboro Airport & every summer they had the big airshow. Sure enough the old stuff would fly over. I was able to discern the B17s from the DC3s flying overhead.....the one which confused me SLIGHTLY, a Ford Tri-motor, it has a very distinct sound & looking at it going overhead it just seems like it just plain 'hangs' in the air! 80mph?
All is not lost however, the spirit of these aircraft is still alive, About The Radial Rocket The sound is just plain, well, amazing!
____________________________________________________Rick..........
All is not lost however, the spirit of these aircraft is still alive, About The Radial Rocket The sound is just plain, well, amazing!
____________________________________________________Rick..........
The Yankee Air Museum is just west of Detroit and puts on one of the best warbird airshows in the country. I think it was 06’.... They had 8 of the 9 flyable B-17’s (at the time) in the country at the show. All eight B-17’s flew at the show both days over the weekend. I was there on Saturday and it was just insane seeing 8 B-17’s on the flight line, startup, taxi out, takeoff, join up, and make a few pass overhead. Never will see that again, one less B-17 in the US.
Photos: WWII B-17 bomber crashes outside Chicago
Photos: WWII B-17 bomber crashes outside Chicago
You reminded me of a long forgotten event. I worked second shift in the factory at the Motorola plant back in 1973 and we worked 7 days a week. We went to work on a Sunday afternoon and everything looked normal on the way to work. We left work sometime after midnight on Monday morning to find cops, and suits, and all sorts of people gathered around a Connie that had crash landed in a field on our way home. You could see the gouges in the road where the plane skidded across. The plane sat there for a couple of weeks as it was parted out and cut up for scrap. A friend got a pair of seats out of it for his van.
Google found this:
TAMARAC HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Events that shape city history (or, The Plane! The Plane!)
What most people don't immediately realize, it wasn't really the outright speed of the first jet-airliners that sealed the fate of the prop-airliners........it was the maintenence of the aircrafts. The engines of the likes of a Connie were at their utmost peak of performance & development.....as prop engines were concerned.
As such these "trick" engines were a handful to keep up on a tight schedule.
When one of the first of the jet powered airliners came in for its first major service, the engines were torn down as per the maintinence schedule.....they found virtually zero wear on the engine components. Service schedules were reviewed, contemplated, re-written...........so as the old radials would need a couple hundred hours of servicing for X amount of running hours, the old jets needed virtually nothing. Hour intervals were extended & the hustle & bussle of modern day air travel was born.
If any current, regular air traveler knew exactly just how many hours of airframe time that jumbo they take on a daily basis.........."Is that a lot?".
___________________________________________________Rick.......
As such these "trick" engines were a handful to keep up on a tight schedule.
When one of the first of the jet powered airliners came in for its first major service, the engines were torn down as per the maintinence schedule.....they found virtually zero wear on the engine components. Service schedules were reviewed, contemplated, re-written...........so as the old radials would need a couple hundred hours of servicing for X amount of running hours, the old jets needed virtually nothing. Hour intervals were extended & the hustle & bussle of modern day air travel was born.
If any current, regular air traveler knew exactly just how many hours of airframe time that jumbo they take on a daily basis.........."Is that a lot?".
___________________________________________________Rick.......
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