Just out of curiosity - Airplane Guys

MaxPete said:

Some years ago on a trip to the UK, I had an extra day and so I went to Duxford where there is an incredible collection of vintage aircraft. They were selling rides on a DeHavilland Dragon Rapide (a 1930s British airliner) and I grabbed it. Very cool and yet a little spooky being a reasonably large a/c that was fully enclosed and yet was a fabric covered, wire-braced biplane. As I recall it, they had a fairly large guy climb in and sit in a seat near the tail BEFORE the pilot boarded because the pilot alone could have tipped her onto her nose.
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Hi Pete,
what's interesting about the Dragon Rapide is that it's contemporary with the DC3 although it's tech trails a decade or so behind it.
Probably why DC3s are still in use all over the world and the few remaining Dragons lurk in museums to be let out on fine summer afternoons.

azman857 said:

I was driving to work at Nellis AFB one day when I saw this HUGE delta wing bomber flying above the flightline. It was an Avro Vulcan Bomber. I recall about 4 of them came over to play wargames with Jaguar fighters and maybe Tornadoes too. Impressive to see them.

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Hi azman,
Vulcans REALLY look big when they go past your office window nose up at a 45º angle with their engines at full throttle and their arse end scraping the ground after having a brake failure on landing and then making an emergency take-off rather than plowing through the traffic on the A38 highway that Teed the end of the runway.
Had it's port wingtip dug in it'd have taken out BAC's #2 machine shop. Digging in the starboard wingtip it'd have taken out the local high school.
Luckily after it wiped out the boundary fence, the gas station just outside and the mebbe 200 bicycles parked against the factory fence it went straight up and punched a hole in the cloud base. We later learned it had flown to the RAF base that had the UK's longest runway to make a safe landing.

I read something yesterday about more enemy fighters being taken out by B-17 gun crews than by our fighters. Sounds odd, but what the heck.

weaselbeak said:

I read something yesterday about more enemy fighters being taken out by B-17 gun crews than by our fighters. Sounds odd, but what the heck.

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Hi weaselbeak,
that has a lot to do with every one of a B17's gun crew claiming a hit on any enemy fighter that showed a hint of damage while the fighter pilots claims had to be verified by their gun cameras.

Being an ex-Air force man I thought I had better throw in my picks.
Surprisingly, I'm not really an aeroplane person but here's my favourites in no particular order from when I was in the RAAF.

1. Dassault Mirage.
First flew in 1956 and still in service with the Pakistani Air Force.
No fancy pressure refuelling on these, climb up on top and fill it up like a truck!
Pic I took in the early 80's.


2. General Dynamics F-111.
The first real combat aircraft I ever saw up close, I could not believe how big they are/were.
Blew me away seeing the crew walk down the air intakes on their pre-flight checks.
3. de Havilland Caribou.
I just love the look of these old girls and I reckon they could near land one in my backyard.
another over wing refueller.
4.Douglas DC3 "Gooney Bird"
These were still in service when I joined the Air Force in 1979.
Had one sneak up behind me when I was sweeping the runway early one morning and frighten shit out of me.


6. Macchi MB-326.
These were the Air Force training jets and also used by the Roulette's aerobatic team when I was in the Raaf, I spent many a long hour refueling these day and night.



7. Spitfire
This pic was taken around 30 years ago and this particular aeroplane is still one of only 2 Spitfires still flying in Australia.
This one was at our base at the time for a publicity stunt to race the newly release V12 Bentley down the runway.
The Bentley got the jump on the Spitfire for the first couple of hundred meters, but then got blown into the weeds by the old girl.

8. Harrier.
Only ever saw these once, fine looking aircraft.

9.Lockheed P3 Orion
The Air Force first took delivery of these when I was still in school age 13 or 14 and they are still in service, remarkable to say the least.

10. Last but not least CT4 airtrainer.
Just before I left the Raaf one of my mates organised a flight for me in one of these piloted by one of the Roulette's, I think he thought he was flying a Pitt Special and needless to say managed to make me extremely sick.
He thought it was funny.

Nice choices, Meddy. Great to see some Euro-spec aircraft.

Choices change if you’re the one wrenching on them or flying them.

jetmechmarty said:

Choices change if you’re the one wrenching on them or flying them.

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I bet!

I've heard that one of my favorites, the F4 Phantom was a giant PITA to work on and maintenance intensive as well.

Known far and wide as proof that a brick will fly if you put a big enough engine on it...

Downeaster said:

I've heard that one of my favorites, the F4 Phantom was a giant PITA to work on.......

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Yes it was.

Meddy said:

Being an ex-Air force man I thought I had better throw in my picks.
- - - 8. Harrier.
Only ever saw these once, fine looking aircraft.
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Hi Meddy,
I used to help build the Harrier's Rolls-Royce Pegasus vectored thrust engine.
Guess what turns their nozzles? Motorcycle chain! Looked like 520 or 530.

Downeaster said:

I bet!

I've heard that one of my favorites, the F4 Phantom was a giant PITA to work on and maintenance intensive as well.

Known far and wide as proof that a brick will fly if you put a big enough engine on it...

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DE, As a young airman in my 20's I worked F-111A's and later "F" models with F-4D's between the 2. It was a love hate relationship with both. I am proud to have worked them though. One of my dear memories was being on trimpad with a F-4D and it went full burner. The ground trembled and the engines loudly rumbled with both engines at full power. Wouldn't trade any of my aircraft experience for anything.

I was overseas on an air base as crew on a Boeing 757. Some USAF F15 pilot was telling me how much thrust he had at full AB. (I don’t remember the number). I just smiled and said, “I’ve got 42,000 lbs.... on each wing!”

fredintoon said:

I used to help build the Harrier's Rolls-Royce Pegasus vectored thrust engine.
Guess what turns their nozzles? Motorcycle chain! Looked like 520 or 530.

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Good one Fred, I knew there had to be a link to motorcycles in this thread somewhere.

Whilst away on my bike trip this year we called in at the Temora aviation museum in rural New South Wales where they happen to have both of the still flying Spitfires in Australia as I mentioned above.
I just happened to have with me one of the photo's I took back in 1988 and when I explained to the guide there my connection with the aircraft on display she kindly allowed me through the barriers to get a matching photo 30 years on.


Flash new paint job now.

I'm sitting here at work, wishing i wasn't, and listening to the Thunderbirds roaring overhead. We have an air show here in town tomorrow and the Thunderbirds have been flying practice runs all day. My office sits adjacent to a large wetlands preserve just a few miles from the airport. With our breakroom panoramic windows facing the wetlands, I find myself standing there with an awesome unobstructed view watching them perform maneuvers and loops while they roar just a couple hundred feet overhead. Gives me goosbumps every time. I am pretty used to seeing and hearing the A10 Warthogs from our 122nd Fighter wing, these F16 are pretty amazing to watch.

You aren't too far from SE Michigan - come up Aug 3-4 to see 13 Corsairs in the Thunder over Michigan show at Willow Run Airport

aldo5468 said:

You aren't too far from SE Michigan - come up Aug 3-4 to see 13 Corsairs in the Thunder over Michigan show at Willow Run Airport

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HHmmmm...If I start now on the SG.....Hey aldo! Do you have a couch I can crash on that week.....or a backyard I can pitch a tent in?

I saw this on the VFT site this morning. If you grew up in the 50`s and didn`t have a model of this one well "You Should Have".

halfmile said:

I saw this on the VFT site this morning. If you grew up in the 50`s and didn`t have a model of this one well "You Should Have".

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Now that would’ve been fun to see!

Haha... We have one of these sitting outside the VFW just up the road... I see it (how can you miss it?) every time I go by.