The Germans referred to the Sunderland as "The Flying Porcupine". Apparently they were extraordinarily difficult to shoot down and several times, took out Fw190s and other German a/c over the Bay of Biscay.
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Just out of curiosity - Airplane Guys
- Thread starter Downeaster
- Start date
The Germans referred to the Sunderland as "The Flying Porcupine". Apparently they were extraordinarily difficult to shoot down and several times, took out Fw190s and other German a/c over the Bay of Biscay.
In one famous battle, a solitary Sunderland out over the Bay of Biscay, ie the Atlantic west of France, was intercepted by eight Ju88 twin-engined fighters. The Luftwaffe aircraft made multiple attacks on the flying boat and inflicted lots of damage but the Sunderland fought back so effectively that four JUs were shot down and a further two were damaged. The damaged Sunderland managed to fly back to Cornwall where the pilot beached the leaky Sunderland and the crew of eleven, nine Aussies and two Brits, were able to wade to shore carrying one dead comrade.
The stuff of legend and makes it clear why the Sunderland was seen as difficult to shoot down.
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The Bristol Hercules radial engine is an extraordinary example of early 20th-century aviation engineering, and it’s truly awe-inspiring to consider that this 14-cylinder, two-row radial sleeve valve engine was designed without the aid of modern digital tools like CAD or 3D modeling software…Introduced in 1939
Don't think this was the pilots best landing. That had to have been a wild ride.
Amazingly, 18 people taken to hospital, 'only' three critical injuries, out of about 80 pax and crew. But very wild ride indeed!
Seat belts are marvellous things, I wonder if the three included an idiot or two who never belt up.
Mikey
got muscles in his head that ain't never been used
Hanging upside down belted in would be something new
Just getting up the nerve to unbuckle would take me awhile to get up the nerve to do it
Ok 1 2 3 go
Oh shit....
OK 1 2 3
Miss could I just have a cocktail with a straw while I think about this
Just getting up the nerve to unbuckle would take me awhile to get up the nerve to do it
Ok 1 2 3 go
Oh shit....
OK 1 2 3
Miss could I just have a cocktail with a straw while I think about this
The report I heard said one of the three was a young child.
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My guess?
He stabilized his approach while a 40+mph gust was blowing.... and didn't pad his approach speed to account for the gusts. Or at least didn't pad it enough. Gust died out and the bottom fell out from under him. Bounce.
He stabilized his approach while a 40+mph gust was blowing.... and didn't pad his approach speed to account for the gusts. Or at least didn't pad it enough. Gust died out and the bottom fell out from under him. Bounce.
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My sister in law had an evening flight, heading to FL. It wasn’t cancelled by the airport and she was told to wait. She arrived early at the airport that day, maybe 5:00. At 2:00 am she called to be picked up to return home. That’s a long wait at the airport.
Glad nobody was killed. It could have been a real tragedy. Wishing a speeding recovery to the injured.
AUTOMAN
XS650 Addict
The pilot of that little flexjet just earned himself some time off.... without pay I might add...
The pilot of that little flexjet just earned himself some time off.... without pay I might add...
Question for you aviation guys. At what point after landing would the plane not b able to reverse the landing procedure, flaps down reverse engine braking, before he could take off again to avoid the crash
Seems in the vid he wasn't past flaps down
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