@ttyymmnn said in This Date in Aviation History: October 16 - October 19:

@bicyclebuck

But if the flight number doesn't change, then it is a flight around the world.

If that's the case, perhaps you'd be interested in buying my axe. It was used by Washington to chop down that cherry tree so long ago. It's only had five new handles and two new heads since then, so you know it's good to go.

The news reports that there were only 21 people on board. It probably would have been worse with more people to evacuate.

@highlander prettiest engine nacelle ever

@facw we flew them a few years back when we went to Italy, good service, too bad.

@ramblinrover

And don't forget Air America which, along with Dumbo Drop, is a film I've never seen.

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@ttyymmnn Laying down, passing gas, and getting paid for it... what a gig!

@facw So the original builder apparently did have a good (or at least plausible) reason for the mod:

The technician, in his interview with the NTSB, stated that he and Denver talked about the inaccessibility of the cockpit fuel selector valve handle and its resistance to being turned, as the handle was located behind the pilot's left shoulder - counter to Rutan's original design. Unique to this homebuilt Long-EZ, the builder - Adrian Davis of Texas - elected to relocate the switch behind the pilot because he did not want to have fuel lines running into the cockpit, especially down where they might rupture in a belly landing.

@pip-bip I think that vacation is a little out of my price range.
https://premiermaldives.com/

@pip-bip Swamp Gas!

@ttyymmnn

Sounds as the fighter community wised up pretty quick in 1947. I think the B36 went on into the 50's and the P2V went on even longer with their respective mixed propulsion. Apparently they got the memo a little late.

@grindintosecond said in Now how do the Canadians build a submarine hunting aircraft?:

@cb it's the quality country, not the quantity one.

I'd like to hope so.

@italia i forgot to mention....a private pilot license, but anything over 12,500 pounds of takeoff weight or higher...or jet powered....or both, requires a type rating which is the letter of authorization from the FAA. So there is that additional certificate.

@ttyymmnn @Skyfire77 about fucking time
https://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-10/pew-airborne-military-laser-takes-out-truck/

@darkbrador A good friend of the family's transferred from being a tanker to flying OH-58's in the army. He was a long term army guy and took a look at what jobs were available post army. Tanker? You're qualified to operate a bulldozer after some training.
OH-58 pilot? You're checked out on the very common, and in demand, Bell helicopters.

@skyfire77 OOF!

@ttyymmnn said in Work to trip Mexico City (planelopnik content):

@skyfire77 said in Work to trip Mexico City (planelopnik content):

If you have the N Number you can look it up on the FAA site and see.

It was an inside joke.

@HoustonRunner

I'll out the joke, because it highlights how awesome Oppo is.

I was getting ready to post, but wanted to make sure I didn't ID my client as best as I could. So I messaged one of our resident planelopnik experts @ttyymmnn to ask what else I needed to obscure other than the tail number.

Turns out the depth and breadth of planelopnik knowledge on Oppo is even more than I realized, as another user ID'd the plane without the tail number!

@skyfire77 ummm...
b92a9ee6-910a-4db5-b45a-900f283a445f-image.png

@zipfuel said in Airships:

henceforth the butt of many jokes

I see what you did there!

@matthurting OOF!

@ttyymmnn Yes it is a good looking plane, looks like a P40 Warhawk and traces of pre-war trophy cup racers with the somewhat stubby fuselage and cockpit way far back.

@ttyymmnn said in Bomber, Long Range: The XBLR Aircraft:

But even before the outbreak of war, military planners had envisioned a bomber that could fly tremendous distances, one with a range of as much as 5,000 miles

That sort of range would have let you strike basically anywhere in Europe from London, and more or less anywhere west of the Volga from Iceland. And while yeah, a transpacific raid would be one way, you could strike anywhere in the Japanese Empire from Manilla, which of course we still ruled at that point. From Guam you could hit the Japanese home islands, but Manchuria would be out of reach. Of course this thing would have been absolutely shredded by defense fighters with no escorts that could manage those distances.

@ttyymmnn said in Bomber, Long Range: The XBLR Aircraft:

the XB-15 was unceremoniously scrapped in Panama in 1945. Stripped of its engines, internals and vertical stabilizer, the fuselage was dumped in a swamp at Albrook Field in Panama, where it slowly sank out of sight, and where it remains to this day.

Sounds like an opportunity for some rich collector. Though it seems weird they'd just throw away all that aluminum. Even with post-war surplus, it still seems like aluminum would have been worth enough to make it worthwhile to rip it up and load it on a ship for recycling.

@skyfire77 I can't seem to find a clip, but the whole thing reminds me of the road landing scene in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.
"What'd you go and do that for! Damn silly thing to do... nearly frightened the life out of the mem'sah'b!"

@rallydarkstrike I'm just old enough to have seen the Argus flying at Comox and at the Abbostford Airshow. Unforgettable sound. The only aircraft I can think of offhand where it was converted from turbines to piston engines as an upgrade. Thanks to those 3350 Turbo Compounds and their insanely high BMEP the Argus could stay on station for a ridiculous amount of time. The Aurora and Arcturus with their turboprops couldn't come close to matching it, especially down low where a lot of maritime flying was carried out.