The Big 3: Avro Lancaster Ilyushin Il-76 Hawker Hurricane Mentioned in Despatches: Me 262 Harrier Jump Jet Sopwith Camel
Lancaster Mosquito Hurricane Vulcan Concorde Harrier JumpJet Eurofighter (saw it at 2 air shows. FUN!) Nimrod. Sopwith Camel Tigermoth Dragon Rapide (cos I've flown in one) *Does a quick count* yep, thats my 3.
P-51 Mustang Ju-87 Stuka Me-262 Schwable The JU-87, now thats an interesting choice!!! Is there any still flying??
The JU-87, now thats an interesting choice!!! Is there any still flying?? None flying but a few preserved: http://www.geocities.com/hjunkers/ju_mus5.htm#m_ju87 Any contemporary pictures that may show a flying example are the 3/4th replicas
My choices: 1] Spitfire - not very original I know, but for combination of beauty and function and legend, for an Englishman nothing comes close. 2] Boeing 747 - the aircraft which really shrunk the world into a global village: plus if like me you live in a major city where they descend towards the airport, if you look up in the early morning as the dawn sunlight reflects off one, its a beautiful and majestic sight. 3] Any modern high-performance sailplane such as the Schepp-Hirth Nimbus - without unnecessary encumbrances such as engines, the purest form of flying machine there will ever be. I seem to have defined favourite by looks - if we were asked to choose five I would have added the Hunter, and LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin"
Having had several PM's on why I chose the Ilyushin Il-76 for one of my 3 fave aircraft I have the following explaination: The Ilyushin Il-76 is a incredable aircraft. It has a payload of about 3x more than the west's Hercules and when inside it the noise is much lower (as people who have flowen in a Herc will no doubt attest, the noise is dredful). It can land in very bad weather and on very short and harsh runways. My Dad's company has landed them on a 3,000m ice runway in the middle of Antartica (which is no mean feat). It is multi-roled and is a good all-rounder.
My choices: 1] Spitfire - not very original I know, but for combination of beauty and function and legend, for an Englishman nothing comes close. 2] Boeing 747 - the aircraft which really shrunk the world into a global village: plus if like me you live in a major city where they descend towards the airport, if you look up in the early morning as the dawn sunlight reflects off one, its a beautiful and majestic sight. 3] Any modern high-performance sailplane such as the Schepp-Hirth Nimbus - without unnecessary encumbrances such as engines, the purest form of flying machine there will ever be. I seem to have defined favourite by looks - if we were asked to choose five I would have added the Hunter, and LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin" I have been waiting to see if anyone would get near my combination before I posted and Adrian has been the closest. Spitfire Boeing 747 Short Sunderland - U-Boat Patrol, Air Sea Rescue, Long operational life, the Flying Porcupine was multi functional and a great asset.
I have been waiting to see if anyone would get near my combination before I posted and Adrian has been the closest. Spitfire Boeing 747 Short Sunderland - U-Boat Patrol, Air Sea Rescue, Long operational life, the Flying Porcupine was multi functional and a great asset. Great minds think alike! I certainly thought about the Sunderland. The Catalina had a greater range and was more economical to build and operate, but the Sunderland crews did it in style - their own galley, rest bunks, an upstairs and a downstairs, and a lot more room for defensive and offensive armament including those fixed forward-firing Brownings!
LOL, the Cat had an upstairs just not a very spacious one and you probably couldn't even call it a deck! Only ever seen one Sunderland and that was the Hendon one. Have crawled around inside a Cat under restoration and, for a big aircraft, it is really hard to get around...even with most of the fittings removed! Guess the shape of the hull comes into play here as, relative to the Sunderland, everyone's a bit closer to the water! Fell in love with the Sunderland when I read a Commando comic about a flying boat crew. From memory, the tail gunner was called Pop and smoked a pipe. I think they rescued heaps of refugees in the Med, were damaged and then couldn't land to pick up a Blenheim crew who then died which upset the 'boat crew. I think the story ended with more refugees being rescued...and a goat. Anyone remember this story?
For Spidge and Adrian, who chose the Sunderland: http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200185.pdf http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200186.pdf http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200187.pdf http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200188.pdf http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200191.pdf http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1939/1939%20-%200192.pdf
Thanks Kyt I'm always interested in cutaway drawings. The layout on the Sunderland in these drawings is different to the one in the RAF Museum, but of course that is a Mk V and this is a Mk I. I notice the drawings do not show the bomb racks, which were internal and slid out under the wings for action - I wonder if this was classified information at the time. Adrian Adrian
and this is a Mk I. I notice the drawings do not show the bomb racks, which were internal and slid out under the wings for action - I wonder if this was classified information at the time After scratching my head etc etc, I think the mystery is solved. It's not classified - Flight magazine have truncated the scan - the scans must come from bound copies and parts of the edges of the magazine must be hidden in the binding. See the attached picture and you'll notice where the gaps are (rough approximation). I've also attached a scan of a Mk III for comparison from "Aircraft Anatomy of World War II: Technical Drawings of key aircraft 1939-1945"
At the moment, my favorite three would be the P-47, TBF/TBM Avenger, and the FM-2 Wildcat (my dad served aboard a CVE during the Battle off Samar in the Battle of Letye Gulf).
my dad served aboard a CVE during the Battle off Samar in the Battle of Letye Gulf). Which ship, Machine Shop Tom? Was he part of Taffy 3?
Which ship, Machine Shop Tom? Was he part of Taffy 3? He served aboard the Fanshaw Bay, CVE-70. BTW it was the only carrier (big or small) to recieve 2 Presidential Unit Citations. tom
