This Date in Aviation History: April 25 - April 28

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 04/28/2020 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik, TDIAH

6

40

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting of you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from April 25 through April 28.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

A Lockheed A-12 in flight some time in the 1960s. This aircraft, Serial Number 06932, was lost over South China Sea on June 6, 1968. (US Department of Defense)

April 26, 1962 – The first flight of the Lockheed A-12. When the shooting war of WWII was replaced by the Cold War in 1947, it was imperative for the United States to have eyes in the sky to keep track of military activities inside the Soviet Union. Immediately after the war, the US began snooping around the periphery of the Soviet Union, but the WWII-era reconnaissance aircraft often became the targets of a new generation of jet fighters and fell prey to Russian guns. The answer to the problem was a new reconnaissance aircraft, one that could fly high enough to be out of reach of any contemporary fighter. At first, those missions were flown by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which entered service in 1955. But while the U-2 flew high, it wasn’t particularly fast, and it didn’t take long for the U-2 to become vulnerable to radar-guided missiles. The CIA found themselves in need of a new plane that could fly still higher and faster. For that, they turned to Lockheed’s super-secret !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , led by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who began development of a successor to the U-2 in a program that the CIA called !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Concept drawings illustrate how the design of Archangel progressed towards the final A-12 (CIA)

Lockheed’s developmental aircraft were nicknamed Archangel (the U-2 had been called Angel ), and began with design Archangel 1 (A-1). As subsequent designs were developed and discarded, Lockheed progressed to A-2, A-3 and so on. By the time they were ready to field an aircraft for CIA consideration, they had reached the twelfth iteration, or A-12. Competing against the Lockheed design was a delta wing aircraft proposed by Convair called the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . By 1959, the Kingfish design had progressed to offer a smaller radar cross section (RCS), and it was pitted against the A-12. However, based on Lockheed’s record of producing the U-2 on time and under budget, the A-12 was selected and the CIA awarded a contract for twelve A-12s on January 26, 1960.

An inverted scale model of the A-12 is mounted on a pole for radar testing (CIA)

The A-12 was unlike any aircraft that had ever flown. It was constructed mainly of titanium, which required Lockheed to develop entirely new ways of working with the exotic metal. In fact, there was so little domestic titanium available that the CIA used dummy corporations to purchase titanium from Russia, who were wholly unaware that their metal was being used to build an airplane that would one day spy on them with impunity. The titanium, combined with iron ferrite and silicon laminate composite materials and asbestos, helped to further reduce the A-12’s RCS. When the new spy plane was fitted with a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojets, the A-12 was capable of speeds in excess of Mach 3.

Factory fresh A-12s lined up on the tarmac at the US Air Force Plant 24 in Palmdale, California (US Air Force)

By all measures, the A-12 was an enormous aircraft. Essentially a fuel tank wrapped in titanium and mated to two enormous engines, the spy plane’s delta wing was just over 55 feet across and covered 1,800 square feet. The entire aircraft measured a whopping 101 feet long and was 18-and-a-half feet tall. Its powerful radar could reach out nearly 800 miles, an extraordinary range, but a distance that the A-12 could cover in just 20 minutes at top speed. Performing a U-turn at Mach 3 required a 180-mile turning radius. And that incredible speed allowed the aircraft to set 12 official speed records. The extreme heat generated by such high speed was mitigated by the use of a corrugated skin that could expand and contract as the aircraft heated and cooled.

A NASA YF-12 in flight (NASA)

Though the A-12 was developed to spy on Russia, it actually never undertook that mission. At the time it entered service, the US government deemed flights over the Soviet Union too dangerous, and believed that the reconnaissance job could be handled by US satellites. So, the A-12s were instead sent to Kadena Air Base on the island of Okinawa in 1967, where they flew missions over North Vietnam, and over North Korea during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . There the A-12 showed that, while it could be tracked by targeting radar, the missiles sent against it could not bring it down. Ultimately, the A-12's career was relatively short, but its legacy is long lasting. Soon after development of the A-12, Lockheed began working on its successor, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . With the arrival of the SR-71 in 1966, the A-12 program officially ended, and the final flight took place in 1968. Though the A-12 was faster and could fly higher, the SR-71 was stealthier and more capable, and the Blackbird served until 1999 and carried out many of the reconnaissance missions originally intended for the A-12. Though the majority of A-12s were built for the CIA, the Air Force also experimented with the YF-12, an armed interceptor version that could carry three !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! air-to-air missiles housed in an internal bomb bay. However, the service chose not to adopt it, and only three YF-12s were built.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Qantas flight QF7 arrives at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport after a trip of 8,577 miles. (Tim Shaffer)

April 27, 2005 – The first flight of the Airbus A380. When the Wright Brothers made their first flight in 1903, their airplane carried a single pilot, and it was five years before one of their mechanics, Charley Furnas, became the first passenger to fly in a plane. But as the airplane grew and matured, it began to replace buses and trains in the people-moving business, and passenger capacity increased along with the size and complexity of the airliners. By the 1930s, airliners were crisscrossing the skies with paying passengers and, by the 1950s, jet-powered airliners could accommodate about 50 passengers, a number that seems small to us today.

When commercial airliners had gotten about as long and as wide as they could, the next logical way to make room for more passengers was to add a second deck. The earliest examples of double-deck airliners were large flying boats such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . After WWII, military aircraft, such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! took advantage of an added deck to carry more soldiers to far off battlefields. But the double-deck civilian airliner never really caught on after the war, and there was only one, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a piston powered airliner that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. But the dream of the double-deck airliner didn’t die with the retirement of the Deux-Ponts in 1971, and was resurrected by European aviation consortium Airbus with the A380, a mammoth double-decker that could only fly in the modern era of composite construction and powerful, efficient jet engines.

Since the beginning of the jet airliner days, Boeing had been the king of the airliner business for years and, with the introduction of the 747 in 1970, the company had basically cornered the market on large wide-body airliners. Airbus introduced their own wide-body, the twin-engine A300, in 1974, but they continued to envision a future of hub-and-spoke air travel, in which super-sized airliners would transport large numbers of passengers to a centralized airport where they could then take flights to their final destinations on smaller airliners. Beginning in 1988, Airbus initiated a secret project to develop an ultra-high-capacity-airliner (UHCA) and announced the A3xx program in June 1994. The company considered a number of different concepts, including a double fuselage arrangement that would knit two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fuselages together side-by-side. Ultimately, Airbus decided on a full double-deck design as being more feasible, and the program was officially launched on December 19, 2000 with 50 firm orders from six customers.

Manufacturing began in January 2002 and, like other Airbus airliners, the construction of the A380's major components took place throughout Europe. Once completed, the parts of the gargantuan airliner traveled by truck, train, and boat from France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany to Toulouse, France for final assembly. For an aircraft of its size to fly, and carry a useful load, it must remain as light as possible. There fore, the majority of the A380 is constructed of traditional aluminum, while 20% of the airframe is constructed from composite materials, with heavy use of composites in the wings. The A380 is also the world’s first airliner to have a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! constructed from carbon reinforced plastic. Depending on the requirements of the purchaser, the A380 is powered by four !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or four !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbofan engines which provide a cruising speed of 587 mph (Mach 0.85) and a range of over 9,000 miles. Currently, the longest flight by an A380 is from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a distance of 8,824 miles. But the A380 is all about moving large numbers of people, and the A380 can accommodate 544 passengers in a 4-class configuration, 644 in a 2-class configuration, and an incredible 868 passengers in a single-class arrangement.

The first A380 entered service with Singapore Airlines in 2007. Airbus has delivered 242 A380s since its introduction, with total orders standing at 251 as of February 2020. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is by far the biggest customer for the super jumbo, and it was sales to Dubai-based airline that made the A380 possible and kept it afloat. However, improvements in range and capacity of smaller, twin-engined airliners have made those aircraft more popular with carriers who have an easier time filling a smaller airliner to capacity, and the hub-and-spoke concept of travel has given way to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! travel with smaller, more efficient aircraft. Facing the reality of the current airliner market, and with the cancelation of 39 orders by Emirates and cancelations by other operators, Airbus announced that production of the A380 will cease in 2021. And while the company is no longer losing money on each A380 it sells, it remains unlikely that they will ever recoup the €25 billion investment they made to develop the giant airliner.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Short Takeoff

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(NASA)

April 25, 2017 – Astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks the record for the most cumulative time spent in space by an American astronaut. While flying aboard the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (ISS) on her third long-duration mission, Whitson broke astronaut !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ’ previous record of 534 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes of total time in space. When Whitson finally returned to Earth on September 3, 2017, she had amassed 665 days in space over her career, more than any other woman astronaut, and hypothetically long enough for a round trip to Mars. Whitson made her first trip to the ISS in 2002 and stayed for 184 days, then returned in 2008 for a 192-day stay. She also holds the record for the most spacewalks (10) and the most hours spacewalking (53) by a woman astronaut. In 2009, Whitson was the first woman to be appointed chief of the astronaut office, a position which she held until 2012. (The record for the longest single stay in space belongs to cosmonaut !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who stayed on the Russian space station !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for 437 days, and the record for the longest single stay in space for a woman is held by NASA astronaut !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! who spent 328 days in the ISS.)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Airbus)

April 25, 2016 – Airbus delivers its first airliner built in the United States. In 2012, Airbus made the decision to build airliners in the US and constructed a $600 million final assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama located at the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Major components for the A319, A320 and A321, such as the fuselage and vertical stabilizer, are built in Germany, shipped to the US, and delivered to the facility by rail. The front fuselage is shipped from France, and the remaining 40-percent of parts, including engines, are provided by American suppliers. The first airliner delivered from the Alabama factory, an A321 CEO (Current Engine Option) delivered to JetBlue Airlines (N965JT) and nicknamed BluesMobile , took its maiden flight on March 24, 2016. Airbus also has plans to manufacture the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the rebadged Bombardier C Series, at the Alabama facility.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(NASA)

April 25, 1983 – NASA’s Pioneer 10 flies beyond the orbit of Pluto after completing the first mission to Jupiter. Despite flying beyond Pluto’s orbital path, Pioneer 10 still had not left the solar system, since Pluto’s irregular orbit meant that the spacecraft was closer to the Sun than Neptune at that point. But on June 13, 1983, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! passed the orbit of Neptune and officially became the first man-made object to leave our solar system. By September 9, 2012, Pioneer 10 was predicted to be about 10 billion miles from the Sun, traveling at about 26,930 mph and heading for the constellation !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . At that distance, light from our sun takes almost 15 hours to reach the probe. Its trajectory will take it in the general direction of the star !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , about 68 light years away. If Aldebaran had a zero relative velocity, Pioneer 10 would still take more than 2 million years to reach it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Author unknown)

April 25, 1933 – The first flight of the Stout ST.   !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was an American inventor and engineer who began work in the auto industry before branching out into aviation. Inspired heavily by the work of German !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and his use of corrugated metal skin for strength, Stout built the ST as a torpedo bomber for the US Navy. The first all-metal monoplane to serve the Navy, the ST had two engines, fixed gear, and featured a large thick wing that helped increase lift and increase wing strength. Stout hoped to sell a large number of aircraft to the US Navy, but a US Marine Corps pilot stalled and crashed the sole prototype ST and the Navy canceled the contract. Stout went on to design the somewhat more successful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! airliner, which he developed into the three-engine !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While the 3-AT was thoroughly unsuccessful, it formed the basis for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! after Ford purchased Stout’s company, with the stipulation that Stout not have anything to do with the development of the Trimotor.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

April 26, 1937 – German bombers attack the Spanish city of Guernica. During the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the fascist !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , led by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , turned to Germany and Italy for aid in fighting the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the German Luftwaffe saw the conflict as an opportunity to hone the tactics of aerial warfare that they would employ during the upcoming invasion of Europe. Acting on the request of Franco’s government, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of Germany’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! bombed the defenseless civilian population of Guernica in what historians consider the first instance of terror bombing as an effort to break the will of an enemy. The number of civilians reported killed in the bombing varies widely, depending on the source, and has been given anywhere from 132 to 1,654.

During the German occupation of Paris in WWII, Pablo Picasso handed out photos of his famous !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! painting to German soldiers. When asked by a Gestapo officer, “Did you do this?” Picasso reportedly replied, “No. You did.”

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

April 27, 1991 – The first flight of the Eurocopter Tiger, a two-seat tandem attack helicopter built by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (formerly Eurocopter). The Tiger ( Tigre in French service) was initially developed as a Cold War-era anti-tank helicopter, but with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the Soviet Union in 1991 its mission was changed to a multirole helicopter. The Tiger is the first all-composite helicopter developed in Europe, and is roughly comparable to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Tiger was deemed ready for service in 2008, and the first helicopters saw action in Afghanistan in 2009. A total of 135 have been built, and they serve the armed forces of Australia, France, Germany and Spain.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(US Navy)

April 27, 1952 – The first flight of the Tupolev Tu-16, a twin-engine strategic bomber designed to carry up to 9,000 lbs of nuclear or conventional weapons. Following WWII, the only long range bomber the Soviets possessed was the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (NATO code name Bull ), which was a reverse engineered copy of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . With the arrival of turbojet engines, Tupolev began work on a jet-powered, swept-wing bomber with a range of up to 3,000 miles. In addition to the original bomber version, the Tu-16 (NATO code name Badger ) was also developed into reconnaissance, electronic intelligence and electronic warfare variants, as well as a passenger variant that served with the Soviet airline !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Just over 1,500 Tu-16s were produced and exported to most !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! nations and other Russian-allied states.  

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Craig Nichols)

April 28, 1988 – Aloha Airlines Flight 243 loses a section of its fuselage during flight. Aloha Airlines 243 was a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N73711) that made regular short flights between the Hawaiian Islands. Though the airframe had only experienced 35,496 flight hours at the time of the accident, it had undergone 89,680 flight cycles (defined as a takeoff and a landing), exceeding the aircraft’s design limits. While cruising at 24,000 feet, a large section of the upper fuselage directly behind the cockpit tore away, exposing the passengers to the elements. One flight attendant was blown from the plane and died, but the 65 passengers, all of whom were belted at the time, survived, though some were seriously injured. An !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! by the NTSB cited metal fatigue aided by corrosion from the salty, humid environment, the high number of cycles, and inadequate maintenance practices as factors contributing to the accident.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Connecting Flights

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

If you enjoy these Aviation History posts, please let me know in the comments. You can find more posts about aviation history, aviators, and aviation oddities at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 12:49

1

I’ve read rumors that the A-12/SR71 would routinely operate closer to Mach 5 and could reach Mach 7. IDK if these are true, you know more about planes than me, anything that you know of?  

For Sweden > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 12:50

5

Here’s an A-12 over a place that does not exist

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 12:51

0

It’s hard to describe how huge and ungainly an A380 looks in person. It makes the 747 look slee k.

For Sweden > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/28/2020 at 12:56

2

It could maybe hit that for a few seconds in a shallow dive to outrun missiles. I doubt it could hit Mach 5 in cruise.

S tructures and flight controls get weird at hypersonic speeds.

ttyymmnn > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/28/2020 at 12:57

4

I’ve only ever read of a top speed of Mach 3. I suppose it’s possible that there could have been a higher, more classified speed. But anything more than Mach 5 is becoming hypersonic, and I’m pretty sure that the tech of the day wasn’t capable of that.

ttyymmnn > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/28/2020 at 13:00

3

I’ve always thought the 380 was a decidedly ugly airplane. I’ve seen them a few times, and that Qantas in the top shot was mine from the first time we spotted one. The only part of the 380 that is graceful is the wing.

But then....

For Sweden > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/28/2020 at 13:10

2

I’ve walked around underneath one.  It’s a thick boy.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/28/2020 at 13:13

4

There was a video posted the other day about the engineering behind the SR-71. One of the topics discussed is the speed envelope. They said that exceeding Mach 3 created heat issues that couldn’t be mitigated with the materials they were using.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:14

1

If you didn’t see this when it was posted the other day, I’m sure you would enjoy it.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:16

0

The ones I’ve seen were Emerits Jets at SFO, they are so damn tall it’s crazy. I got into a mico jet by comparison a 737. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:16

0

The ones I’ve seen were Emerits Jets at SFO, they are so damn tall it’s crazy. I got into a mico jet by comparison a 737. 

gin-san - shitpost specialist > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/28/2020 at 13:17

2

I’m on my work PC so I can’t see the video, but it may have been my post about the Real Engineering video. It was cool to see today’s post since I thought that the A-12 looked a lot like the SR-71, and now I’ve learned a little bit more .

user314 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:21

2

After being trucked to Groom Lake from Palmdale , the A-12 took its first flight unpainted:

After the flight , Lockheed found that the epoxy used to glue down the titanium fillets (the triangularly shaped pieces in the leading edges and chines) wasn’t strong enough, and most had come loose, requiring Lockheed technicians to spend four days tracking them all down.

TheRealBicycleBuck > gin-san - shitpost specialist 04/28/2020 at 13:28

1

That’s t he one! I couldn’t figure out where I saw it, so I’m glad you popped up to remind me. I learned a lot about that aircraft and the materials science that went into from the video you posted. Thanks for posting it!

facw > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:28

3

Tell that to the X-15! But of course an air-launched  sub-orbital rocket plane is a slightly different beast. I don’t think there’s any chance the A-12/SR-71 ever hit those speeds.

facw > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:29

1

I think they could have done a lot better just by putting the cockpit higher up, it looks super derpy in its current configuration.

facw > user314 04/28/2020 at 13:30

1

Wow, I’ve never seen those, looks pretty cool that way.

ttyymmnn > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/28/2020 at 13:31

1

For some perspective on size, the engine diameter of the 777 equals the fuselage diameter of the 737. And the GE9X on the 777X will be bigger still

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:31

1

ttyymmnn > user314 04/28/2020 at 13:34

1

Fantastic shots! I might steal that last one (duly rotated). Where did you find it?

ttyymmnn > facw 04/28/2020 at 13:35

1

Right. While the X-15 was stupid fast, it wasn’t very practical.

ttyymmnn > facw 04/28/2020 at 13:36

1

It’s already, what, 40 feet off the ground? Maybe more?

ttyymmnn > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 04/28/2020 at 13:38

1

What you’re seeing is the winglet broken off and stuck in the building. The whole end of the wing was sheared off.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:41

1

I always enjoy reading these, when I can make the time.

Small suggestion to your opening paragraph regarding the A12. This section doesn’t flow well where you introduce the concept of slower aircraft before calling out that aircraft:

“...but these slower aircraft often became the targets of new Russian jet fighters...”

It seems to me you need to present the aircraft that is slower than the Russian’s, before saying “these” . You start off with a section heading regarding the A12 but are not giving the reader any new information about a specific aircraft until later in the paragraph where you you introduce the U2, it seems late.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your thought process here.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:42

0

Gotta love the latest high bypass turbofans.

user314 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:49

1

Pintrest (so therefore God only knows where it originated). 

ttyymmnn > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 04/28/2020 at 13:50

1

Thanks. I see what you are saying. It’s a case of ambiguous pronoun reference, or something. Should be something like this:

When the shooting war of WWII was replaced by the Cold War in 1947, it was imperative for the United States to have eyes in the sky to keep track of military activities inside the Soviet Union. Immediately after the war, the US began flying reconnaissance missions around the periphery of the Soviet Union , but these WWII-era reconnaissance aircraft often became the targets of a new generation of jet fighters and fell prey to Russian guns.

I’ve always said that behind every great writer (I do not consider myself one) is a great editor, and the secret of good writing is rewriting . I know exactly what I am saying, but sometimes the reader doesn’t. In a way, I have an army of editors. I can’t count how many times somebody has called out incorrect information or unclear writing. I appreciate all of it.

Thanks for reading!

ttyymmnn > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 04/28/2020 at 13:51

1

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-largest-jet-engine-in-de-vooorld-1820987446

user314 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:51

2

“Better leave a note on the front door...”

ttyymmnn > user314 04/28/2020 at 13:51

1

And maybe not even God.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 13:55

2

sadly I can only star this once....if I kne w how, I’d do it at least a hundred times. Kinja would probably take a shit though, then we’d all be upset!

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > user314 04/28/2020 at 13:57

0

It looks so good unpainted!

ttyymmnn > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 04/28/2020 at 13:57

0



user314 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 04/28/2020 at 14:16

1

I’ve heard that too from time to time, and I’m highly dubious. Like ttyymmnn said, that’s hypersonic, and you need a wholly different design for flight that fast.

Even then, the XLR-99 rocket motor would only burn for around 90 seconds, and though Pete Knight hit Mach 6.7 in ‘67, they damn near destroyed the X-15A2 doing it:

After landing:

The scorch marks are from the shockwaves from the plane and the dummy hypersonic sc ramjet mounted to the ventral tail superheating the airframe. Had the pylon for the scramjet not failed it’s likely the X-15 would have been destroyed on this flight. As it was, the plane was deemed to be not worth restoring to flightworthy status, and was remanded to the USAF Museum.     

Peter > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 14:32

0

Excellent read! So much!

ttyymmnn > Peter 04/28/2020 at 15:00

0

Thanks!

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 04/28/2020 at 15:45

0

Ah, nice job this week. Did anyone notice that the A380 in the “Hanger Rash” incident left it’s winglet in the Embraer second floor office? Embraer is a rival airframe manufacturer  nowadays with it’s A220. Touche. Also nice shot of the He 111b over Spain. I have never seen quite that angle of the “dustbin”lower gun position in it’s extended position. The lower gunner has to have a pair made of steel to defend his plane from there. [ T he only thing to keep him warm are incoming tracers.]  

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas... 04/28/2020 at 15:55

0

I posted photos from that hangar rash incident elsewhere in this thread.

I searched long and hard to find a photo of an He 111 in Condor Legion markings. I think the original one I used had standard Luftwaffe livery, and that’s not correct. I didn’t know until I started writing about the war that the 111 didn’t have the bullet nose from the start. I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad hanging out in that gondola in sunny Spain, but it would have sucked on the Eastern Front. Not sure when they phased that out, though. That would have sucked.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 05/03/2020 at 20:35

1

A little late to this party since I’ve only just noticed the article in my local paper that prompts this comment, but according to flightradar.com, on the 15th anniversary of the A380’s first flight, there was once again only one in the air. China Southern CZ304 from London to Guangzhou was apparently the only A380 flight anywhere in the world on April 27th 2020.

They’ll be back to some extent: Emirates  couldn’t operate without them. But I wonder how many other operators will just quietly put them out to pasture. Hard to see planes that big being economic in the immediate post-Covid world.

ttyymmnn > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 05/04/2020 at 13:58

1

T he list of larger and older planes that will never come back from the desert is growing by the day. Delta is ditching the MD-88/90, Lufthansa is parking the 747-4 00, the A340 was already on the way out, AA is dumping the 757 and 767, along with some other smaller airliners. The skies are going to get a lot more boring, with nothing but 737s and A321s.