Good Morning

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 09/02/2020 at 09:05 • Filed to: good morning oppo, wingspan, Planelopnik

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It’s Warning Star Wednesday, Oppo, with bonus Hump Day content.

This is the L-749A Warning Star testbed. It became the EC-121 airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft flown by both the Air Force and Navy. It was based on the civilian L-1049 Super Constellation.

And since this is turning into Lockheed Week, here’s some bonus Lockheed trivia: The man who founded the company was originally named Loughead, but he legally changed his name in 1934. Along with his brother Malcolm, Allan Loughead formed the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company in 1912, though that company is not related to the famous Lockheed brand.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:12

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Typo: “Hydro”

From Wikipedia:

Allan Loughead realized that the government’s sale of war surplus aircraft for as little as $300 had killed the market for new aircraft. As a result, Loughead Aircraft closed in 1920 and its assets were liquidated in 1921. 

That reminds me of the speculation that Willys asked the government not to bring the MBs back after WWII lest they destroy the market for CJs.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:12

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Connie sure was a pretty aeroplane.

facw > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:18

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The man who founded the company was originally named Loughead, but he legally changed his name in 1934 

And that family line continues all the way to current CEO Marillyn Lockheed ...

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:18

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They are locally famous, as the Loughead were first fiddling around with seaplanes here near the wharf in Santa Barbara. A lot of the eventual luminaries of the early days of aviation hung out together. A very young Jack Northrup was part of this posse.

From Wiki:

In 1916, the brothers founded Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara to build a 10-place, twin-engined F-1 flying boat for their aerial sightseeing business. [3] They began construction in a rented garage, which attracted the attention of 20-year-old John K. “Jack” Northrop . [3] Northrop was skilled in drafting and mathematics, and the Lougheads employed him in designing the F-1. [3]

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Allan Loughead went to Washington, D.C. to get a Navy contract to build the F-1 in quantity. [3] The Navy informed Loughead that it would purchase only previously approved designs. [3] Later, Loughead said of this visit, “Down there I lost all the patriotism I ever had.” [3] He did return with a contract to build two Curtiss flying boats and an agreement for the Navy to test the F-1. [3]

When the F-1 was completed, Allan Loughead and a crew of three flew it from Santa Barbara to San Diego in April 1918, setting a record of 181 minutes for the 211-mile flight. [3] After the Navy completed its tests, the F-1 was returned to Loughead Aircraft and was then converted into the F-lA land-plane. [3] Loughead hoped to interest the Army in it as a long-range bomber or transport plane. The war ended before its conversion was completed. [3]

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Thomas Donohue > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:34

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All those tail fins/rudders makes me think of this....

and similarly , the radar dome makes me think of these

Said that after all these years, we still need ugly bumps on the tops of our cars.

ttyymmnn > Thomas Donohue 09/02/2020 at 09:41

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But what purpose do all those black fins in the top photo serve? I’m guessing just looks.

It would be interesting to know just how big the rudder would have to be on the Connie if they had gone with a single vertical stabilizer. This is what happened when they Consolidated turned the Liberator into the Privateer. 

Thomas Donohue > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:49

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They have no use whatsoever, though I assume the full width bar could pretend to be a diffuser. Mostly I just see multiple fake shark fins glued to the roof.

It just made me think of a connie with five or seven rudders.  Does any plane have more than three?

.

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 09:54

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Wow.  Odd to see the EC-121 in civil colors.  It makes me fantasize about the radome being turned into a Vista-Cruiser plexiglass passenger seating/observation lounge....bar?  It would be brilliant.

ttyymmnn > Thomas Donohue 09/02/2020 at 09:56

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Does any plane have more than three?

I can’t think of any, but that certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t.

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas... 09/02/2020 at 10:00

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I’d pay for that seat. 

ttyymmnn > Thomas Donohue 09/02/2020 at 10:01

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I found one! Though I’m not sure this really counts.

user314 > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 10:34

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I would say yes, four wing fences into vertical fins/rudders.

Usually you only see more than one tail on aircraft that have a dorsal load, either by design or an aftermarket modification:

Spin-wings play by their own rules thou gh:

ttyymmnn > user314 09/02/2020 at 11:19

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I was going to say it in my reply to Thomas Donohue, but I figured that if anybody could come up with a quad-tail airplane it would be you. Completely forgot about the Hawkeye. I figured the YB-49 was kind of cheating since it’s not a traditional empennage.

Usually you only see more than one tail on aircraft that have a dorsal load

Not a dorsal load, though it is an aftermarket modification. The York was the transport version of the Lancaster, and when they changed the shape of the fuselage it gained some unpleasant yaw characteristics. That central fin has no rudder on it, though. Strictly for directional stability.

user314 > ttyymmnn 09/02/2020 at 11:44

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I’d allow the B-49 because it is a flying wing, and they don’t usually have vertical fins and rudders to begin with.