The Airplane Fanatic Thread

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

I went to an airshow yesterday at March AFRB.
What a clusterfuck.  It literally took us 3 fucking hours to get through the gates once we exited the freeway. 
Once inside, the show was quite good.  Got to see the inside of a Super Galaxy and other heavies, lots of WWII birds (most of them hopped over from Chino), The Thunderbirds, etc.   Bullshitting with the G5 pilots; out of Texas, one is an AA guy, the other UA. 
But what an ill-run event.  Every trash can overflowing, every porta-john overflowing, every handwash station empty, non-existent traffic control. 

Same thing happened at the show at Dyess in Abilene on Saturday. Absolute clusterfuck of traffic control. If you entered through the east road leading to the commercial entry gate instead of the west road, you were basically fucked because they sent traffic down the west road to turn around then get in line again.

Found a spot on the west side of the airfield though, (luckily there is a road over there) and watched some good stuff from over here (along with s ton of others). I’ll post some pictures if I can get around to editing them.

[Gil Bang 25960]

yeah, military bases aren't designed to be super-accessable, but fuck, at least have some signage.  

[The Original CaliHorn 68]

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I went to an airshow yesterday at March AFRB.

What a clusterfuck.  It literally took us 3 fucking hours to get through the gates once we exited the freeway. 

Once inside, the show was quite good.  Got to see the inside of a Super Galaxy and other heavies, lots of WWII birds (most of them hopped over from Chino), The Thunderbirds, etc.   Bullshitting with the G5 pilots; out of Texas, one is an AA guy, the other UA. 

But what an ill-run event.  Every trash can overflowing, every porta-john overflowing, every handwash station empty, non-existent traffic control. 

Sorry to hear the poor accommodations. Ironically enough, I still have property in the Canyon Crest area in Riverside that was on the flight line of planes taking off. I’ll never forget the Haiti Earthquake of 2010 watching CNN broadcasting C-17’s taking off and circling right over my home while it was looking straight at them for the relief effort. Actually was there for 7 days and got back last Monday as I reside in Dallas now. Things have changed dramatically on the 60-215 interchange going south. Plan on retiring and going back in 7-9 years as I miss it tremendously. And yes, I’m a Texas boy!!

[Chad Fuck 17684]

Lots of folks are out of practice for airshows.


In Redmond, OR today and they has this cool model as they run the fire bombers out of here.

[milkman 428]

Anyone else doing a double-take hearing the ATP students using their new callsign "Career Track"? Is it common for big box flight schools to create a callsign? Thrust does it here at Addison but I hadn't heard any other schools in the area doing it. Always wondered if they have it placarded or how else they remember their flight #. 

I hear it all the time! Just use the dang tail number like everyone else flying GA.

[Gil Bang 25960]

The aircraft, which were all owned by a flight school on the field, ATD Flight Systems, were flipped, dragged, crumpled, and tangled up in fences on and around the airport by a likely "gustnado," according to the National Weather Service. Gusts up to 40 knots tossed aircraft that might otherwise have been sheltered in a hangar. 

 

“We've had some damage in the past here and at [Kansas City International Airport], but I've never seen in my 30 years here anything to this extent,” said Joe McBride, communications director for the Kansas City Aviation Department, to KMBC.

 

The school, which is owned by Bill Hays and family, usually houses its aircraft in a large hangar. However, on the morning of April 20, all of the aircraft were parked outside on a ramp owned by Signature Flight Support to make room for a fashion show fundraiser happening later that weekend to raise money for cancer patients.

“The safety and security of our customers and employees is our top priority and we followed standard operating procedures to protect the aircraft staged on the ramp,” a spokesperson from Signature Flight Support said in a statement to Flying addressing concerns that the aircraft were not tied down. “We are working closely with local authorities and the impacted customer to address the immediate situation. The incident remains under investigation.”

While the school is working as quickly as possible to restore the fleet, flight school owners have communicated that their primary concern is to take care of the school's current students, and the instructors on their staff.

“The last two days have been a blur for us, to say the least, and we're quickly trying to piece together a plan of action to overcome this tragedy,” the Hays family reported on the ATD Flight Systems Facebook page. “We are working as quickly as possible to restore our fleet, but we're calling on the community to please help support our staff while we scramble to replace our aircraft.”

The flight school has set up a GoFundMe that has already raised more than $15,000 to help cover the instructor payroll.

“Losing our fleet in the blink of an eye was a major setback,” the school's owners wrote. “Losing our instructors would be our demise.”

ATD Flight Systems has been operating out of the airport since 1996, and the owners hope to rebuild and continue to call the airport home. The flight school continues to provide limited training, and a recent milestone provided a cause for celebration in the midst of tragedy.

On April 24, despite a fleet in disarray, private pilot student Lexi Baughman was able to hop into the only operating airplane that the flight school has left—and ace her private pilot checkride, news that made for a much happier post on social media.

[CoachTex 2627]

On 4/24/2023 at 2:52 PM, Gil Bang said:

I went to an airshow yesterday at March AFRB.

What a clusterfuck.  It literally took us 3 fucking hours to get through the gates once we exited the freeway. 

Once inside, the show was quite good.  Got to see the inside of a Super Galaxy and other heavies, lots of WWII birds (most of them hopped over from Chino), The Thunderbirds, etc.   Bullshitting with the G5 pilots; out of Texas, one is an AA guy, the other UA. 

But what an ill-run event.  Every trash can overflowing, every porta-john overflowing, every handwash station empty, non-existent traffic control. 

Shit my buddy Flys kc-135s out of March. Texas grad.  I've even been in the Sims out there. Sorry you had a bad experience. 

[Bevo&Pevo 5172]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Armybrat 40850]

Very cool Maggie… perfect forced landing!

[Bevo&Pevo 5172]

 

 

 

[Bevo&Pevo 5172]

 

[SquishMitten 10408]

Not sure what the best thread for this question is, but I couldn’t find anything better. Based on all our coaching searches I assume flightaware is a good system, but I’m confused by this. I was out back picking up kid shit incase it rains, and a commercial airliner flew over way lower than I’ve ever seen living here by a huge damn margin. Opened the app and there’s nothing that should be in the area. I drew the rough path of the plane in this screenshot

Is that normal with the app? Or did I spot a secret terrorist attack in progress on Lago Vista?

[Your Mom 4806]

Military aircraft don’t show up on FlightAware and they have plenty of equipment that looks like an airliner.  Could’ve just been some guy who is from that area and wanted to buzz mom and dad’s house on a training flight or something.  In an area like that 1000 feet above the ground wouldn’t be illegal.  

With all the weather it came through Texas yesterday there were tons of airline diversions. Houston got rocked pretty hard and I heard ATC tell some  guys they couldn’t send any more aircraft to San Antonio or Austin because both were full of other diversions.  On a day like that with people avoiding weather, you get all kinds of weird flight paths out of the ordinary.  

[Fuck Tim Beck 3819]

13 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

 I was out back picking up kid shit 

 

You make your kids shit in the yard? Why didn't I think of that? 

[Lat22 4014]

Flightradar24 or RadarBox would probably have had it.

[shadow_operative2.0 15987]

 

Like a kite. Or a cat. 

[Armybrat 40850]

Very interesting interview of Paul Tibbets by Studs Terkel

https://www.avweb.com/features/paul-tibbets-interview/

[Gil Bang 25960]

[Armybrat 40850]

RIP Brian Shul, pilot extraordinaire, author of “Lead Sled”…. at 75:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/aviation/3421530-brian-shul.html

[Shoxthemonkey 1981]

I heard a multi engine prop plane yesterday and ran outside to see if it was Doc the B-29. It wasn’t but I couldn’t identify it. AN-12BK from Ukraine Air Alliance says Flightradar24. Going from DC to San Bernardino. Went to wiki and after reading about it I’m surprised it didn’t fall on my house. Damn if there haven’t been a lot of them that crashed over the last 60 years. Even if you discount the ones that crashed after an Afghan Stinger there have been a lot. Probably not coincidental that the majority had Russian pilots. I’m curious what this one is doing stateside. 

[Chad Fuck 17684]

I heard a multi engine prop plane yesterday and ran outside to see if it was Doc the B-29. It wasn’t but I couldn’t identify it. AN-12BK from Ukraine Air Alliance says Flightradar24. Going from DC to San Bernardino. Went to wiki and after reading about it I’m surprised it didn’t fall on my house. Damn if there haven’t been a lot of them that crashed over the last 60 years. Even if you discount the ones that crashed after an Afghan Stinger there have been a lot. Probably not coincidental that the majority had Russian pilots. I’m curious what this one is doing stateside. 

Man the newest one of those is nearly 50 years old. And I guarantee they don’t get the same support as say, C-130s or B-52s.

As to what it was doing - hauling good for freedom is my guess.

[Lat22 4014]

The AN12 is a loud sumbitch. Cavok Air used to fly IAH to Managua on a regular basis. It would fly over Galveston around 6am. Like a Piaggio, there’s no mistaking what’s flying overhead. Loud!

[Celery Man 20962]

Just gettin some swingset time in and got buzzed twice by these homies. Looked like refueling booms were extended the second time they came around

[Chad Fuck 17684]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65955365

Quote

Ukraine finds British WW2 Hurricane planes outside Kyiv

 

[locodos 5387]

 

[Armybrat 40850]

Future of the A-10 Warthog…. (2020 article):

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a32212953/a-10-warthog-2040/

[markstanco 12577]

Cute convo with tower and the "co-pilot".

 

[milkman 428]

4 minutes ago, markstanco said:

Cute convo with tower and the "co-pilot".

She makes better radio calls than most pilots!  I guess I need to get my 7 year old up to speed!

[markstanco 12577]

More of her!  

 

[Homercles 10206]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:00 PM, Armybrat said:

RIP Brian Shul, pilot extraordinaire, author of “Lead Sled”…. at 75:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/aviation/3421530-brian-shul.html

Believe you meant Sled Driver, which is an incredible (albeit short) read.  PDFs are available online, which is good as it’s been a bit of a holy grail to find in print…with prices set accordingly.  

[Bozo_Casanova 26472]

On 7/11/2023 at 7:59 PM, Armybrat said:

Future of the A-10 Warthog…. (2020 article):

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a32212953/a-10-warthog-2040/

Mixed bag, but I'm glad they are keeping them around for something and I anticipate they will be pressed into battlefield service again, by necessity. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Bozo_Casanova

[Armybrat 40850]

English friend got a ride in a Tiger Moth last weekend. 
His granddad was a Lancaster pilot in WW2.

 

[NoRagrets 1125]

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Mixed bag, but I'm glad they are keeping them around for something and I anticipate they will be pressed into battlefield service again, by necessity. 

They're dinosaurs with no applicable use in a modern battlefield. Nostalgia is keeping them around. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26472]

2 minutes ago, NoRagrets said:

They're dinosaurs with no applicable use in a modern battlefield. Nostalgia is keeping them around. 

Yeah only a $45K/hr boondoggle with minimal signature traveling at Mach 1.6 can handle a convoy of dudes in 1990s Hilux pickups

[Gil Bang 25960]

On 7/15/2023 at 4:07 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

Yeah only a $45K/hr boondoggle with minimal signature traveling at Mach 1.6 can handle a convoy of dudes in 1990s Hilux pickups

You need to google "Apache".

 

Meanwhile, the GF's son is a bit of a dork, but the mofo got his A&P license today. Yes, today. On a Sunday.  He took his final test at Van Nuys Airport today and passed.   He already makes great money as a fleet manager, but it's about to get better for him.  This guy REALLY took advantage of his USAF schooling, and used is VA benefits to the max.  

[Homercles 10206]

On 7/15/2023 at 4:44 PM, Armybrat said:

English friend got a ride in a Tiger Moth last weekend. 
His granddad was a Lancaster pilot in WW2.

 

[Armybrat 40850]

Somebody posted these P-38 fighter notes on another forum. 
Several of them were new to me….

1) The P-38 was the first fighter to fly faster than 400 mph. 

2) It was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout the entire
American involvement in WWII.

3) The P-38 was nicknamed the 'fork-tailed devil' by the German Luftwaffe, and
'two planes, one pilot' by Japanese fighter pilots
. 
4) The P-38 was exceptionally quiet for a fighter, due to its exhaust being muffled by
turbo-superchargers.

5) The aircraft used nose-mounted guns, unlike most other US fighters. This meant
that the P-38 had better useful gun range than other aircraft with wing-mounted guns having crisscross trajectories.

6) The P-38s guns were so effective, they could reliably hit targets at up to 1,000
yards. Most other fighters were only effective at 100-250 yards.

7) The P-38 had counter-rotating engines to overcome left-turning tendencies
caused by its 1,000-hp engines.

😎 The engine rotation could be reversed by simply changing the firing order of the spark
plugs. 
9) The engines rotated outward from the cockpit. This made the platform more stable for
shooting the guns. However, if the pilot lost an engine, the remaining operating engine was so powerful that it could uncontrollably roll the aircraft upside down.

10) The P-38 was the first American fighter to extensively use stainless steel and
flush-mounted rivets. 

11) In 1939, one of the first P-38 prototype aircraft set a speed record from California
to New York in 7 hours and 2 minutes. However, it crashed short of
its intended airport due to carburetor icing.

12) The first active service P-38s were used as reconnaissance aircraft in April 1942 by
the RAAF ( Australia ) 8th Photographic Squadron.

13) The P-38 quickly saw battle, downing two Japanese flying boats in August 1942 off
the Aleutian Islands chain. 

14) The cockpit windows couldn't be opened in flight, because they caused buffeting on the tailplane. This made the cockpit very hot in the Pacific theater. Pilots often flew in just shorts, tennis shoes and a parachute. 

15) Charles Lindbergh was a key figure in improving the performance of the P-38. Working as a civilian contractor in the South Pacific, he developed throttle settings and engine leaning techniques that significantly increased the range of the aircraft.

16) The P-38 flew over 130,000 sorties in the European theater, and downed over 1,800
Japanese aircraft in the Pacific theater.

17) In total, over 10,000 P-38s were produced during the war, making it one of the most
successful fighters and interceptors of its time

[Chad Fuck 17684]

So I’ve read about Old Rhinebeck since I was a kid and I finally made it last weekend. It’s a magical place if you’re into aviation.








This is the oldest flying airplane in America. 1909 Bleriot XI. The oldest flying airplane is a Bleriot at the Shuttleworth Collection in England that’s two months older. These are pics from Saturday. It rained so there was no air show and I found a pilot who was kind enough to take me and Jr. through the hangars.

I’ll post some air show pics in a bit.

[Chad Fuck 17684]

Cross posted in the Jimmy Buffett thread.

[DalTxHornFan 3102]

I'd not heard of this accident until after his death.

https://buffettworld.com/incidents/widgeon-seaplane-crash/

On Thursday, August 25th, 1994 around 3:00 pm Eastern time, Jimmy Buffett crashed his Grumman G-44 Widgeon, N1471N, while attempting to takeoff in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts. The airplane nosed over, and Jimmy was able to swim to safety, sustaining only minor injuries.

 

Buffett credits his survival to Navy Survival Training he had to complete before being able to ride in an F-14 Tomcat from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

NTSB Narrative:

On August 25, 1994, at 1520 eastern daylight time, a Grumman G-44, N1471N, impacted the water during takeoff from Madaket Harbor, Nantucket, Massachusetts. The pilot received minor injuries. The amphibian airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot reported that the takeoff began without incident. He stated, “Transition to the step was smooth…Once on the step there was no indication of engine trouble or control problems. Just prior to lifting off the water, out of the corner of my left eye, I spotted some contrary water what looked to be to me some kind of swell and decided to pull the power, but before I could do so, the plane veered extremely to the right. Attempts to level the plane with opposite aileron was not responsive.”

The pilot stated that he “…pulled the power back…” and “…was able to keep the plane from rolling completely over.” He stated the airplane’s left side of the nose impacted the water and the airplane nosed over.

Post accident examination of the airframe and engines did not reveal any anomalies.

At the time of the accident, Buffett had about 1,500 total hours, including 400 in multi-engine aircraft and 190 in the Widgeon.

Grumman G-44 Widgeon. Photo by Brad Kostelny/JetPhotos.net

 

View the full NTSB report of the accident

 

 

[Armybrat 40850]

[Lat22 4014]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:06 PM, DalTxHornFan said:

I'd not heard of this accident until after his death.

https://buffettworld.com/incidents/widgeon-seaplane-crash/

On Thursday, August 25th, 1994 around 3:00 pm Eastern time, Jimmy Buffett crashed his Grumman G-44 Widgeon, N1471N, while attempting to takeoff in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts. The airplane nosed over, and Jimmy was able to swim to safety, sustaining only minor injuries.

 

Buffett credits his survival to Navy Survival Training he had to complete before being able to ride in an F-14 Tomcat from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

NTSB Narrative:

On August 25, 1994, at 1520 eastern daylight time, a Grumman G-44, N1471N, impacted the water during takeoff from Madaket Harbor, Nantucket, Massachusetts. The pilot received minor injuries. The amphibian airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot reported that the takeoff began without incident. He stated, “Transition to the step was smooth…Once on the step there was no indication of engine trouble or control problems. Just prior to lifting off the water, out of the corner of my left eye, I spotted some contrary water what looked to be to me some kind of swell and decided to pull the power, but before I could do so, the plane veered extremely to the right. Attempts to level the plane with opposite aileron was not responsive.”

The pilot stated that he “…pulled the power back…” and “…was able to keep the plane from rolling completely over.” He stated the airplane’s left side of the nose impacted the water and the airplane nosed over.

Post accident examination of the airframe and engines did not reveal any anomalies.

At the time of the accident, Buffett had about 1,500 total hours, including 400 in multi-engine aircraft and 190 in the Widgeon.

Grumman G-44 Widgeon. Photo by Brad Kostelny/JetPhotos.net

 

View the full NTSB report of the accident

 

 

I remember thinking back then how close we came to losing Buffett that day and how horrible it would have been. Now, here we are. 

[Lat22 4014]

Muledick

Edited September 12, 2023 by Lat22
Double post

[Shoxthemonkey 1981]

2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Where was this photo taken?

[Armybrat 40850]

2 hours ago, Shoxthemonkey said:

Where was this photo taken?

No idea, except that it is obviously a blimp hangar.

Lakehurst NJ perhaps?

[Shoxthemonkey 1981]

1 minute ago, Armybrat said:

No idea, except that it is obviously a blimp hangar.

Lakehurst NJ perhaps?

I was going to guess somewhere on the west coast. Folding wings and what I'm guessing is dark blue paint means Navy and I'm also going to guess that this is post war. I doubt that the Navy ever had a surplus of planes like this during the war. Could be wrong. San Diego or San Fransisco probably had blimp hangers too. Google, here I come.

[Armybrat 40850]

You may be right, those Corsairs parked on the left are strictly Navy. 
I never recall reading that they were deployed to the Atlantic.

[Shoxthemonkey 1981]

https://welweb.org/ThenandNow/NAS Bases.html

Scroll down to the story about NAS Richmond (Miami, FL). It was being used to store Navy and civilian aircraft prior to a hurricane in 1945. The hangers survived the wind but caught fire and burned to the ground. That picture might be a "before" picture. None of the other blimp hanger histories that I have found mention storing aircraft.

ETA: NAS Weeksville in NC was also used to store aircraft post war. My west coast guess appears to be wrong.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Shoxthemonkey

[Chad Fuck 17684]

I think it may be Tillamook.  In any case, the air museum there at Tillamook is worth checking out for the building along.

https://www.tillamookair.com/hangar-b

[Armybrat 40850]

Ural Airlines Airbus lands safely in Siberian wheat field.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/airlines/a45513205/russian-airliner-lands-in-siberian-wheat-field/