Most Beautiful Aircraft

[Bodenplatte]

I'd have thought that landing on a land strip the size of a carrier's deck would be a good introduction to the difference in size and latitude twixt land and sea landings.

In early 1942 the Doolittle Raiders trained in short B-25 takeoffs on a runway at Eglin Field, Florida, painted to resemble a carrier flight deck.

They didn't worry about deck landings though, and the crews rightly figured out that they wouldn't be coming back the same way.

 

[Yokel]

The USN won't have soon, the Goshawk replacement is not required to make carrier landings or catapult launches, just touch and goes.

The Royal Navy never had a trainer that could touch and go either.

We had what is now Anthorn transmitter array on the solway.
orig HMAS Nuthatch (( I think), 3 runways on a peninsula jutting out into the solway.
The ( still visible from overhead) runways were as narrow as fvck however
like big single track roads. Obv built with training escort carrier pilots in mind.
before they closed they were working sea fury pilots up for Korea, which would have been “fascinating “

During the Second World War there was a school of deck landing at Arbroath (now the home of 45 Cdo RM). Eric Brown was an instructor there after his talent for deck landing had been recognised during his time aboard HMS Audacity, and he trained new Pilots going to the fleet. He also did trials of new carriers and new carrier aircraft.

 

[Fang_Farrier]

The Royal Navy never had a trainer that could touch and go either.



During the Second World War there was a school of deck landing at Arbroath (now the home of 45 Cdo RM). Eric Brown was an instructor there after his talent for deck landing had been recognised during his time aboard HMS Audacity, and he trained new Pilots going to the fleet. He also did trials of new carriers and new carrier aircraft.

Am sure that one of the Orkney airfields also had a carrier deck marked on a runway

 

[CaptainRidiculous]

Am sure that one of the Orkney airfields also had a carrier deck marked on a runway

Yep.
@Yokel will probably know, and have the reference.

 

[RBMK]

I've noticed that there aren't many Japanese aircraft in this thread, possibly because they favoured radial engines. This is the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Flying Swallow)

The only mass-produced Japanese fighter of WW2 to use a liquid-cooled inline V engine.
Only 1 survivor (top photo) from over 3,000 built.
Gave Curtiss P-40 pilots a nasty shock as it was marginally faster and quite manoeuvreable.

 

[Yokel]

Am sure that one of the Orkney airfields also had a carrier deck marked on a runway

Quite possibly. RNAS Haston comes to my mind. A lot of the pioneering working was done there, and I think that was were Sqn Cdr Edwin Dunning made the first ever landing aboard a moving ship aboard HMS Furious in 1917 in Scapa Flow.

They also experimented with using floating platforms for runway in one of the Scottish lochs in the 1930s.

 

[chrismcd]

Yet another shot of G-JETP - off a Russian website!

 

[chrismcd]

Not a bad looking aeroplane, the Breguet 1001 Taon. It was the French entry for a NATO competition for a new strike fighter that was eventually won by the Fiat G-91.

View attachment 672463

The NATO light strike fighter competition came up with some crackers.
I always thought the SNCASE Baroudeur was a looker.

And her party piece was landing and taking off on skids from cabbage patches!

"It was later dubbed a "Jet dirt bike" for its off-road capabilities. It proved capable to fly with its take off trolley in place (so it could easily switch to another unprepared airstrip), to take off with the skids only on some suitable terrain (sometimes with RATO rockets for extra thrust), to land on beaches (it was test flown off the La Baule beach; on one occasion barely escaped the incoming tide), frozen lakes, motorways, even marshes."

SNCASE Baroudeur - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Bordon/hants]

I picked up the Amelia film (2009, Hilary Swank) at a charity shop recently, and although I saw it when it came out was worth a second look.

Sorry if featured before, but the Electra is a little stunner (like many 1930's jobs in polished finish);

 

[jmb3296]

Quite possibly. RNAS Haston comes to my mind. A lot of the pioneering working was done there, and I think that was were Sqn Cdr Edwin Dunning made the first ever landing aboard a moving ship aboard HMS Furious in 1917 in Scapa Flow.

They also experimented with using floating platforms for runway in one of the Scottish lochs in the 1930s.

Floating modular runway experiments were done off Arran ,

 

[Grim_Squeaker85]

I picked up the Amelia film (2009, Hilary Swank) at a charity shop recently, and although I saw it when it came out was worth a second look.

Sorry if featured before, but the Electra is a little stunner (like many 1930's jobs in polished finish);

View attachment 674012

It is a very pretty thing indeed.

 

[syrup]

View attachment 674003
Yet another shot of G-JETP - off a Russian website!

IIRC a bloke bought one of the RAF and took his brother with him to fly it home

All was going well until he barrel rolled it and his brother disappeared through the canopy.

They had removed the ejector seat pyro's and other bits and bobs so the seats were no longer live and put them back in but didn't bolt them down properly on the refit

The brother landed with some injuries

Some reports say the seat fired but I'm sure the official report said it had no pyros and just ran down the rail and through the canopy

Ah found something

Civil Airworthiness Certification

This publication provides safety information and guidance to those involved in the certification, operation, and maintenance of high-performance former military aircraft to help assess and mitigate safety hazards and risk factors for the aircraft within the context provided by Title 49 United...

books.google.co.uk

 

[Chef]

I picked up the Amelia film (2009, Hilary Swank) at a charity shop recently, and although I saw it when it came out was worth a second look.

Sorry if featured before, but the Electra is a little stunner (like many 1930's jobs in polished finish);

View attachment 674012

As seen in 'Casablanca'.

There was one for sale if you're interested. (It's painted rather than polished so you'll probably not bother with that one).


For Sale: 1938 Lockheed 12A "Electra Jr." NC14999. This beautiful Lockheed 12A was recently flown to the United Kingdom where it was displayed at Duxford and Farnborough. Now safely back in the United States it is being offered for sale. US$1,000,000.
https://www.facebook.com/platinumfi...c17-x2rwtaaI7ylP7FdwqUB2_kIx8NTW8PDOC_7ahcLbe
The ad was from 2016, so it's likely been sold by now. Sorry.

 

[Zhopa]

Some reports say the seat fired but I'm sure the official report said it had no pyros and just ran down the rail and through the canopy

"Totally perplexed by the sudden absence of anything around him."

Seems fair.

 

[Channel Hopper]

No training on a concrete carrier first?

Pah, who needs carrier training ?

I have a soft spot for flying boats (possibly owing to one of my relatives having worked for Short in the 1930s), the demise of which from the field still surprises me.

British designs apart, one that was cancelled on a government whim (though I beieve somebody in the US Navy was shitting bricks that it would make most of their inventory obselete overnight) was the Martin P6(M), the orginal XP prototypes being the sleekest. Had the proposed ramjets been functional (there was talk of the second generation being fitted with atomic powerplants) it would have been the only transonic flhying boat in existence, the size of the B52, twice as fast and able to take off/land on 90% of the planet (with its own beach cradle). Refuelling at sea would have been by submarine but again the Navy claimed it was unfeasible, another deliberate block on the design perhaps.

Martin SeaMaster & Convair Sea Dart

A civilan version (307 Seamistress) would have had eight engines, four in the two overhead pods.

 

[Grim_Squeaker85]

Pah, who needs carrier training ?

I have a soft spot for flying boats (possibly owing to one of my relatives having worked for Short in the 1930s), the demise of which from the field still surprises me.

British designs apart, one that was cancelled on a government whim (though I beieve somebody in the US Navy was shitting bricks that it would make most of their inventory obselete overnight) was the Martin P6(M), the orginal XP prototypes being the sleekest. Had the proposed ramjets been functional (there was talk of the second generation being fitted with atomic powerplants) it would have been the only transonic flhying boat in existence, the size of the B52, twice as fast and able to take off/land on 90% of the planet (with its own beach cradle). Refuelling at sea would have been by submarine but again the Navy claimed it was unfeasible, another deliberate block on the design perhaps.

Martin SeaMaster & Convair Sea Dart

A civilan version (307 Seamistress) would have had eight engines, four in the two overhead pods.

View attachment 674369View attachment 674370

When I was little I loved all the concept aircraft that either never became real or only made it to prototype. A favourite was the Saunders-Roe SR.A.1

 

[Wightsparker]

When I was little I loved all the concept aircraft that either never became real or only made it to prototype. A favourite was the Saunders-Roe SR.A.1

East Cowes in the background of the second pic.

 

[Stovepipe]

"Totally perplexed by the sudden absence of anything around him."

Seems fair.

Imagine the subsequent conversation with the brother....and then the one with the guy who disarmed the seat.

 

[Yokel]

Imagine the subsequent conversation with the brother....and then the one with the guy who disarmed the seat.

The incident was covered in an episode of the BBC series 999. His brother assumed that he was dead and was in an emotional state when he got back on the ground, and was pleased to learn that his hospital was still alive and in hospital.

As for disarming the seat - surely that would be standard for deactivated military aircraft? An ejection seat would need training to be used safely.

 

[Stovepipe]

The incident was covered in an episode of the BBC series 999. His brother assumed that he was dead and was in an emotional state when he got back on the ground, and was pleased to learn that his hospital was still alive and in hospital.

As for disarming the seat - surely that would be standard for deactivated military aircraft? An ejection seat would need training to be used safely.

Someone failed to refit it correctly and it was missed during inspections.