Things That Used To Fly For 1000 Alex...

Akirasho

... sadness... due to our inept gov'ment officials here in the US who can't agree on which hole to use to take a dump or eat, sequestration will close the Presidential and R&D galleries at the Museum of the United States Air Force in May (the rest of the museum will remain open)... so I snuck in to take a few pics!

Kennedy's plane and backup AF1



Sole surviving XB-70 in the world...



Eisenhower's "AF1"...



Faster than a speeding bullet fired from a speeding bullet...

BelgianBeerGeek

Cool pics. It will be a shame if they close it. SR-71 - awesome!

declan1

It's a shame all of these old aircraft are getting scrapped and shut away from the public. The Vulcan is probably on its last year of display now as they are running out of funding

dynamicbrick

I thought the flying triangle was already grounded? Cost aside, most of the RAF stuff was utterly hammered on airframe hours when it left service and was of debatable air-worthiness even when in service. The Thunder Valley Lightnings were all ex Saudi, from memory, as the RAF ones were four or five times over hours.

Nice pics, although American planes never really did it for me, except perhaps the F86D, and the F4. Gimme a Buccaneer, Sea Vixen, Lightning and Canberra any day.

(There now follows a misty rant about Britain not being able make anything any more, which I'll spare you)

capt_slog

I used to see the vulcans all the time as a nipper. We used to lie on the grass looking for the tiny silver triangles way up in the sky. I never realised what they were doing, and didn't really notice when they'd gone either. Must have been scary times for those in the know.

CambsNewbie

I went to Duxford last year, had a great day out looking at all the aircraft and the American display is very good.

dynamicbrick

Capt Slog wrote:

I used to see the vulcans all the time as a nipper. We used to lie on the grass looking for the tiny silver triangles way up in the sky. I never realised what they were doing, and didn't really notice when they'd gone either. Must have been scary times for those in the know.

We really came close only twice - Cuban Missile Crisis, and then (now subject to some debate) in 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83

declan1

dynamicbrick wrote:

I thought the flying triangle was already grounded? Cost aside, most of the RAF stuff was utterly hammered on airframe hours when it left service and was of debatable air-worthiness even when in service. The Thunder Valley Lightnings were all ex Saudi, from memory, as the RAF ones were four or five times over hours.

Nice pics, although American planes never really did it for me, except perhaps the F86D, and the F4. Gimme a Buccaneer, Sea Vixen, Lightning and Canberra any day.

(There now follows a misty rant about Britain not being able make anything any more, which I'll spare you)

It's apparently been confirmed to fly at Waddington and I think Cosford as well. Still the most amazing aircraft ever built!

Akirasho

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Cool pics. It will be a shame if they close it. SR-71 - awesome!

... the above pic is of the fighter variant... YF-12A... here's the Blackbird!



... and a l'il somin' somin' for you Brits...









.. and an F-86

declan1

Liking the Hurricane! That looks like a seriously awesome museum!

DrKJM

I got overflown by the Vulcan when out on a ride near Nottingham last summer. It was a fantastic sight, even if it did nearly cause me to lose bladder control. Loud doesn't describe it. LOUD.

declan1

DrKJM wrote:

I got overflown by the Vulcan when out on a ride near Nottingham last summer. It was a fantastic sight, even if it did nearly cause me to lose bladder control. Loud doesn't describe it. LOUD.

This shows how awesome it is. Obviously it's bone-shaking IRL though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djd1pPQZ_LE

finchy

I saw a Vulcan take off at an air display. I'm sure there were blisters developing on my ear drums.

CambsNewbie

I remember being 12 or so and a friend of my parents took me to the airfield where the Vulcans were based (can't remember where!) to watch the Vulcans practicing scrambling. The noise was immense!

finchy

Akirasho wrote:

... the above pic is of the fighter variant... YF-12A... here's the Blackbird!

There isn't a single plane in the world today that looks so cool and by now we were meant to be living in some Thunderbirds world. The 21st century is officially a disappointment. I'm off to hibernate until the 2099..

dynamicbrick

SR-71 is indeed the ultimate, if somewhat expensive, way of photographing things. Cheaper, more accurate, ways of doing things now though.

Hurricane is a joyous thing

Mosquito is, arguably, the best aeroplane Britain ever built and the original multi-role combat aircraft - carried more payload than a B17, could outrun the fighters, and had the range to go to Germany and back flat out, on the deck. The Coastal Command 'Tsetse' variant is my favourite - need to hunt U-Boats? You'll be wanting a 6pdr/57mm Anti-Tank gun with autoloader then; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00f5RxhxLY

The Beaufort is cracking thing too.

F-86 - I subscribe to de Havilland's maxim of 'if it looks right, it'll fly right'. Still the most elegant of the early swept-wing jets.

As for noise, Mildenhall in '86 (IIRC) we had 6 Lightnings do the stationary - vertical to 60,000ft on reheat display. 12 Avon 300s on full power is something to experience.

redvee

Akirasho wrote:

Carolyn Grace who flies one of the last 2 seat Spitfires ML407 is the mother of one of a girl who used to frequent this forum.

declan1

redvee wrote:

Akirasho wrote:

Carolyn Grace who flies one of the last 2 seat Spitfires ML407 is the mother of one of a girl who used to frequent this forum.

This is a Spitfire:

BelgianBeerGeek

johnfinch wrote:

Akirasho wrote:

... the above pic is of the fighter variant... YF-12A... here's the Blackbird!

There isn't a single plane in the world today that looks so cool and by now we were meant to be living in some Thunderbirds world. The 21st century is officially a disappointment. I'm off to hibernate until the 2099..

Agreed. Thanks for the phot, Akirasho. When I first saw it above I thought there was something not quite right, but concluded it was me looking from the wrong angle!

BelgianBeerGeek

dynamicbrick wrote:

SR-71 is indeed the ultimate, if somewhat expensive, way of photographing things. Cheaper, more accurate, ways of doing things now though.

Hurricane is a joyous thing

Mosquito is, arguably, the best aeroplane Britain ever built and the original multi-role combat aircraft - carried more payload than a B17, could outrun the fighters, and had the range to go to Germany and back flat out, on the deck. The Coastal Command 'Tsetse' variant is my favourite - need to hunt U-Boats? You'll be wanting a 6pdr/57mm Anti-Tank gun with autoloader then; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00f5RxhxLY

The Beaufort is cracking thing too.

F-86 - I subscribe to de Havilland's maxim of 'if it looks right, it'll fly right'. Still the most elegant of the early swept-wing jets.

As for noise, Mildenhall in '86 (IIRC) we had 6 Lightnings do the stationary - vertical to 60,000ft on reheat display. 12 Avon 300s on full power is something to experience.

Isn't that a Beaufighter?

alihisgreat

That XB-70 is incredible.. just a shame that intercontinental ballistic missiles came along and ruined it's party!

CambsNewbie

Growing up in south Lincolnshire in the 80s was almost like a free airshow..

Where I lived must have been on a flight path to some of the ranges. We were close to Whittering so every clear day we'd have Harriers flying over low and fast, and Jaguars were often seen. Also remember seeing American F1-11s (got woken up the night they struck Libya) and F-15s. And I'll never forget the day a mate and I were cycling out in the fens along a long straight road. Something made us look up and we saw an A10 Tankbuster flying really low following the road coming towards us. Remember it felt like if we had jumped up we could have touched it as it went overhead!

Used to see the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight go over to and from airshows as well, the sound and sight making everyone stop in the street. And occasionally a B-17 would go over..

Used to love the big American airshows, Alconbury/Lakenheath and Mildenhall. Seeing all the American trucks and cars (and dare I say coloured people) was very exciting to a 12-14 year Lincolnshire schoolboy!

My best mate at school, his dad was a technician at Whittering and sometimes on a Saturday if he had to go to work for some reason he'd take us with him. We'd sit in the Harrier cockpits pretending to dogfight. Then the best day ever was a private airshow at Whittering when I think it was 1 Squadron celebrated their 75th anniversary. It was just like a normal airshow but without the crowds. Got to sit in all kinds of aircraft. And I overdosed on hotdogs! Brilliant!

All I wanted to do as a kid was join the airforce and was gutted when I found out I couldn't..

disgruntledgoat

When I was on honeymoon in the lakes last year, we were lucky enough to see two Eurofighters fly along Thirlmere at about 200ft. That was insanely awesome.

ballysmate

Apparently there are valleys in N Wales where you can look down on jets as they follow the contours. Perhaps someone on here knows where.

herb71

Ballysmate wrote:

Apparently there are valleys in N Wales where you can look down on jets as they follow the contours. Perhaps someone on here knows where.

Do a google search on 'mach loop' and you will find some stunning images, as well as info on the best viewing places.

dynamicbrick

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Isn't that a Beaufighter?

It is.

The brain is a funny thing; I thought Beaufighter, I thought about the myth behind its nickname of Whispering Death, I thought about its roots in the Blenheim... Fighter, fighter, fighter.

Then, for some reason, I wrote Beaufort

redvee

Ballysmate wrote:

Apparently there are valleys in N Wales where you can look down on jets as they follow the contours. Perhaps someone on here knows where.

Plenty of videos on Uchoob of Mach Loop, such as,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W161wBS3XWw

CambsNewbie

I always the preferred the Beaufighter to the Mosquito as a kid. Always felt it was a more workmanlike aircraft compared to the more 'glamourously' Mosquito. In the same way always preferred the Hurricane to the Spitfire, the Stirling to the Lancaster..

the playing mantis

whats this about the vulcan? they have one at duxford and the RAF museum at hendon.

both excellent collections even for those not with a specific interest in planes, like myself.

duxford is very well done imo, the american forces section is very good in particular.

hendon is also very good and both site have a hell of a lot of stuff on display and between them at least all the 'classic' british planes name checked here i think, lightnings, buccaneers, beaufighters etc

edit*** plus hendon is free too. although a donation should really be made

CambsNewbie

the playing mantis wrote:

Duxford is very well done imo, the american forces section is very good in particular.

I agree. As you approach the entrance the is glass screen all around with silhouettes of American aircraft engraved in it. Thousands of engravings. Very nice you think Then you read a sign and realise each silhouette represents an American aircraft shot down and lost. Suddenly the huge scale of loss becomes clear. Very moving.

dynamicbrick

If you've read Wellum's 'First Light', then this is an excellent book about the forgotten elements of the American bombing campaign.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Ace-Eighth-A ... r-mr-title