Legit vid. Good effects on target. It wasn't all heavy bombers lying down city blocks worth of bombs back then. Also, I'm inspired to fly with my canopy open.
Is there a checklist item that addresses stowing the pilot's gigantic brass balls? They seem like they could get in the way during dynamic manuevering.
The T-34 is probably the last fixed wing aircraft in the US inventory that will let you fly around with the roof open and still be able to close it again.
Take offs and landings in the Able Dog were canopy open. You couldn't carry your cigarettes in your sleeve pocket as the slip stream would beat the tobacco out of the papers.
40 knots of total wind is the limit to have the Harrier canopy open if anybody cares to know. I'm positive that it could handle much more, but when you try to stop it's slamming shut on your hand.
I had mine come part way open on takeoff. About 400 kts and it didn't shatter. I have seen them come apart, though.
Hey kind of useless stuff but I read that the Dominican Republic used P-51Ds until as late as 1984. Anyone know how they kept them going that long? I realize they still fly today but that must have been tough to keep them going through a military support structure and enduring lots of hours of flight? Also, I read that during the Suez Crisis in 1956 an Israeli pilot used his propeller on a P-51D to cut enemy telephone wires! Apparently Israel had to obtain their Mustangs illegally at some point. Not really sure why that was. Anyway I found this stuff fascinating and I thought it might spark other's interest.
RonDebMar told me a fib, said Spad Drivers were Puritans...no drin-kee, no smo-kee, no noo-kee! WTF Ron? BzB
If they didn't want you to smoke, they wouldn't have put ash trays in them. Each station in AD-5Ws and Ad-5Qs had its own ashtray. Also we had a P-51 at China Lake for testing in 1974. It had a recoiless rifle on each wing tip. Since I had over a thousand hours of taildragger time, I convinced the Ops O that I should get checked out in it as a back up. The Marine light colonel in charge of the program heard about it and told me that he would break all my limbs if he caught me near "his" mustang.
Unnamed IP had a sense of humor in the pattern once and told me to look in my side mirror...he had his canopy opened and head out the side giving me some version of a half downe's syndrome/child molester smile through the entire down wind....I had to wave off my last couple of passes from being unable to stop laughing. It's little things like that, that give me hope that not ALL is lost in terms of having fun while flying Navy a/c.
My Dad was at Kisarazu with the FasRon during the Korean War. I once asked him if he had ever flown the Gruman F7F and he replied that he had, once. Turns out the F7F there was the "Admiral's airplane" and he got his ass chewed for doing it.
From the 1994 edition of the A-6E Intruder NATOPS, canopy airspeed limits were: Opened 250 KIAS Opening 200 KIAS Closing 150 KIAS Of course, if you had the canopy open, better safe the seats since the canopy frame would be right over your head. BTW, had the canopy pop open an inch or so or cat shots many times. 3000 psi of hydraulics will close it every time.
BzB...you spreading those outrageous rumors again?!? How do ya think I came about my call sign, huh?? Gotta admit, tho...I was distressed to find no ashtrays on the A4...or the A7.. Had to give up flying shortly thereafter ... "Teaching the young cockerels their manners, herding the young pullets and doing his manly duty with the mature hens is a full time job, one which a Bantam rooster gladly takes responsibility for." Read more: http://www.drought-smart-plants.com/bantam-roosters.html#ixzz1levqP3jK Back to the thread...IIRC, took 16 blades before starting the 3350.
