Proper use of a Messerschmitt

Dumb Q (nothing new there). What does full stall on all three mean? Do you mean brakes on and full power then release for take off?

It means that on landing, you bring the airplane down to just above the ground with the nose slightly up, then throttle back until airspeed falls below stall speed. If done right, when the wings lose lift you drop a couple of feet out of the air, and touch down on the main gear and tailwheel pretty much at the same time. Also known as a 3-point landing.

Did someone say YAK?

How about the plane that has inspired so many "one-off" paint jobs? My great-grandpa helped construct these things during the second world war up in Buffalo. He went from being a crane operator to plane builder to help the war effort.

Duke wrote:

fanfoy wrote:

Appleseed wrote: You want driveshafts? How about one under each armpit? This is the cockpit of the Bugatti Racer.

Did you know there is a group that is currently building a fully functional, flyable replica?

OK, that thing's cool. *Really* cool; I never saw it before, which surprises me, because I know a lot of esoteric aircraft. But *why* , instead of all those shaft-and-gear calisthenics, didn't they just make it a pusher?

Well you probably never heard of it because it never actually flew. Just one airplane was built, but WW2 started before the flight testing began. Did you notice the air intakes at the root of the v-tail? I love that detail. As to why it wasn't a pusher, it was built for maximum speed. A pusher configuration would have been lighter and less complex, but it would have been slower because of the decrease in propeller efficiency.

Now for another gorgeous plane:

Let us not forget the hot rod of the skies during WWII....

The de Havilland Mosquito.

Made out of wood folks!

Pilots were instructed that if they encountered enemy fighters to put the throttle to the stops and run like hell. This was good advice as it was faster than most anything in the air at the time.

A former fellow sport car club member flew a Mossie recon A/C after he did a tour in B-24s.

spitfirebill wrote: A former fellow sport car club member flew a Mossie recon A/C after he did a tour in B-24s.

That's f'n cool. Did he say anything in particular about it? Interesting stories?

North American A-36 Apache, a dive bomber version of the P-51. It has dive brakes and notice the machine gun that fires through the propellor arc. This is a great low level airplane.

Xceler8x wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: A former fellow sport car club member flew a Mossie recon A/C after he did a tour in B-24s.

That's f'n cool. Did he say anything in particular about it? Interesting stories?

He was a very interesting man. After the war he worked in the foreign service pretty much his whole career. Kind of a James Bond before Bond was around. I believe he wrote a book about some SE Asian country. He retired to Tryon, NC and collected a bunch of old cars. He has an affinity for Packards. And he was a classical pianist, which I dd not know until after his death. He never married. He once said marriage was all about compromise and he had no intentions of compromise.

He didn't talk much about the war. He once went to the Eighth Air Force exhibit outside Savannah on a club trip and got pretty emotional after sitting through the mission re-inactment movie.

He much preferred the Mossie over the Liberator, even though it didn't have any guns.

spitfirebill wrote: ....He much preferred the Mossie over the Liberator, even though it didn't have any guns.

I think any one who flew in a Liberator preferred almost any other plane over the liberator. They were no B17, they had a number of issues. Better on paper... not so much in the sky.

Saw an old guy a few years back with a liberator hat on, asked if he flew in them and what he thought... he said they were crap.

spitfirebill wrote: He was a very interesting man. After the war he worked in the foreign service pretty much his whole career. Kind of a James Bond before Bond was around. I believe he wrote a book about some SE Asian country. He retired to Tryon, NC and collected a bunch of old cars. He has an affinity for Packards. And he was a classical pianist, which I dd not know until after his death. He never married. He once said marriage was all about compromise and he had no intentions of compromise. He didn't talk much about the war. He once went to the Eighth Air Force exhibit outside Savannah on a club trip and got pretty emotional after sitting through the mission re-inactment movie. He much preferred the Mossie over the Liberator, even though it didn't have any guns.

Thanks for the info SpitfireBill. Sounds like an interesting guy, like you said. I feel for him and his experience in Savannah.

aircooled wrote: Saw an old guy a few years back with a liberator hat on, asked if he flew in them and what he though... he said they were crap.

That is too funny. I've heard guys say the Liberator was the box the B17 was shipped in.

aircooled wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: ....He much preferred the Mossie over the Liberator, even though it didn't have any guns.

I think any one who flew in a Liberator preferred almost any other plane over the liberator. They were no B17, they had a number of issues. Better on paper... not so much in the sky. Saw an old guy a few years back with a liberator hat on, asked if he flew in them and what he thought... he said they were crap.

I hear the B-29 was the worst of the bombers.

Yes. Sometimes highly complex cutting edge technology and flying of thousands of miles of open ocean are not the best combination.

This is what happens when a propeller flies off and hits another engine... ouch:

Errant props weren't limited to the high tech stuff.

They have an me 163 at the 8th air force museum. Much largee than I expected. My gramps navigated in b17s and he said the 163 was the first plane he ever fired at. Also said he only saw it for a second it went by so fast. But it gave him am excuse to shoot!