Cool aircraft part 2

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:26 pm

When I started the cool aircraft thread a year ago ( viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34656 ) I had no idea it would take off the way it did (errr, so to speak...) or last as long as it did. Since long threads with lots of pics eat bandwidth like there's no tomorrow, it seems like a good idea to start another.

Same "rules" as before: if you know who/where to credit the pic, please do so to avoid potential copyright, etc issues. (Having said that, tonight I uploaded some of the pics I've been saving on my 'puter for the past 12+ years and I have no idea where 90%+ originated.

) Also, even if the aircraft is sort of hum-drum but the shot itself is really cool those pics are welcome too!

Let's start with a little tropical vacation. The Dutch island of St Maartin is the home of Princess Juliana International Airport. I'm sure the rest of the island is wonderful to look at but if I ever get the chance to go, I may never leave the airport and adjacent beach. Why? Pics like this are why:

Sticking with the island theme, here's a DHC6-300 used by Trans-Maldivian Airways:

Here's something a little different. An Aerocarribean Il18:

The Soviets did things differently from the US when it came to airliners. Besides the Il18 above, how about an airline version of the Tu95 Bear? Move the wings down, create a cabin where the bomb bays and ELINT stuff used to be and call it the Tu114:

How about a blast from the past? What's unusual about this picture?

Some gone but not forgotten liveries:

The Alitalia above is headed into the airport in Hong Kong (whose name escapes me). The approaches have been changed within the past 10 years or so, but from everything I've read the original approaches were hairy on the best of days. Here's a special edition British Airways livery headed into Hong Kong:

Let's stop in Australia on our way to Europe:

Qantas B747 SP

First stop in Europe, Innsbruck and a Tyrolean DHC-7:

Next it's off to Switzerland:

Not sure if this was taken in Europe, but let's pretend this KLM 747 is in Holland:

We'll leave Europe via an Aer Lingus A330-300:

Finally, how about a big 'n little shot?

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:04 pm

How low can you go? And no, that's not photoshopped...

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:41 pm

Pretty cool pictures

I don't think I'd want to be on that beach with all that overhead noise.
Those Russian turboprop airliners must really scream, and they just LOOK fast.
Outside of the Singapore airlines flying the Concorde, and that its pretty close to the main area, I can't spot anything unusual about the photo. Any hints???

Thanks for sharing. While not a pilot, I had a couple of uncles who were and have always loved airplanes.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:39 am

That beach must smell of kerosene!

The Tu-114 was a very cool aircraft! A turboprop with a Mach .70 cruise speed?

Still the fastest turboprop airliner ever.

Oly

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:53 am

Speaking of long gone, at 38,000ft looking up from 37,000:

Oly

gak · Post by **gak** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:18 am

Another gone but not forgotten airline icon - TWA, in this case. 707 321B I believe, in its famous original "twin globes" livery.

Also, brought in from a post of mine in a different (B-29 & B-36) aircraft thread--but some may not have seen, amazing shot of the contrast in size between the then new 747 and former king 707, both in also long-gone-now Pan Am.

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:13 pm

On that Singapore SST, shouldn't the nose be dropped during takeoff and landing?

Back when they were new, the plan was to have them land at Barajas airport outside of Madrid. Torrejon AB was to be a secondary/emergency field. I guess the spanish didn't want to clog up the commercial strip should one have issues. Not to mention that the USAF had a heck of a lot better crash equipment and crews than either the spanish AF or the Barajas.

As a result, we were able to get one at the base to go thru emergency procedures (shutdown, evacuation and such) on. The one thing that struck me was that the cabin was so small. A big guy would have had a heck of a time sitting in a window sear upright.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:49 pm

jeepnik wrote:On that Singapore SST, shouldn't the nose be dropped during takeoff and landing?

I suspect it's on the taxiway.

jeepnik wrote: The one thing that struck me was that the cabin was so small. A big guy would have had a heck of a time sitting in a window sear upright.

Yep! And I suspect that's where the Boeing 2707 would have been an improvement. I'm not sure, but I seem to recall that it was a bigger, better SST than anything anyone else was going to make. How sad that it wasn't finished.

Oly

gak · Post by **gak** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:45 pm

Speaking of small cabins, I was struck (again after many years since first seeing) how small the B-17 cockpit was, including diminutive and so very basic seats, and sparsely instrumented by "modern" standards.
This is a shot of Sentimental Journey's cabin taken last weekend. Sorry for the dark pic (just enough light it wouldn't trip the flash--camera phone)

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:05 pm

UncleBuck wrote: Outside of the Singapore airlines flying the Concorde, and that its pretty close to the main area, I can't spot anything unusual about the photo.

SA wet leased one from BA for a short time. It carried the SA livery on the port side and BA livery on the starboard. I don't remember the particulars or the route, but I believe it was shut down after less than a half dozen flights due to noise complaints in Malaysia so that's a pretty rare shot. The only other operator I know of (besides BA and AF) was Braniff which wet leased 10 or so for about 2 years. I should remember seeing them coming in and out of DFW since I remember the Flying Colors of Braniff schemes of the same era, but I don't.

I did get to see one headed into DFW in early July of 89 or 90. Our HS marching band was getting ready for the local 4th of July parade and I saw one (BA I presume) making the downwind leg to base leg turn in the pattern. I almost got talked to harshly but managed to look like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing while ogling...

Speaking of Braniff:

DC6

How about some more Pan-Am?

B377-10-29

DC10-30

Another aviation business casualty, Canadian Airlines:

The Soviets even took the Tu16 Badger and made an airliner out of it. The Tu104:

If you like those big turboprops on the Tu95/114 series here's the same engines powering the world's largest turboprop aircraft, the An22:

Panzercat · Post by **Panzercat** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:35 pm

I'll just leave these here

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:42 pm

gak wrote:Speaking of small cabins, I was struck (again after many years since first seeing) how small the B-17 cockpit was, including diminutive and so very basic seats, and sparsely instrumented by "modern" standards.
This is a shot of Sentimental Journey's cabin taken last weekend. Sorry for the dark pic (just enough light it wouldn't trip the flash--camera phone)

I was just in that cockpit as well not too long ago as well. Amazing how cramped and small it is in there. Not for the claustrophobic, and I'm sure minus 40 made it that much worse. The modified Corsair inside the museum really blew me away as well. 3500 horse radial in that puppy.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:44 pm

Sorry double post....wonderful pics guys.

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:46 pm

Panzercat wrote:

Fairey Gannet?

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:09 pm

Re the B-17 cockpit. Our dads were likely smaller than we are, so it might not have been quite so bad for them. I had an uncle that was a baombadier/navigator on Flying Fortress'. He was only about 5'6", yet he always seemed so tall to me, even when I was taller. How men like him could climb into an aircraft, day after day, and fly into hell amazes me. Thank God for such men.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:53 am

Fairly unusual aircraft/livery:

This is how she looked prior to 1986:

Same aircraft after a brief stint with UAL:

As of this time last year she was still in the boneyard in Victorville. Beer cans await:

Oly

gak · Post by **gak** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:02 am

Oly, that "rainbow" scheme lasted throughout the mid 70s to mid 80s didn't it? Love the older Pan Am schemes.
Post Script: Sad what's become of the old 'liners.

jeepnik wrote:Re the B-17 cockpit. Our dads were likely smaller than we are, so it might not have been quite so bad for them. I had an uncle that was a baombadier/navigator on Flying Fortress'. He was only about 5'6", yet he always seemed so tall to me, even when I was taller. How men like him could climb into an aircraft, day after day, and fly into hell amazes me. Thank God for such men.

+1 Pre McDonalds! My father was 6-0' like me, but very slim back then and a top tennis player in the Air Force. I'm sure it was no big deal to him/he never really mentioned ('til we climbed aboard a 17 back around 1970). Even accounting for all that, those cockpit seats looked awfully small! When I'd had enough the other day, I had.a hard time turning around (on my butt) in that compartment below the cockpit by the hatch, and just about didn't make it out of there to get back on the ground...and unlike the old days, they have a ladder for visitors! I usually am not that prone to claustrophobia (not thrilled about MRIs, but who is?) but this experience changed that!

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:36 am

Hey Oly, Re the SST being on the taxiway. While it's been a long time and I only saw a few, I seem to remember that the nose remained dropped during taxi, I think it has something to do with ground visibility.

Also, you mentioned the Victorville Boneyard, I was stationed there when it was George AFB. Years later after 9-11 is when the boneyard filled up fast. I was working on a federal prison complex that took up part of the old base property. I tried to get out to the boneyard and take some pictures, but was turned away. I haven't been there in about 8 years. Do they still have a large assortment out there?

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:27 am

Fokker E.III Eindecker ca. 1915

Fokker E.III 419/15 is seen here in standard ex-works finish of plain varnished fabric (otherwise known as clear-doped linen - CDL) and polished aluminum cowl. Note the small werke number of 401 on the lower rudder in the CDL fabric area.

It takes Cajones Grandes to take off in something like that and actively hunt the enemy...

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:52 am

jeepnik wrote:Hey Oly, Re the SST being on the taxiway. While it's been a long time and I only saw a few, I seem to remember that the nose remained dropped during taxi, I think it has something to do with ground visibility.

Also, you mentioned the Victorville Boneyard, I was stationed there when it was George AFB. Years later after 9-11 is when the boneyard filled up fast. I was working on a federal prison complex that took up part of the old base property. I tried to get out to the boneyard and take some pictures, but was turned away. I haven't been there in about 8 years. Do they still have a large assortment out there?

Yes, they certainly do still have a lot of airliners parked out at Victorville. Some of them are birds I used to fly!! Makes me sad every time I fly over...

I'm not sure when they raised the nose on the Concorde, but I do recall that it was up when the bird was parked at the gate, so at some point they must have lowered it while taxiiing out and raised it while taxiing in. Wish I'd had a chance to fly on one! We used to get really smoking interline deals offered to us, but I was always too busy raising a family to jet around like my single co-pilots used to (and probably still) do. Suddenly it was gone and that's that.

GAK: they ran the popular rainbow and tulip scheme until the mid-90s, after which Stephen Wolf (ex-flying tigers and later USAir) decided the airplanes should be dark gray and blue and look somber. It was a universally reviled livery that lasted for about ten years! Now they're painting them in Gordon Bethune's Continental white with blue and gold tail. Actually looks pretty good.

gak · Post by **gak** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:17 pm

olyinaz wrote:
GAK: they ran the popular rainbow and tulip scheme until the mid-90s, after which Stephen Wolf (ex-flying tigers and later USAir) decided the airplanes should be dark gray and blue and look somber. It was a universally reviled livery that lasted for about ten years! Now they're painting them in Gordon Bethune's Continental white with blue and gold tail. Actually looks pretty good.

I'll have to check the new scheme out. My fave is still the iconic late DC-6/7 - early DC-8/B-727 Mainliner livery and wish it'd return on all of 'em! The similar retro offshoot 4 "stars & bars" you posted earlier was a step in the right direction, but I sure liked the clean Mainliner look.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:32 pm

gak wrote:
olyinaz wrote:I'll have to check the new scheme out. My fave is still the iconic late DC-6/7 - early DC-8/B-727 Mainliner livery and wish it'd return on all of 'em! The similar retro offshoot 4 "stars & bars" you posted earlier was a step in the right direction, but I sure liked the clean Mainliner look.

Marvin Mainliner agrees with you! This is the current scheme:

DC-7 Mainliner:

Oly

gak · Post by **gak** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:30 pm

Oly, I was thinking more this Mainliner scheme

but that earlier/original one was a classic too! About the new scheme, as you said--not bad.

Rare color shot of an F-82 "Twin Mustang" all weather fighter - at our base, Itazuke, in southern Japan during Korean war, about ten years before our time there. One like this scored the first air-to-air kill in Korea.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:45 am

Gak, I never saw a Twin Mustang painted black wit that big ol' radar in the middle. Night fighter?

As for the UAL livery, I thought the scheme they had prior to the CAL merger was really nice:

Thunder50 · Post by **Thunder50** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:36 am

Looks like the SA Concorde is being towed

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:50 am

Another one of the all black F-82 Twin Mustang.
click it to enlarge

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:00 am

Another oldie but goodie.
click it to enlarge.

gak · Post by **gak** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:46 am

Re the F-82, this is the best, most detailed writeup I've ever seen on the Twin Mustang--with a lot of fascinating surrounding context. Our base, again long before our time in Japan, was an F-82 base central to the Korean War effort, with most of the planes assigned to an all-weather fighter/interceptor squadron. Some very interesting history on the plane here.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Am ... in_Mustang

Stateside in the early 50s, my father got to fly the 82 several times, sans the big radome and in twin pilot mode--the article points out th co-pilot cockpit was later replaced with a radar operator with no flight controls there on radome-equipped planes. Mostly a bomber pilot, dad said it was a real gas to fly. As the article also points out, the Mustang's six .50 cal guns were relocated to the "center wing" for more concentrated fire, with the big radome beneath. Great read!

gak · Post by **gak** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:30 pm

claybob86 wrote:Gak, I never saw a Twin Mustang painted black wit that big ol' radar in the middle. Night fighter?

As for the UAL livery, I thought the scheme they had prior to the CAL merger was really nice:

Claybob, yes night capability or specialty, in some ways replacing the old P-61 Black Widow," but more broadly "all weather" fighter.

I agree, that United livery was a nice one too.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:37 pm

Pretty French lady:

Oly

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:47 pm

UncleBuck wrote:Another oldie but goodie.

I'll see your Bicentennial Phantom and raise you a pair of VX4 Bunnies:

CREDIT

Here's a neat Caravelle shot:

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Tue May 01, 2012 10:53 am

awp101:

I'll see your pair of bunnies and raise you 4 Angels

click on it to enlarge.

gak · Post by **gak** » Tue May 01, 2012 11:41 am

I have a feeling I may have posted this early in Cool Planes Pt I, but perhaps my very favorite aircraft--or at least airliner--photo of all time--the Super G in it's most iconic trim.

Perhaps tied only with this: great shots comin' and goin'

gak · Post by **gak** » Tue May 01, 2012 11:53 am

...And I'll raise you a quartet if F-100s--we had a squadron of in Japan til replaced by 105s in '63. My favorite old-school jets.

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Tue May 01, 2012 5:50 pm

UncleBuck wrote:Another oldie but goodie.
click it to enlarge.

Hmm. I wonder if every squadron had a special paint job on at least one Phantom in '76. I was stationed at Torrejon AFB in Spain at the time. We had one with a Bicentennial paint job, though not as good as that one.

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:10 pm

Heck, these guys have always flown aircraft in red, white and blue.

GonnePhishin · Post by **GonnePhishin** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:19 pm

Jeepnik,

Yeah, Thunderbird Phantoms. I saw them back in the early seventies flying those Phantoms. Those were big, bad a**ed birds.

Here is another shot of that Bicentennial Phantom.
Click on it to open.

gak · Post by **gak** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:56 pm

The F-100s as Thunderbirds.

Another shot of the red, white & blue.

A thirteen year stint as the T-Bird plane interrupted only very briefly by the F-105 which apparently couldn't meet criteria (I assume mostly maneuverability related). Eventually the F4 took over from the 100, then the T-38s as a sign of the 70s times. One writeup indicated that it was the first (and last) time a non "front line" fighter was used, but it was a fabulous combo of speed, maneuverability and efficiency nonetheless...with five T-38s drinking less fuel than one F4. Finally, changing over to the F-16 (for 20+ years) returned the T-Birds to the policy of using front-line fighters.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Wed May 02, 2012 1:57 am

Name it:

Oly

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Wed May 02, 2012 7:02 am

Spartan but I don't recall the model.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Wed May 02, 2012 7:38 am

jeepnik wrote:Heck, these guys have always flown aircraft in red, white and blue.

That was a grand era with th T Birds. I was so disappointed when they went to t38's. here's a pick of one of the planes my Dad worked on in Nam. 366thTFW "The Gunfighters"

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Wed May 02, 2012 5:54 pm

UncleBuck wrote:Jeepnik,

Yeah, Thunderbird Phantoms. I saw them back in the early seventies flying those Phantoms. Those were big, bad a**ed birds.
Here is another shot of that Bicentennial Phantom.
Click on it to open.

Yeah, those Phantoms were big and easy to see. During the fuel crunch, they transitioned to T-38's. Very manuverable, but so small they were difficult to see.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu May 03, 2012 8:25 am

gak wrote:I have a feeling I may have posted this early in Cool Planes Pt I, but perhaps my very favorite aircraft--or at least airliner--photo of all time--the Super G in it's most iconic trim.

Perhaps tied only with this: great shots comin' and goin'

gak,
I've never flown in one, heck I've never even seen one in person. But those Super G Connies make me tingle up and down with chills ever time I see a pic of them. Beautiful, beautiful airplanes.
I'd like to fly in one at least once before I kick the bucket.

Joe

gak · Post by **gak** » Thu May 03, 2012 10:48 am

Joe, sure a beauty isn't it? I'm not sure when my fascination started with "the Connie" (my mother's name btw, so there must be something there!) but I it very likely was 1960 or so when we had a chance to walk up on one just like this on the tarmac--back when you could do such things

These things get pretty quickly set in a kid's head. It probably was the most beautiful thing I ever saw even if I didn't know to put it that way at the time. All I know is I got fixated for life. Ever since, I've been a (now) good-old-days "classic" airliner nut. Being the son of an Air Force pilot probably helped. The concrete got permanently set with my first flight--cross country on a United DC-8 also just like a few pics I've posted--and that was quickly added to my now-lifelong favorites. Then, the piece de resistance, a Pan Am 707 two years later across the Pacific home from Japan. Wow. To me still the most beautiful plane/airline combo to ever grace the skies. The plane and airline that really brought us into the jet age.

So, amazingly, it turned out I was living history and didn't even know it at the time. It just happened in my first three airline experiences--including two "major" flights as a youngster--that I'd witnessed first hand the three specific planes and airliners (color schemes included) which would become known as the iconic planes and airlines of our day. The Connie, in this particular "ultimate" Super G form combined with the TWA scheme it's most associated with, brought "luxury travel" to the air, as a more alluring alternative to the more pedestrian DC-6 and 7 (also faves of mine, stemming from a 30+ hour flight from San Francosco to Tokyo in an Air Force C-118 (DC-6))--only member of the family that thought it was so charming

). In Honolulu and on Wake Island, I stood there, middle of the night, 100 degrees and just about 99% humidity, near the plane mesmerized watching them refuel our plane. To this day, the smell of aviation fuel brings back good memories!

The Constellation was the ultimate way to fly for many until its days too became numbered as the 707 and DC-8 came on board. United was the DC-8's largest client and ruled the long haul domestic jet lanes, while it's chief competitor, the Pan Am 707 was king of the inter-continental routes. TWA--also a largwe 707 client--was right in the mix of both US and international routes. Ultimately, these were the ones that ushered in air travel for "more regular folk" and not just the well-to-do as was the case in the 30s and 40s and early 50s. If you couldn't tell, I love this stuff! Oly and others don't help by feeding the addiction

(Sorry, no pics this time, just a bunch of thoughts!)

EDIT: just remembered this site you might find interesting Joe!
http://www.airlinehistorymuseum.com/connie.htm

FatJackDurham · Post by **FatJackDurham** » Thu May 03, 2012 11:12 am

Any love for the Guppy?

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Thu May 03, 2012 1:46 pm

The flying tumor?

They are kinda neat, in a "wow what the heck is that?" kinda way.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu May 03, 2012 2:44 pm

Some years ago I was delivering auto parts in Phoenix and had a delivery just south of Sky Harbor Air Port. When I got there I noticed one of those huge whale shaped airplanes they call the Guppys. I called my wife and she grabbed her camera and made it down there just as the plane was starting it's take off roll. We watched for what seemed like forever as that thing gradually picked up more and more speed and somewhere very close to the east end of the runway finally left the ground. From our viewpoint it looked like he was so low off the end of the runway that if he hadn't retracted the gear he would have taken the fence with him.

Neat airplane, but drat that thing was slow.

gak,
In my entire life I've flown in two aircraft. The first when I was around 10 was a two engined (recips) passenger plane. I flew from Phoenix to Farmington for a summer with my dad in Casper. (Should have stayed home.)
The second about 15 years ago on a two engined jet from Phoenix to Las Vegas. I had decided when they started doing the metal detectors that I would not fly unless I was paid to do it. Going through the b.s. at the screening just is not worth it. I always set the things off. Always.
My wife and I were working for a temp agency and they asked us if we'd be willing to take an assignment that would fly us to Vegas then we'd drive back a fleet of rental cars. Get paid from the time we showed up at the Temp office to the point we returned. We said heck yes. There was over 80 of us on from the agency on that flight.
That was a lot of fun .... except when I set off the metal detector

I even warned the guys running it, they didn't believe me. Oh well.

Joe

gak · Post by **gak** » Fri May 11, 2012 12:37 pm

This just in...P40 found...
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... oblog&lite

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Fri May 11, 2012 1:33 pm

gak wrote:This just in...P40 found...
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... oblog&lite

Wow! Very sad about the pilot however.

Oly

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Fri May 11, 2012 10:55 pm

F-16C Block 40.

Photographer: Me. 2006.

More 16's ready to go.

16C and a C-17.

More 16's heading out for air combat training.

C-130s from the USAF, RAAF and RAF lined up prepping for deliveries to Iraq. 2007.

RAF Tornado waiting for the fog to lift so it can lay down the hate in Afghanistan.

P-3 undergoing maintenance before pulling patrols over Iraq.

You may wonder what this is, but it's a B-1B on afterburners taking off for Afghanistan, 2007. Thermal imager monitor, I just happened to take a reference pic of the buildings in the frame (under construction) when it went over.

RC-135s and KC-135s going to work for another day in the Middle East.

All pics taken by me, either 2006 or 2007.