CoolPix Triple Play: Douglas XB-43 And YB-43 Jetmaster

(click pic for hi-res) Douglas YB-43 Jetmaster in storage at the Air Force Museum

(watch for another AirPigz Air Force Museum meetup coming in 2012)

 I'm fascinated by 'unusual' thinking, especially as it relates to aircraft design. Last January when I had an AirPigz meetup at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (Air Force Museum) in Dayton, Ohio, I made the extra effort to take the behind-the-scenes tour in the museum's restoration facilities (note: it's free, space is limited, reservations are required, and they only run on Fridays.) Wow, what an amazing experience it was. I'm just now geting around to sharing some of what I saw there... and one aircraft that really caught my eye was the Douglas YB-43 Jetmaster seen here.

 The first thing that made me realize I wanted to know more about this thing was seeing the unusual twin canopies incorporated into the design. It looked sorta bug-like while also having a very cool sci-fi kind of feel. Pretty sweet when you realize that this airplane was our first ever jet powered bomber concept to fly, and that first flight took place in May 1946, less than a year after World War II had ended. You've probably never heard of the airplane because as it turned out, it wasn't a great success design wise, and it never went into production. However, it's just full of interesting stories. For example, it's actually an outgrowth of the XB-42 Mixmaster, a similar airframe that was powered by two Allison V-12 engines and driving rear mounted counter-rotating props! The Air Force Museum also has that aircraft awaiting restoration. In fact it's sitting right next to the Jetmaster... you can see one of the main gear tires in these pix. Hopefully I'll have an in depth post on this amazing concept before long.

(click pic for hi-res)  The YB-43 Jetmaster (named Versatile II) awaiting restoration

 When jet engine technology proved it was the way of the future, Douglas was given the opportunity to redesign the Mixmaster with two General Electric J35 turbojets. Even tho the Jetmaster did get built and was flown with these jet engines, a variety of complications kept the two test aircraft (one XB-43 and one YB-43) from being being truly successful. This was however, our first jet powered bomber concept to fly. It also served as a testbed for the follow on engine from GE, the J47, of which 36,500 were eventually built and used in aircraft like the B-47 and the F-86.

 The YB-43, the only surviving Jetmaster, was given to the Smithsonian Institution in 1954, but it remained in storage until late last year when it was moved the the Air Force Museum. In fact, it would seem that it was a relatively recent addition to the massive collection in the restoration facilities when I saw it in January of 2011. As with many of the projects at the museum, it may be a while before the resources are in place to restore the aircraft. But I sure hope they can get to it... this is an aircraft with an interesting story to tell.

(click pic for hi-res)  The unusual prototype XB-43 Jetmaster just after takeoff

Video: Russian YAK-130 (RC) That Won Jet World Masters 2011

 I had planned to get over to the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio to the Jet World Masters RC event that ran for two weeks from July 27 thru Aug 6, but Oshkosh fatigue and 'day-job' work kept me from being able to work it in. The event draws the most amazing jet RC aircraft from all over the world. This video is a very detailed look at the YAK-130 model by Vitaly Robertus who went on to win the overall championship with the airplane in the 20 kg class. Truly a boggling piece of workmanship!

Wow - Thunderbirds T-33 Jet Built From Scratch! (Sorta)

Amazing detail on a T-33 RC jet model currently under construction by Graeme Mears

(5 pix)

 The name Graeme Mears might not ring a bell with you, unless you're really into stunningly awesome scale RC models... tho if you saw my post on the Privately owned F-16 a while back you might remember the name from there. Graeme is a master at building freakishly accurate and detailed RC models that tend to win big awards. And he's got one in the works right now that's just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel - a fabulous Lockheed T-33 model in fictitious Thunderbirds paint. Tho the Air Force aerobatic team never flew T-33's there are several real live examples with private owners that have adopted the scheme on the airplane. It's one of those real aircraft that this model will represent.

 Graeme is working toward competing at the Jet World Masters event coming up later this year from July 24th thru August 6th at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton Ohio. The pictures here are just a few of the ones he has posted on his facebook page. I highly recommend you check out the page to see the other pictures of the build. Keep in mind if you don't have a FB account, you won't be able to get to the pix.

 This T-33 is a 1:4.5 scale, so pretty much 1/4 scale, which works out to a 110" wingspan and 101" long. One of Graeme's biggest challenges with the model is keeping it under the 20kg (44 pound) weight limit imposed by the Jet World Masters competition. Adding so much detail, especially in moving parts, really starts to build up the weight. A recent update from him indicated that he's stripped some excess weight out and thinks he's gonna be ok.

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Air Force Museum: Ryan X-13 Vertijet CoolPix 2Fer (+ Video)

(click pic for hi-res)  Ryan X-13 Vertijet in the R&D Gallery at the Air Force Museum

 The Ryan X-13 Vertijet fascinates me. So you can image how much I enjoyed getting to see one of the only two X-13's ever built when I was at the Air Force Museum this last weekend. The other one has been on loan to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, but it appears to be headed back to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC where it technically calls home. The one I saw in Dayton Ohio is in excellent condition for an airplane built in the mid 50's, and like all the aircraft in the Research & Development Gallery at the AFM, you can walk right up to it with no barriers at all (BUT DON'T TOUCH!)

 Someday I'm gonna do a really extensive post on this tail sitting VTOL research aircraft, but for now I've got these two really big pix for you to check out and the video below. It's the same video I posted way back in December 2009 shortly after AirPigz was originally launched. It consistently draws a lot of attention, so I figure since it really helps put the Vertijet in perspective, it's worth posting again. So please, take a few minutes and get to know the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. 

(click pic for hi-res)  X-13 Vertijet pic turned sideways to show how it looked in flight

The National Museum Of The U.S. Air Force

The excellent facilities of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton Ohio

(11 pix)

 The first ever AirPigz Air Force Museum meet-up was a great success. A total of 9 people participated on one day or the other from Friday January 28th thru Sunday the 30th. The informal format of the gathering meant that everyone was free to do as they pleased, but gathering together for lunch and even dinner in the evening made for great hangar flying conversations. More AirPigz avgeek meet-ups will definitely be planned in the future.

 The following is just a quick glance at some of the aircraft seen over the weekend. A full post with more details on the meet-up will follow soon. I'll also continue to post thru the year from the extensive photos gathered during the time at the museum. The Air Force Museum is a first class facility with so many interesting, important, and historic aircraft that there's really no end to what can be shared or discussed. And of course, I highly recommend you work a trip to Dayton into your schedule as soon as you can... you won't be disappointed.

Overview map of the massive collection of aircraft at the Air Force Museum

 
A small portion of the Early Years exhibit area

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CoolPix - Modern Military: North American F-107 'Man Eater'

(click pic for hi-res)  F-107A aircraft designed and built by North American in the mid 50's 

(2 CoolPix and 1 video)

 If you asked me about the F-107 before yesterday, all I'd really been able to tell you is that it's the one with the air intake oddly positioned right above and behind the cockpit. I've known of the existence of this airplane since I was a kid in the 70's, but I'd never paid any real attention to it. Well, I'm paying attention now, and wow, it was a pretty fascinating piece of work as a tactical fighter-bomber concept. As a quick side note, the first ever AirPigz Air Force Museum 'meet-up' (in Dayton, Ohio) is now tentatively scheduled for the weekend of January 29 and 30, and one of the three F-107's built is on display in the museum's Research & Development/Flight Test Gallery. Send me an email via this link for more info on getting in on this meet-up. It'll be a great way to have some avgeek fun (and education) in the middle of winter... and admission to the museum is free! 

 Back to the F-107. So, I wonder if the eject handle might actually have been labeled 'injest'... ok probably not. But still, having a massive inlet sucking huge amounts of air to feed a Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet right behind your head is not the kind of thing you easily get used to. In the end, due to the F-105 Thunderchief from Republic being selected for the role of fighter-bomber, the F-107 never went past the stage of just three test aircraft, and thus never got an official name. Unofficially it was known as the Super Super Sabre or sometimes the Ultra Sabre, but pilots were more likely to call it the 'Man Eater'. And in case you're wondering, no one ever ejected from an F-107, so we never found out if there really was anything to worry about concerning becoming jet engine food!

 The F-107 began its development as the F-100B, an outgrowth of the F-100 Super Sabre, but it wound up becoming pretty much a whole new airplane, so it eventually got the 107 designation. It was a noticeably larger airplane with much higher max speed, Mach 2+ compared to Mach 1.25 for the F-100. That top-mounted inlet was originally mounted below the cockpit, which itself was a departure from the hole-in-the-nose inlet of the F-100. But the Air Force wanted the airplane to be able to deploy a nuclear weapon that was to be carried partially up inside the bottom of the fuselage. Issues arose with the lower air intake creating a shockwave that caused problems with launching the nuclear weapon, which lead to a retrofit re-positioning. You might already know that the F-105 avoided all of these issues by having its air intake placed at the leading edge of the wing at the root, on both sides of the fuselage.

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First Ever AirPigz / Air Force Museum Meet-Up Coming Soon

(7 pix: Air Force Museum)

Let's meet up at the Air Force Museum in Dayton... details below: 
UPDATE: meet-up is scheduled for Saturday January 29 and Sunday January 30

 When I did a little research before I posted the CoolPix of the sweet Curtiss-Wright AT-9 twin engine trainer from WWII, I learned that the only complete airframe is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Hmm, I haven't been to the museum there in over 5 years... I should plan a trip there! That's when the idea for an AirPigz 'meet-up' at the Air Force Museum was born.

 So here's you official invite: sometime in late January or early February there will be a fun little AirPigz avgeek meet-up at the museum. Museum admission and parking are FREE(!), and operating hours are 9am to 5pm EST. If you're even slightly interested in knowing more about when this will take place, please send an email to me via this link Email For Meet-Up - the email will already have the subject line filled in, and we can get some dialog going to find the best weekend. (all the details will be finalized by Friday, December 31st) 

 Regardless of which weekend works best for the most people interested, I'm planning to be there for both Saturday and Sunday. That'll give a little more overall flexibility to pick the day that works best for you. Or, if you're really into the museum like me, you might wanna plan for both days. I may also have a connection to a house with room for a few people to stay overnight as well. My advance promo thru twitter on this has already found about 5 people seriously interested in making the trip, one already with plans to fly down from Canada using up some up some frequent flyer miles. The Air Force Museum is simply spectacular... maybe this little meet-up will be a great catalyst for getting you to Dayton to experience it! 

 I'm thinking we should plan to have lunch together for at least an hour in the Valkyrie Cafe as our official 'meet-up' time for visiting together at the museum, otherwise you'd be free to do whatever you want during your time there. We may also be able to do an evening dinner meet-up on Saturday for anyone who would be available. Regardless, send me an email via the link above and let's see if we can stir up some interest in getting together and talking airplanes! And if you don't know much about the Air Force Museum (with its 400 or so aircraft and well over 1 million visitors each year), check out the following pix for a little idea of how awesome it is!

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