CoolPix - Homebuilt: Fab Focke-Wulf FW 190 Replica At Reno 2010

(click pic for hi-res)

 When I was about 12, I built a 1:48 scale model of the short nose Focke-Wulf FW 190. I painted it in a really good camouflage scheme, and it was actually the only one of the many plastic models I built that I was really pleased with how it turned out. I've been pretty severely attracted to the FW 190 since those days as a kid, so I was very excited to see this one at Reno, shown here in a nice big CoolPix.

 It looks like this one was recently flown for the first time by Steve Hinton and is owned by Frasca International, the flight simulator people out of Urbana, Illinois. If I have my info correct, it's one of the FlugWerk replicas from Germany, and has a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine in it. It was raced at Reno by John Malony, but not hard and not as a serious contender. But wow, it was very cool to see it in the air!

 I was impressed with the paint job as the airplane appeared very authentic. Not a 'show plane' paint job, but one you could believe was representing the airplane just as it would have looked in the Luftwaffe. It also looked smaller than I expected by a little bit. The one or two I've seen before were in a museum, and seeing this one out in the open around other warbirds made me realize it's not as big as I had thought. Comparing dimensions to the P-51 Mustang shows that it is indeed a little smaller all the way around.

 The one thing that stirs me big-time about the FW 190 is those long, wide-stance, aggressive gear legs. It's the same thing that makes the Hughes H-1 and the F-8 Bearcat look so stinkin' hot to me. The P-51 is a very beautiful airplane, but its gear legs just don't affect me the way these other aircraft do. I know, I'm a weirdo... but I'm a very happy, aggressive-gear-leg-lovin' weirdo : )

1937 German Heinkel He 119 With 2,350hp Armrest!

(5 pix)

 I remember learning about the Bell P-39 Airacobra as a kid, and how the engine was mounted behind the pilot and a shaft ran under the floor 10 feet forward to the prop.  It was an interesting configuration which was done to allow for the quite large cannon, that shot 37mm projectiles, to be mounted on the centerline up front where the engine would normally be.

 I also remember my dad and I talking about how we figured that it would always be on your mind when flying an airplane like this… what would happen if that shaft let loose that was running right under the seat?

 Well, I recently learned about the 1937 German Heinkel He 119, and my concerns about a shaft running under the floor in the P-39 are all pretty much gone now.  Why?  Because the He 119 had two, 12 cylinder, BMW 1,175hp inverted V engines (like the ones used in the Bf-109) mounted in an inverted W configuration and coupled to each other, positioned behind the cockpit with a shaft running forward to the prop.  Here’s where it gets weird… the cockpit is all that flush mounted glass directly behind the prop, and the pilot and co-pilot sit on either side of the housed shaft (that’s carrying 2,350hp) where it’s pretty much there for them to use as an armrest! 

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Nat Geo Special Examines WWII Horten Brothers Flying Wing - Sunday 6-28-09 9PM

National geographic special program airs Sunday, June 28 at 9PM

Nat Geo website with extensive info on this amazing aircraft from WWII

Full scale replica built by Northrop Grumman to test radar signature

All photos: National Geographic Channel

 If you know much about WWII German aircraft technology, you probably already know that they were pushing the design envelope in ways that are truly hard to believe.  I know I never get tired at looking into the minds of the people that came up with so many amazing aerodynamic ideas.

 On Sunday, June 28, the National Geographic Channel will air a special program that looks in-depth at the design of the Horten Ho 2-29 flying wing.  This aircraft is quite possibly the most extreme example (that actually flew) of the amazing aviation thinking that the German engineers had near the end of the war.

 BTW, this is just the kind of TV programming aviation people need to support... you can do that by simply watching and enjoying, so don't miss it!

 The Ho 2-29 design that brothers Reimar and Walter Horten came up with was not only a quantum leap in aerodynamics, but also appears to have stealth technology incorporated into both the shape, and the use of wood on the skin.

 This interesting and well produced Nat Geo special explores the possible stealth nature of the aircraft with, of all people, Northrop Grumman!  They actually built a full scale model of the beautiful flying wing to test it's radar signature on a 50' articulating pole.

 It's fascinating to see the American company that built flying wings in the 40's, and then built the B-2 Stealth Bomber in the 80's, as they marvel at the amazing design of the Horten brothers flying wing.  Be sure to catch this program, you're gonna like it.

Have You Pull-Started Your 'Me 262' Lately?

Screenshot from 'Flight Check Fighters' video

 Maybe this pic doesn't strike you the way it does me... but a guy pulling a handle on a rope that's attached to something inside the engine on an Me 262 definitely makes me go, hmmm (out loud). 

 Let's back up a minute here. Since my dad passed away recently, I've been going thru boxes of stuff he'd accumulated over the years.  In a recent box, I found a 2 DVD set from 2007 titled ‘Flight Check Fighters' - ‘The How-To-Fly Series' that's available from TimelessVideo.com.  These 2 DVD's have tons of actual footage from military training films that show you about everything you need to know to properly fly the P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-61, and the Me 262.  It's a great set that you should seriously consider adding to your collection.

 It was the Me 262 that caught my eye on the package right away.  So I tossed the DVD in the computer and start watching an actual German training film on the first jet aircraft to go into service in WWII. Cool stuff.

 I'm just watching away thinking this is pretty amazing to see (and I'm thinking, wow, the crazy mechanical nightmare that were the aircraft from that era!).  After a bit, an instructor is showing a student about the throttles and engine controls when a third guy walks up and grabs a handle on a rope located right at the hole in the bullet in the middle of the nacelle. Then, he starts yankin' on it!  I'm thinking, what the heck?!  Is this some kind of crazy pull-start pre-rotator for the compressor? What in the world is he doing?

Delaware Valley Historical Aviation Association Museum - Horsham, PA. Photo: http://www.williammaloney.com/

  <Air Victory Museum - Lumberton, NJ
Photo:  http://www.williammaloney.com/

 Well, my friend ‘Mr. Google' helped me out... and I found out something very interesting.  Seems the Germans engineered a small 10hp 2-stroke 2-cylinder gas engine into the nacelle to use as the starter for the turbine when a ‘cart' wasn't available!

 So, the guy is actually pull-starting that little gas engine, which then spins the compressor enough to fire up the turbine engine.  I think that's just cool, crazy, and topped off with more cool! I never knew the Me 262 was really a 4 engine, turbine/2-stroke hybrid!  Also very interesting to note that these early turbines had a TBO of only about 25 to 50 hours!  Ouch! 

 The upper picture above shows a 2-place version of the Me 262 from the Delaware Valley Historical Aviation Association Museum in Horsham, PA.  This beautifully restored aircraft makes it easy to see the pull ring in the center of the nacelle, and the 2-stroke is nestled inside the 'bullet'.   

 The lower pic is from the Air Victory Museum in Lumberton, NJ and shows the little Riedel 2-stroke engine on the front end of a Junkers Jumo 004 engine (with the center ‘bullet' removed).  Apparently this 2-stroker could be started from the cockpit via electrics, and the pull start option was for back-up. The large 'pull' ring is clearly visible here.  Looking close at the 2-stroke engine design, and the compressor blades behind it, it's fascinating to see how little has changed in 65 years.  Materials and details have improved greatly, but the basic concepts are very similar. 

 Pretty stinkin' cool stuff all the way around. Just goes to show that you never know what you don't know! Keep this in mind the next time you're at a sweet aviation museum.  Dig a little deeper into the displays cuz you just don't know what cool tidbit is just waiting for you to discover : )