Monday, May 21, 2012 at 07:47AM I could listen to this amazing and beautiful airplane fly all day long!
(to watch in HD: hit play, then look for the 'gear' icon in the lower right of
the video window & select 1080p... click 'fullscreen' and enjoy!)
Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:47AM 
Yesterday's post about the flying machines in the awesome Marvel Comics movie The Avengers (in theaters now, check local listings : ) has us in a superhero kind of mood... and that's perfect for this Caption Contest winner! Cograts to 'Tailgear' for getting the most votes and securing a bacon sandwich at OSH12 for the effort. And just as important, Pancake Man finally gets some recognition!
The Flying Pancake theme was used to good advantage in the captions offered up this time around, tho I'll have to say that the Round EZe concept was a great one too!
The Vought V-173 Flying Pancake is one of the most unusual airplanes ever designed and built, and it actually flew pretty darn well. I've been planning to do an extensive feature on the aircraft but haven't got it done yet. Til then, you may wanna go check out some very nice pix of the recently restored V-173 at this Zone-Five.net modeling forum post. You might also wanna check out this page from the Dallas NBC5 TV station that includes a video and info on the V-173 from its recent arrival at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas where the restored V-173 will be on display for the next 10 years (on loan from the National Air & Space museum)
More avgeek caption fun on the way on another Monday morning when the time seems right... watch for it.
Friday, May 18, 2012 at 09:38AM 
(click pic to enlarge) The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in the hot Marvel movie The Avengers
(4pix)
Have you ever noticed how much Hollywood is in love with the idea of VTOL aircraft? I guess it's a logical desire... who wouldn't want a flying machine that can do anything and everything? We'd all love to have aircraft that have no limits, but so far, that's just not our reality. Not even close. And that huge flying aircraft carrier above from the excellent and in-theaters-now Marvel movie The Avengers is probably the biggest suspension of reality you're gonna find. It's called the Helicarrier, and while it looks awesome and very believable on screen, can you even imagine the thrust requires to lift a 250 million pound boat? Me either.
But movies like Avatar and The Avengers aren't meant to be based in the reality we live in every day, and that's exactly why we love them so much. And love The Avengers I did... so much that I saw it twice in less than a week! There are very few movies I've done that with. If you haven't seen it yet I suggest you make plans for this weekend to go experience it - I can't imagine you being disappointed. It's a masterpiece of weaving a story together and keeping you engaged and entertained at every moment. And, it has quite a few flying machines in it as well to keep the avgeek happy. I saw it in both 2D and 3D and honestly I found the 2D to be just as enjoyable. So if you're not into wearing funky sunglasses indoors, I'd suggest you go flat and watch the 2D version.
(click pic to enlarge) Helicarrier lift fans (and they're not sucking in everything in sight?)
Monday, May 7, 2012 at 08:16PM 
Jimmy Doolittle in the Curtiss R3C-2 that he won the 1925 Schneider Cup race with
The same Jimmy Doolittle that led the raid on Tokyo in 1942 (that we just remembered with the 70th reunion) also won the Schneider Cup air race in this Curtiss R3C-2 about 17 years earlier. He was an amazing man and pilot living in an amazing era... an era that I admit I wish I had been born to live in. Aviation from the 20's thru the 50's evolved in way that I honestly find hard to believe. And seeing airplanes like this Curtiss R3C-2 stirs my emotions in a way that honestly that no airplane designed in the 60 years can do. So many of the aircraft designed and built in the 20's and 30's have something that I believe is very, very special deep in their DNA. It's a Rocketeer quality of design and construction that today's aluminum or composite flying machines can't come close to touching. You may not agree, but to me, THOSE were the days!
So this post is really about celebrating the design mentality that conceived and built a water-cooled, 665hp V-12 powered floatplane that looked stunning from every angle. Oh, and in 1925, the R3C-1 version (with wheels instead of floats) was the fastest airplane in the world at 248.9 mph! Interestingly, that wheeled version set a record that was only about 3 mph faster than the best record set by Doolittle in the float version at 245.7 mph.
I've included two short videos here that I found with actual Schneider Cup racing footage. I find this to be incredible imagery to watch. To think of how far aviation had come in such a short time literally boggles my mind. I hope you get something out of all this incredible history that took place just 22 years after the Wright Brothers.
Lastly, the RC3-2 was actually a military aircraft, and you can see a CoolPix of it with Jimmy Doolittle here that I posted back in July of 2010. And, if you wanna see the real thing, good news... it's at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. (more R3C-2 info here on the NASM blog)
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 09:12PM
You might be surprised that I usually don't know what I'm gonna post here on AirPigz until I sit down to make it happen. Today, I went looking for an interesting video to post and somehow I wound up finding some fun C-5 Galaxy videos that I thought were well worth seeing. The first two are from youtuber delpillar and are both viewable in 1080p HD. They are fairly similar in their view but both are really cool to watch in HD full screen mode. And I never get tired of gearing that signature C-5 whine as the engines spool up!
The C-5 is a fascinating aircraft to see up close in the takeoff phase and these two videos give some very nice footage of that with an extremely smooth pan. I especially like watching the elevator deflect and then looking to see the nose rotate. I'm a freak for those kind of details. You'll also the the main gear trucks rotate 90 degrees as they retract in the first video above. You can see a little more about that amazing C-5 feature by scrolling down the page in this Oshkosh 2010 post.
This second video is very similar but just as enjoyable... especially if you go 1080p, full screen, and study the details.
This last video from youtuber Stevo71 is a view from right behind one of the aft gear trucks on a C-5 as it taxis and then takes off. The actual takeoff roll doesn't start til about 1:50 but you might still wanna watch all the taxi footage as you'll see that aft truck pivot significantly in the tighter turns. Very cool stuff to see! And then after airborne you'll see all the main legs rotate 90 degrees before tucking up inside the fuselage. Then the doors close and everything gets dark! It's another really cool view that you've probably never seen before.
Lastly, I posted a video a while back of a large RC model C-5 that includes the amazing rotating gear legs on it as well... no small feat for an RC model to be sure: Video: Amazing Electromechanics In This RC C-5 Galaxy (Must See) - I highly recommend you check that video out too to complete your little excursion into the finer details of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy : )
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 08:14AM 
(click pic for hi-res) Navy F-35C aircraft #'s CF-1 and CF-2 in formation flight
The first formation flying done by two of the Navy versions of the the Lightning II (F-35C) was completed recently as these sweet hi-res pix show. Plus, don't miss the video at the bottom of the post for the official Lockheed Martin footage of the event. I don't know about you, but I think those lightning bolts on the fins is one of the coolest graphic treatments on a fighter in a long time... it just looks hot!
And while there are loads of people out there beatin' up on the F-35, I'm still thinking it's all gonna work out fine. The world is very different than when an aircraft like the F-14 was developed. Everybody is an expert these days with an opinion that they think is worth listening to, and an internet connection to allow them to spout off. Did you know that the massively successful F-14 program actually lost the prototype aircraft on the second flight? Now there's a setback to come back from... and that's exactly what the people at Grumman did.
Today we know about program details than we honestly have no right to know about, and often we know them immediately, or nearly so. The truth is if you want a jet fighter that can fill three very different roles with one basic airframe platform, and you want it to have a stealth design, AND you want one of them to have VTOL capability... there's really only two words that can describe this: expensive and difficult. In my little tiny opinion, the F-35 program is doing just fine.
(click pic for hi-res) Navy F-35C variants in formation flight with the gear down
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 06:29PM Doolittle 70th Anniversary Formation Flight aboard 'Grumpy' from Liz Matzelle on Vimeo
I was fortunate to be over at the Doolittle Reunion on Tuesday April 17th for the arrival and static display of 20 B-25's on the runway behind the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio - see the post with 14 pix here. It was an amazing experience seeing so many B-25's gathered at one (fascinating) place, and during such an important time... the 70th anniversary of the courageous efforts of Jimmy Doolittle and 79 others as they pulled off a pivotal mission against the odds. (Doolittle Raid wiki)
Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the mass flyover and memorial service taking place the next day Wednesday April 18th, the actual anniversary date of the raid. However, this video from the vimeo account of Liz Matzelle shows some great views of the event from the perspective of the B-25 'Grumpy' operated by the Historic Flight Foundation.
I only count 19 B-25's in the video when they're seen from a ground camera, so one may not have been able to make the flight, but wow, what a sight in 2012 seeing so many Mitchells in the air at once! A very fitting tribute the men of the Doolittle Raid.
Friday, April 20, 2012 at 09:44PM
The videos from the youtube channel of Flying Machines TV are consistantly amazing, and this one of the Red Bull P-38 Lightning flying at the 2011 Duxford Flying Legends event in England is no exception. In my mind, the P-38 is one of the most beautiful and unique aircraft ever built. And while I'm usually all about having a 'stick' for controlling an aircraft, I find the yoke setup in the P-38 to be oddly fascinating... and the cockpit views of this flight show that yoke quite nicely.
The Lockheed P-38: mmmm
Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 10:05PM 
(click pic for hi-res)
Words aren't really needed here... it's just an opportunity to soak in the shapes, colors, textures, and overall beauty of a classic aircraft in the early morning sun and dew. (be sure to click the pic for the hi-res version)
Enjoy.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 03:48PM 
20 B-25's on the runway behind the Air Force Museum on Tuesday April 17, 2012
(14 pix)
The weather couldn't have been any better for the big gathering of B-25's at the Air Force Museum today for the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. The B-25's arrived early in the morning, shortly after sunrise and in beautiful still air. These aircraft had been gathering for the last several days at Grimes Field about 30 miles northeast of Dayton in Urbana Ohio, but today was the day for them to come to the museum site and be put on display to help the public remember a courageous mission carried out by 80 men in 16 B-25's on April 18, 1942... a mission that was extremely risky and had more to do with building moral for the war effort back home (and showing the Japanese that America was both willing and ready to fight) than in actually inflicting a lot of collateral damage.
I had hoped to be able to get deeply connected to the activities at Grimes Field and at the Air Force Museum for this large-scale (and possibly last) Doolittle Reunion, but as it turned out I could only make it to the events of today. I don't know if there's ever been more than 20 B-25's gathered at once in the past, but as you can imagine, the perfect weather, the Air Force Museum location, and the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid have made this a very historic event.
So here are a total of 14 images from today to give you an idea of what this event looked like. And if you aren't really familiar with the details of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, I recommend you check out this account from the U.S. Navy website, it's a great concise history of the event. The wiki page on the raid is also a good resource.
This week's gatherings help us all to celebrate and pay tribute to the brave men who participated in the raid, including the five that are still alive today... I believe four of them are attending this reunion. Please check out this Air Force Museum page for more info on the events taking place yet this week.
The lead B-25, Larry Kelley's Panchito arriving shortly after sunrise on the runway behind the Air Force Museum. The air was still with a few high clouds and lots of sunshine. It couldn't have been any nicer for the mass arrival of 20 B-25's for this historic gathering.
The b-25 Barbie III just after touchdown with the awesome Air Force Museum in the background. After all 20 of the aircraft landed they were all parked wingtip to wingtip on the same runway.
The crewmembers from all of the aircraft gathered right after their arrival for some official photographs for the event. The bright sun and long shadows show it was early in the morning, and Champaign Gal looked great in that sunshine.
