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Detroit, 6:11 AM
Sat Dec 5
26 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Turboner Turboner
    12/04/09

    In reply to Captain Piccard's Solar Powered Plane Flies, Kinda
    Didn't the kittyhawk fly almost that far without battery assistance? ;)
     Reply
    Turboner was starred Turboner was unstarred
    Image of DoctorNine DoctorNine
    12/04/09

    In reply to Captain Piccard's Solar Powered Plane Flies, Kinda
    So its fuselage is made of duct tape then?
     Reply
    DoctorNine was starred DoctorNine was unstarred
    Image of Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
    12/04/09

    In reply to Captain Piccard's Solar Powered Plane Flies, Kinda
    Way cool. Good luck to them.
     Reply
    Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet was starred Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet was unstarred
    Image of Elhigh Elhigh
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    Imhoff's got stones. He built a supercar and then puts his own butt on the line when he climbs in and fires it up.

    But let's be very real - if Ken screws up, he doesn't fall out of the sky. Engine quits, you just step out, swear a few times and flip open the phone for AAA. If O'Hara has a sudden headslap moment - I tied a granny knot in the throttle control cable! - stepping out of the vehicle doesn't happen right away. There may not be time to flip open the phone.

    If I could have my druthers I'd want full-scale but that may just be sour grapes talking - I haven't done anything 1/10th this awesome, ever.

    Mad props, Jim - counter-rotating ones!
     Reply
    Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred
    Image of coupeZ600 coupeZ600
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    My Dad was 17 when the U.S. entered WW II after Pearl Harbor, and while he signed up wanting to go fight, because he already knew how to fly he was made an instructor and never left the States until the war was already over. This caused an amazing amount of bitterness, because they kept telling him they would transfer him to a combat unit, but never did. Only about 20 years ago did he realize this might have been a really good thing.

    So he flew a P-38 trainer, a two-seater like the ones pauljones and Ash78 have posted below, and his job was pretty simple: Take the new guy with him for a couple of days while the rest of the class/squadron played "Follow The Leader", then move that guy to his own P-38 at the back of the line. Take the guy that had moved up all the way to right behind him over to HQ, where they would make up a squadron of the other instructors graduates, who would then learn formation flying while getting the last of their hours ferrying themselves and some new planes to the Pacific or European meat-grinders. Grab a new guy, put him in the seat behind him and go scare the hell out of him while trying to ditch the rest of the class. Get him into a plane at the back of the line, and repeat, for one war. Since his bosses didn't really care where he went as long as he got some flight-hours into the guys, he'd just go exploring, all over Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada (he was based in Kingman and Yuma, AZ), even taking his row of ducks deep into Mexico a few times. All this helped a ton when after the war he got a degree in mining engineering and was sent out into the middle of BFE on mining explorations and prospecting trips for Phelps-Dodge.
     Reply
    Edited by coupeZ600 at 11/23/09 2:41 PM coupeZ600 was starred coupeZ600 was unstarred
    Image of evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    This fellow is my new hero.

    If the he didn't like such an agreeable chap, I bet he'd think Bob Lutz is a pussy.

    You hear that Bob?! Your next A4 Skyhawk better be built by your own hands in your shed out back.
     Reply
    Edited by evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars at 11/23/09 2:19 PM evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars was starred evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars was unstarred
    Image of Hart88 Hart88
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    Simply awesome. My understanding is that these things weren't easy to fly, either, so two thumbs up.
     Reply
    Brian promoted this comment Hart88 was starred Hart88 was unstarred
    Image of Brian Brian
    11/23/09

    @Hart88: According to my Grandpa, they were wonderful to fly. You just had to be really careful in a dive. At a certain speed threshold you couldn't recover and would auger in and the plane got there quickly!
     Reply
    Brian was starred Brian was unstarred
    Image of Jes St.Lawrence Jes St.Lawrence
    11/23/09

    @Brian: Correct. Later versions featured flip-up flaps to keep the thing from tipping over in a dive.

    MiG-15's had the same problem, but it's a lot easier to become crater dust at jet speeds than prop speeds.

    P-38 pilots also tended to get cold because the engines were in separate nacelles.
     Reply
    Jes St.Lawrence was starred Jes St.Lawrence was unstarred
    Image of baldheadeddork baldheadeddork
    11/23/09

    @Brian: The trickiest part with any of these WWII era fighters was at the low and slow end of the envelope. If you could avoid being shot down, the most dangerous part of flying these planes was landing them. Any kind of engine problem on landing or immediately after takeoff was likely to cause a fatal crash.

    The P-38 was better in one way because of the tricycle landing gear arrangement, but the twin engines did not improve safety if you lost power in takeoff or landing. The P-38 did not have enough rudder to maneuver with one engine at low speeds. If you lost power at a low speed, even a hiccup, any attempt to change the heading would put the plane into a spin.
     Reply
    baldheadeddork was starred baldheadeddork was unstarred
    Image of fodder650 fodder650
    11/23/09

    @baldheadeddork: Although I think the dive problem mentioned above was more a case of the plane getting close to the sound barrier. Where it would lose its control forces needed to pull it out of the dive.
    Im just thinking how small the cockpit was on a full size P38 and what that has to be like on a 2/3 scale one
     Reply
    Brian promoted this comment fodder650 was starred fodder650 was unstarred
    Image of Brian Brian
    11/23/09

    @fodder650: Yup, you're exactly right. The P-38 reached Mach I very quickly in a dive and once that happened, goodbye Charlie.

    #tips
     Reply
    Brian was starred Brian was unstarred
    Image of Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car!
    11/23/09

    @Brian: Actually, the whole issue wasn't that it reached Mach 1 in a dive, as a matter of fact, I am fairly certain that never happened. It is called Compressibility. At high speeds, the center of lift moved towards the back of the aircraft, exacerbating a nose-down attitude condition.
     Reply
    Brian promoted this comment Edited by Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! at 11/23/09 10:12 PM Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! was starred Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! was unstarred
    Image of Brian Brian
    11/24/09

    @Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car!: That may be true in that control surfaces were rendered useless before it reached the speed of sound. However, there are many anecdotes of the P-38 producing a sonic boom before cratering.

    #tips
     Reply
    Brian was starred Brian was unstarred
    Image of KeyserSoze KeyserSoze
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    This is amazing... I'm gonna build a 2/3 scale USS Ronald Reagan in my basement so in case he needs to land somewhere in the Atlantic, he'll have a spot to do so. What a stud. I wonder if he has a transformers edition Camaro...
     Reply
    Tanshanomi promoted this comment KeyserSoze was starred KeyserSoze was unstarred
    Image of Flathead Smith Flathead Smith
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    I just realized my life has been a waste thus far.
     Reply
    Flathead Smith was starred Flathead Smith was unstarred
    Image of econobiker econobiker
    11/23/09

    @Flathead Smith: As long as you retire with a good pension as a college professor you'll have the time to work on stuff like this...
     Reply
    Flathead Smith promoted this comment econobiker was starred econobiker was unstarred
    Image of TR3-A TR3-A
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    I am a mere 61 years old. My hero!

    BTW - Just a note to you young guys (and gals) out there. Yes, there is much that is lost as one ages but there is much that is gained. The blessings of age have been a pleasent surprise to me. There ARE many delights, most astonishing and astounding. And those things lost seem rather trivial.

    My grandmother used to say, "The day you stop learning is the day you start dying."
     Reply
    coupeZ600 promoted this comment TR3-A was starred TR3-A was unstarred
    Image of CptSevere CptSevere
    11/23/09

    @TR3-A: Clicky.
     Reply
    coupeZ600 promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred
    Image of Tanshanomi Tanshanomi
    11/23/09

    @CptSevere: Agreed. I keep thinking my chances to do what I've dreamed of are over at 46. Thanks for the reality check.
     Reply
    Tanshanomi was starred Tanshanomi was unstarred
    Image of YankBoffin YankBoffin
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    Amazing stuff. This actually gives me optimism about growing old. This...and Bob Lutz.
     Reply
    YankBoffin was starred YankBoffin was unstarred
    Image of CptSevere CptSevere
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    A Fork Tailed Devil. The Germans may never have really called it that, but it's still a great name for a P-38. Simply awesome.

    I have a P-38 too, but it's just a can opener.
     Reply
    coupeZ600 promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred
    Image of OldElvis OldElvis
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    Takes some serious cojones to fly a plane you build yourself. If you build your own car and it doesn't work, you're on the ground. in a plane?
     Reply
    danio3834 promoted this comment OldElvis was starred OldElvis was unstarred
    Image of danio3834 danio3834
    11/23/09

    @OldElvis: Home built planes are actually an extremely popular/ cost effective way to fly.

    Every year, the EAA convention in Oshkosh, WI is host to hundreds of manufacturers of home-built plane kits and hundreds of thousands of people interested in flying.

    Somehow, I don't think this guy put together his P-38 replica from a kit. So badass.

    Ray, may I suggest you hire an Editor to focus on Planelopnik? You should really have someone covering this stuff more intensely.
     Reply
    danio3834 was starred danio3834 was unstarred
    Image of rigwiggler rigwiggler
    11/23/09

    @OldElvis: ... you're still on the ground.
     Reply
    Tanshanomi approved this comment rigwiggler was starred rigwiggler was unstarred
    Image of Tanshanomi Tanshanomi
    11/23/09

    @rigwiggler: ...took me a minute. But very good.
     Reply
    Tanshanomi was starred Tanshanomi was unstarred
    Image of danio3834 danio3834
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country
    Lemme guess, hes the father of the basement Lambo guy.
     Reply
    Edited by danio3834 at 11/23/09 11:04 AM danio3834 was starred danio3834 was unstarred
    Image of FTGDWolverineEdition'09 FTGDWolverineEdition'09
    11/23/09

    In reply to 81-Year-Old Builds Replica World War II Fighter, Flies Cross-Country

    Mad respect yo.
     Reply
    FTGDWolverineEdition'09 was starred FTGDWolverineEdition'09 was unstarred
    Image of Franzouse Franzouse
    11/23/09

    @FTGDWolverineEdition'09: +1000, you made my day.
     Reply
    Edited by Franzouse at 11/23/09 11:11 AM Franzouse was starred Franzouse was unstarred
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