Aircraft Picture Thread

[Steve@Tasca]

I missed WWII. I was meant to be there.

I feel that way as well but to be quite honest I'm very glad that I did miss it but there's just something about that period in history.

-Steve

 

[mavisky]

P-38's and A-10's have always been my favorites by far. F14 and F15 coming in close behind though.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

Hey look, I started a thread without starting a thread.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

Here's one that doesn't get enough attention,

 

[AF09GT]

Little known fact, the Flying Tiger squadron still exists today. They are flying A-10's now, the one posted by ford20 is one of them. They are stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. I also had the privilege to meet Tex Hill about 15 years ago. It was an experience of a lifetime to meet a WW2 ace!

 

[Greg Hazlett]

My grandfather who I never met was a member of the Flying Tigers and was killed while stationed in China; my Dad put together a lot of his stuff like patches, ribbons, etc.

 

[FastDarkHorse]

Planes of Fame in Chino,Ca

Also a little G4 nose art.

 

[Herknav]

I went to High School and college with Claire Chennault's great grandnephew. He even sorta looked like him.

Here's one that doesn't get enough attention,

The Jug is one of my favorites. I love the simplicity of the concept: biggest engine in the smallest airframe with a ton of guns hung on it. Awesome.

 

[retfr8flyr]

A friend of my fathers flew the Jug in WWII and he had a favorite saying. When you had a picture taken to send home, you wanted it taken in a P-51 but when you flew into combat you wanted to be in a P-47. He had some great stories about missions in the European theater. I would sit and listen to him for hours when he and my dad got together.

 

[mpm_1]

One of the things I love about where I live is I'm directly south of Camp Atterbury, a military training base that includes an aerial bombing / strafing range.
There are no planes stationed there but various national guard units fly in to use it.

It's very common to have fighter jets run training routes that come right over / beside the house, often at pretty low altitudes, sometimes banked in a sharp turn depending on route.

If I'm home when a group flies in I will stop what I'm doing to go take it in and wave my arms like an excited kid at the low ones.

In the past it was predominately F-4s and F-16s, but with A-10s being more frequent the last few years.

The F-16s just absolutely scream. It is an awesome, house rattling experience when one goes whipping by overhead. Have also seen the vapor clouds form off the wings as they turn. When back lit by the sun it is a site to behold.

The A-10s look more like they are lumbering by comparison, but their engines make a very distinct sound when they bank. There is no mistaking when an A-10 lights up its nose gun. At something like 65 rounds a second it's more like a giant ripping sound than the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun. And damn do they come over low sometimes. I love it when they wing dip in response to my arm waves.

 

[tjm73]

I have always admired the A-10 and would love to see one flying and demonstrating it's armaments (non-live fire of course).

This made me laugh...

 

[Bingo]

Much awesomeness. My grandfather got me interested in aviation at a young age. Here are some pics of stuff he's made over the years of the scale variety...

And my humble little dream plane...

 

[Paps]

Not a fighter, but here is the plane i work on.
ATR 42-600's

We have a fleet of 9 ATR 42 and 72 that fly about a hundred islands in french polynesia.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

My grandfather who I never met was a member of the Flying Tigers and was killed while stationed in China; my Dad put together a lot of his stuff like patches, ribbons, etc.

Very cool although sad he didn't make it back. This is my right shoulder.



Yes, it's an old tattoo, needs to be redone.

-Steve

 

[Steve@Tasca]

How about the A-10s daddy, the Skyraider.




Found this little tidbit interesting, "Most operational losses were due to the tremendous power of the AD. ADs that were "waved-off" during carrier recovery operations were prone to perform a fatal torque roll into the sea or the deck of the aircraft carrier if the pilot mistakenly gave the AD too much throttle. The torque of the engine was so great that it would cause the aircraft to rotate about the propeller and slam into the ground or the carrier."

-Steve

 

[Herknav]

A1D is a flying bomb truck. Tougher than hell too.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

Very cool stuff in your post Bingo.

 

[waylander]

How about the A-10s daddy, the Skyraider.




Found this little tidbit interesting, "Most operational losses were due to the tremendous power of the AD. ADs that were "waved-off" during carrier recovery operations were prone to perform a fatal torque roll into the sea or the deck of the aircraft carrier if the pilot mistakenly gave the AD too much throttle. The torque of the engine was so great that it would cause the aircraft to rotate about the propeller and slam into the ground or the carrier."

-Steve

and the spiritual grandfather of the A10 (together with the uncles):

 

[Steve@Tasca]

Nice.

Let's not forget the ground attack versions of the B-25,

 

[weather man]

Quite a few variants of the B-25G.