Weird planes

[Idris2002]

Westland P.12. I'm sure somebody thought it was a good idea.

 

[DownwardDog]

interesting that that POS killed a few people. I wonder how many people these abominations have racked up between them? Has to be in the 1000s I'd have thought

I think the Gloster Meteor would have to be the #1 pilot killer of all time. Right through the 50s and 60s the RAF crashed one a week on average. Norman Tebbit almost died flying one and had to batter his way through the jammed canopy of a burning Meteor with his hands.

 

[DotCommunist]

orman Tebbit almost died

so close! the reaaper must vote right, he's spared tebbit and farage. Must have been his day off when airey neave got exploded

 

[Idris2002]

I think the Gloster Meteor would have to be the #1 pilot killer of all time. Right through the 50s and 60s the RAF crashed one a week on average. Norman Tebbit almost died flying one and had to batter his way through the jammed canopy of a burning Meteor with his hands.

Maybe he should have stuck to biking.

 

[2hats]

The Airlander 10 'Flying Bum', largest current flying aircraft, was out and about on a test flight from Cardington yesterday (more here):

Technically a hybrid so just qualifies for the thread. Broadcasting ADS-B so shows up on tracking websites.

e2a: better image to highlight the nickname...

 

[mauvais]

I think the Gloster Meteor would have to be the #1 pilot killer of all time. Right through the 50s and 60s the RAF crashed one a week on average. Norman Tebbit almost died flying one and had to batter his way through the jammed canopy of a burning Meteor with his hands.

That does seem to be spectacular.

Meteor Accident Statistics - PPRuNe Forums

1. 150 total losses in 1952
2. 68 lost after running out of fuel
3. 23 lost doing official low level aeros displays
4. 890 lost in total
5. 436 fatal accidents between 1944 and 1986.

They only built 4,000!

Although it looks like the Starfighter - which I would have guessed as the worst - might still eclipse that, percentage wise. Canada lost 46% of theirs.

 

[Chz]

The difference being that I don't believe the Meteor was being unfairly abused outside of its designed role.

The F-104 was designed as a pure interceptor. So Canada and Germany decided to turn them into low-level attack aircraft instead. It wasn't entirely surprising how many of them ended up as lawn darts.

I've seen some evidence that suggests the F-84 (in both its guises) was the most dangerous military aircraft. In the West, at least.

 

[existentialist]

The difference being that I don't believe the Meteor was being unfairly abused outside of its designed role.

The F-104 was designed as a pure interceptor. So Canada and Germany decided to turn them into low-level attack aircraft instead. It wasn't entirely surprising how many of them ended up as lawn darts.

I've seen some evidence that suggests the F-84 (in both its guises) was the most dangerous military aircraft. In the West, at least.

In German, they were "ground nails"

 

[Idris2002]

WTF was this?

 

[DownwardDog]

WTF was this?

Payen PA-20

 

[Idris2002]

Payen PA-20

And did it 'Payen' off for Goering and Shicklegruber?

 

[DownwardDog]

And did it 'Payen' off for Goering and Shicklegruber?

It was French but captured by the Germans hence the Balkankreuzen on it. It paid off for the designer, M. Payen, who is considered the father of the delta wing.

 

[oneflewover]

Saw two of these fly over York yesterday afternoon. Definitely

weird planes

 

[DownwardDog]

Really more unusual than weird but the Antonov An-225 was at Doncaster a couple of days ago:

225 production is restarting with Chinese money. With this and the Saudi An-132 order the Ukranian civil aircraft industry is somehow doing better than the Russians.

China and Ukraine agree to restart An-225 production | IHS Jane's 360

 

[gosub]

Odd. Air freight is not in the best of health at the mo

 

[hot air baboon]

...not so much how did that get off the drawing board as how did it get on there in the first place...?

 

[DownwardDog]

Odd. Air freight is not in the best of health at the mo

I think it's a vanity project to some extent. The An-124 is pointless now that the 747-8F can lift up to 140t on a fraction of the fuel but how big is the 150t+ market? Not very I would say...

 

[Idris2002]

German jet bomber with forward swept wings;

 

[A380]

...not so much how did that get off the drawing board as how did it get on there in the first place...?

Ultra STOL. The normal Lysander didn't need much space to take off. I bet this could have hovered in a stiff breeze. But probably had a top speed about the same as a horse?

 

[Idris2002]

A Spitfire, adapted for the purpose of transporting beer to the troops at the front in Normandy.

 

[existentialist]

A Spitfire, adapted for the purpose of transporting beer to the troops at the front in Normandy.

What did they do, drop it on them?

 

[Idris2002]

What did they do, drop it on them?

"Mouths open, lads, he's circling back for another run".

 

[spitfire]

Beer Bombs: Britain's Keg-Carrying Spitfires of World War Two - Urban Ghosts Media

According to the Spitfire Site: “the Heneger and Constable brewery donated free beer to the troops. After D-Day… there was no room in the logistics chain for such luxuries as beer or other types of refreshments. Some men, often called “sourcers”, were able to get wine or other niceties “from the land” or rather from the locals. RAF Spitfire pilots came up with an even better idea.”

Pylons mounted beneath the wings of Spitfire Mk IX fighters, designed to carry fuel tanks or bombs, could be modified to carry kegs of beer. In some cases, an adapted version of a long range fuel tank was also used for ale carriage and even received an official designation, Mod. XXX. Spitfire Site reports how aircraft equipped with the necessary beer keg mountings or Mod. XXX often had to return to the UK for “maintenance” or “liaison duties”, only to arrive back in Normandy carrying vital supplies for the war effort – chilled to perfection at 2,000 feet.

It wasn’t long, however, before Britain’s HM Customs and Excise caught on and warned the brewery that it was violating the law by exporting beer without paying tax. And as Spitfire Site reports: “It seems that Mod. XXX was terminated then, but various squadrons found different ways to refurbish their stocks. Most often, this was done with the unofficial approval of higher echelons.”

 

[DownwardDog]

Yak-38U. A very low stress flying experience as the pilot had to remember not to roll it past 60deg from vertical or they would get automatically ejected.

 

[mrs quoad]

Saw two of these fly over York yesterday afternoon. Definitely

weird planes

You've just reminded me that I saw those two, too. Wondered what was going on!

 

[HAL9000]

Yak-38U. A very low stress flying experience as the pilot had to remember not to roll it past 60deg from vertical or they would get automatically ejected.

Forger

I read some where that the soviets lost a large number of these planes compared to the number built. Quick look around on the internet, automatic ejector seat being one cause.

 

[Lancman]

I remember watching the carrier operations of these aircraft from a Nimrod in the Mediterranean sometime in the '70s. Odd looking things.

 

[ferrelhadley]

B 36 6 piston driven pusher engines and 4 jet engines.

The wings were so thick at the root a man could stand up inside them. Its empty weight was 75 tonnes.

The victory bomber was a very serious project by Barnes Wallis

But the performance of the Merlin engine meant that Lancasters could do a similar job as it was designed for.

 

[ferrelhadley]

The OTRAG rocket was a german scientist's (Lutz Kayser) very odd plans with very odd countries to build a rocket.

Terrible mass fraction but mass producing loads of a little stages and bundling them together with the aim of a very cheap rocket.

 

[steveo87]

When you balls up on an Airfix kit and think 'fuck it' and carry on regardless.