The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

[Lieutenant47]

There's nothing like taxiing by a C-5 and a 747 in a Cessna 172 to make you feel really small.

Don't.

It's all a matter of perspective. If you were driving a [insert make, model and year of your favorite sportscar here] and pulled into a rest stop past an 18-wheeler big rig and a luxury custom motorhome tour bus, would you still have the same feelings of inadequacy? I doubt it; and I'd be willing to bet that if given the chance at that moment, the pilots of those big-iron heavies would trade seats with you in a heartbeat, just for the fun of flying and given the chance.

Years ago, when I was flying P-3's, I knew a P-3 pilot who had a Stearman and asked him once which one he preferred to fly. Without hesitation, he said, "The Stearman... no contest. That's REAL flying. Driving this thing (referring to the P-3) is more like driving a bus." And my Dad (WWII B-17 pilot and later on, United Air Lines DC3, DC-6, DC-7, B720, B727 pilot) used to say the same when comparing the thrill, freedom and fun of flying whatever private plane we happened to own at the time versus whatever big iron he was hired to fly.

[nsx_23]

You owned a private plane

[Lieutenant47]

You owned a private plane

Yeah, we had several while I was growing up. At first, my Dad went in with 3 other pilots and bought several as a group, with the intention of fixing them up and selling them for a profit, while enjoying flying them in the meantime. Stinson gull-wing, Waco Cabin bi-plane, Cessna 120. The Stinson was my personal favorite, but eventually, it got to be too much of a hassle, as all the pilots (inclding my Dad) just didn't have enough free time to do what really needed to be done, so they dissolved the partnership, and split up the money they had. We then bought a nice little Piper Tri-Pacer 150, had it recovered in Ceconite and painted up in EAA White, Blue and Gold colors. Really a sweet little bird. I was overseas in the Navy most of the time, so my Dad and two brothers mostly flew it, and when my Dad retired, it wasn't getting flown much and he decided to sell it. Being overseas at the time, I was in no position to buy them out myself, so they sold it, and that was the last family-owned airplane we had. Now that I'm retired myself (from the Navy, at least) I don't fly enough to make owning a plane worthwhile, so I rent whenever I want to fly. Cessna 152's and 172's, Piper Cherokees, Archers and Arrows mostly, though for a while I had a chance to occasionally fly an Aeronca Champ for my taildragger fun.

[nsx_23]

I is insanely jealous right now.

And on another note:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ch-pilots.html

Ryanir - Proof that retards can lead a company. Then again, this is the daily fail.

[KaJuN]

[Viper007Bond]

Via Jalopnik comments:

[Ramseus]

[SpitfireMK461]

What engine is that?

[vikiradTG2007]

What engine is that?

Nozzle makes me think it's the engine off a F-22 Raptor... quick wiki-ing brings up the P&W F119 engine.

[Clockwerk]

What engine is that?

I think it is the Pratt and Whitney f119 engine for the F-22 Raptor.


Edit: haha... I'll add that it appears to be a time lapse photo of the engine thrust vectoring.

[Blackout89]

What engine is that?

I was wondering the same thing, but my best guess would be the Pratt & Whitney F119 from a F-22 Raptor.

Edit: Clockwerk was faster ...

[SpitfireMK461]

Indeed I believe it is. I was confused by what appears to be, as mentioned, a time lapse.

[KaJuN]

These planes are awesome because in just under a year's time I'm going to be working on them at sunny RAF Mildenhall.

[Chaos]

Because I go to UC Riverside, I'm near the March ARB and get to see these as well as C-17s do their runs.

[Blayde]

[nsx_23]

Nothing quiet like some engineering equations to tell the world you're a nerd.

Maybe they should've put the Navier-stokes equation instead?

[KaJuN]

All that brain power and they still chose a Pontiac Grand Am...

[Lieutenant47]

All that brain power and they still chose a Pontiac Grand Am...

Brains do not equal common sense

[nsx_23]

I still maintain this is better for a bumper sticker:





On another note, at the end of the year I'm thinking of flying either this:



or



or



Decisions, decisions. They're all about the same price.

So FGers, which one should I fly?

[Strelok16]

909th post!

Relevant big huge massive picture that will bomb slow connections





stop looking at me like that!