The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

Proper use of a jet there. Now America needs to top it with an F-22 video.
 
Hows this for an obscure plane: the Curtiss YA-10:


"butbutbut," you say, "Republic/Fairchild made the A-10! And Curtiss hasn't been around for like, ever!"


Well, this one was from a different time:

Curtiss_YA-10.jpg


And then there was it's water-cooled brother, the A-8:

CurtissA8.jpg


And their updated brother, the A-12:

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And their experimental twin engined cousin, the XA-14:

XA14.jpg



On a somewhat related side note, 1930's U.S. Liveries FTMFW:

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Here's a good one:

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Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Kangaroo
 
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Their achievements really are amazing when you stop and think about them.

They also designed and carved their own wooden propellers, and had a purpose-built gasoline engine fabricated in their bicycle shop. They thought propeller design would be a simple matter and intended to adapt data from shipbuilding. However, their library research disclosed no established formulas for either marine or air propellers, and they found themselves with no sure starting point. They discussed and argued the question, sometimes heatedly, until they concluded that an aeronautical propeller is essentially a wing rotating in the vertical plane.[45] On that basis, they used data from more wind tunnel tests to design their propellers. The finished blades were just over eight feet long, made of three laminations of glued spruce. The Wrights decided on twin "pusher" propellers (counter-rotating to cancel torque), which would act on a greater quantity of air than a single relatively slow propeller and not disturb airflow over the leading edge of the wings.

Wilbur made a March 1903 entry in his notebook indicating the prototype propeller was 66% efficient. Modern wind tunnel tests on reproduction 1903 propellers show they were more than 75% efficient under the conditions of the first flights, and actually had a peak efficiency of 82%. This is a remarkable achievement, considering that modern wooden propellers have a maximum efficiency of 85%.

The Wrights wrote to several engine manufacturers, but none met their need for a sufficiently lightweight powerplant. They turned to their shop mechanic, Charlie Taylor, who built an engine in just six weeks in close consultation with the brothers. To keep the weight low enough, the engine block was cast from aluminum, a rare practice for the time. The Wright/Taylor engine was a primitive version of modern fuel-injection systems, having no carburetor or fuel pump.

The Flyer cost less than a thousand dollars, in contrast to more than $50,000 in government funds given to Samuel Langley for his man-carrying Great Aerodrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers#Flights

And this is all coming from men who stated out hoping that their work would just lead to a small piece of the puzzle that someone else would use to figure out how to unlock the mysteries of powered flight.

If you're at all interested in the Wright Brothers and their achievements I highly recommend reading Miracle at Kitty Hawk. It's a rare opportunity to get inside the minds that made powered flight possible.



Yes, I was born in Dayton, Ohio. Why do you ask?
 
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How much is 1000$ in todays money? (or is it todays money?)
 
My best Googling reveals that building a house in 1903 would have cost between around $4000 and $15000 dollars. If that's correct then the Wright Brothers built their Flyer on the very very cheap.
 
This gives something between $20k and 58k. If you look at other measures it is even more. A great achievement in any way.
 
Yes, I was born in Dayton, Ohio. Why do you ask?

I love the battle between Ohioans and N. Carolinians with the "first in flight" thing. I have a friend also from Dayton that loves pointing out the Wright's actually did all their work in Dayton.

Wilbur made a March 1903 entry in his notebook indicating the prototype propeller was 66% efficient. Modern wind tunnel tests on reproduction 1903 propellers show they were more than 75% efficient under the conditions of the first flights, and actually had a peak efficiency of 82%. This is a remarkable achievement, considering that modern wooden propellers have a maximum efficiency of 85%.

I never knew this bit of info and it is astounding on multiple counts. Wilbur's estimate shows that they obviously weren't as familiar with the subject as they could have been and probably thought. That just makes it even more amazing that the propeller they created, the first aircraft propeller, was so efficient. Mind = blown.
 
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Am I the only one that thinks the dreamlifter is pretty cool?

Nope, you're not the only one. It's like a backwards Super Guppy that doesn't look awkward.
 
I love the battle between Ohioans and N. Carolinians with the "first in flight" thing. I have a friend also from Dayton that loves pointing out the Wright's actually did all their work in Dayton.

They were trying to beat Samuel Langley and had to go out of state for the flights because the weather sucks this time of year in Ohio. :p
 
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My g/f lives right under the final approach for Paine Field which is where Boeing has their 787 production line. Subsequently she gets to enjoy me freaking out every few days when I spot the dreamlifter. She really doesn't appreciate it when I'm driving... :D
 
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