Heavy Metal

More about the immensity of the B-36:

The B-36 Peacemaker. It was not a small aircraft, just look at the size of that tire!

The tricycle landing gear of the XB-36 included single-wheel main gear with the largest tires ever made at the time. Each tire measured 9 feet 2 inches (2.79 m) tall, 3 feet (0.91 m) wide, and weighed 1,320 pounds (600 kg), containing enough rubber to produce 60 automobile tires.

Due to the excessive loads of each main landing gear wheel, they were replaced with a 4 tire truck.

XB-36 Landing Gear

I believe the only airfields that the B-36 could land on were Ft Worth (where the factory was) and Wichita.

Experiments with tracks also were carried out.

Crazy stuff during the rapid maturation of aviation!

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A-5A Vigilante of Heavy Attack Squadron VAH-1 "Smokin' Tigers" being launched from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CVA-60) during operation "Long Horn", 1964.

VAH-1 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW-7) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVA-62). Note the Kaman UH-2A Seasprite plane guard helicopter in the background.

North American A-5 Vigilante - Wikipedia

167 built. I never saw one fly, but have seen a couple on static display. I believe there’s one at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. Wife and I are heading there later this month…8^)

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On the 19th of October, 1962, the USS Ranger (CVA-61) was helping to film a documentary about carrier pilots. The ship was entering San Francisco Bay, and two VF-96 Phantoms were being readied for launch. The film shot was supposed to capture a Phantom being launched off the deck, then climbing away over the Golden Gate, however, something occurred that delayed the launch enough that when the Phantom left the carrier, the pilot was faced with a whole lot of Golden Gate in front of him. Without any time to waste, the F-4 pilot flew directly, and through no fault of his own, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.



Read more: The Bridge
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3175375 said:
Pratt & Whitney is on a quest to fly a new style of propulsion system – a rotating detonation engine (RDE). They are highly efficient, power-dense, and compact, allowing for longer range.

RTX's Pratt & Whitney completes series of rotating detonation engine testing

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yource: More power, no moving parts: the quest to fly a rotating detonation engine


couldnt find peformance data, so while they say it works in a lab, that still a wayws from using it to fly around with people. Worth keeping an eye on though.

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thirteen minutes about the tehnologyy in general.
 
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Grumman Guardian - first carrier based anti submarine aircraft.

Did you know we once had a Grumman Guardian in our museum collection? Check out this #TBT photo of N9995Z from 1985!

Before being donated, it was owned by Aero Union Corporation and served as part of their aerial firefighting fleet, alongside four other copies

Grumman AF Guardian - Wikipedia

EAA Aviation Museum | Oshkosh, Wisconsin

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Change of pace. This got my attention today only because I lived in Paris with my family form 1994 to 1998. Been in an out of Gare Du Nord (North Station) dozens of times.

Smack dab in the heart of Paris. 200 million people per year go through this terminal every year. TGV, too

They found something that been there for 80 years. An unexploded bomb, 500 kg (1/2 a ton) , included 200 kg (like 450 pounds) of explosives They diffused it.

IF it could have still detonated, probably woulda been kinda bad. They are still finding unexploded WW I and WWII ordinance in UK, France, Germany, and Poland over a century later

Gives one pause.


source: Paris train services to resume after WW2 bomb defused
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Enormous 100-ton barrels of 15-inch Mark I naval guns at the Coventry Ordnance Works, dated September 1917. Just under 200 of these guns were made.

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During World War II, the Japanese considered developing a massive seaplane known as the Kawanishi KX-03 due to the naval blockade that was depriving the home islands of many critical resources. For size comparison, with two behemot American, the Hughes H-4 Hercules and Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.

Here’s a discussion regarding the project or idea:

Kawanishi KX-03 giant 500-ton flying boat

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Blackbird Airpark, Palmdale, CA.

My daughter is an aero engineer at Lockheed. I kept touching the planes. She kept slapping my hand .. role reversal from 35 years ago. :poke:

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The Martin-General Dynamics RB-WB-57F is an extensively modified version of the Martin B-57 Canberra, itself a license-built version of the British English Electric Canberra bomber.



Massive Wingspan: Featured a 122-foot (37 m) wingspan, significantly larger than the original B-57's 64-foot (19.5 m) wings.



Powerful Engines: Equipped with two Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engines, replacing the original turbojets for better high-altitude performance.

Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra - Wikipedia

3 still active and being flown by NASA

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SR 71 & A12


some "old man in a hat" wandered in the pic - "Who am I? How did I get here? Why is that lady taking my picture?
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