Heavy Metal
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3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The Douglas DC-7 was the last major piston-engine airliner produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company and represented the peak of long-range, propeller-driven commercial aviation before the jet age took over. Fast, elegant, and ambitious, the DC-7 helped bridge the gap between the classic airliners of the 1940s and the jetliners that followed in the late 1950s. It used 4 × Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone turbo-compound radial engines.
Douglas DC-7 - Wikipedia
Douglas DC-7 - Wikipedia
DC-7.
A beauty ... hang some jet engines on it, you probably some pretty close (ignoring avionics) to stuff rolling out of Boeing today. Coast-to- coast across US, Atlantic Ocean as well. NON-stop. Big, fast, luxurious, passengers loved 'em.
The first, US-made passenger jet was the Boeing 707, technically superior in many respects (bigger, faster, higher-flying, more luxurious) to any prop plane at the time, it could NOT make a transatlantic flight non-stop when it first flew in 1958.
But like you said @3175375 ... shortly after came the jets in the late 1950's. Btw, the de Havilland Comet, a British plane, was the world's first passenger jet in service in 1953.
source: Douglas DC-7: Piston Powered From Coast to Coast
TheWright_R-3350_Duplex-Cyclone. Wound up being used in a lotta military and civi applications. Reliability issues, like all the other mighty radials of the era.
"The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly 3,350 cubic inches (54.9 L). Power ranged from 2,200 to 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on model.
Developed before World War II, the R-3350's design required a long time to mature, and was still experiencing problems with reliability when used to power the Boeing B-29 Superfortress."
A beauty ... hang some jet engines on it, you probably some pretty close (ignoring avionics) to stuff rolling out of Boeing today. Coast-to- coast across US, Atlantic Ocean as well. NON-stop. Big, fast, luxurious, passengers loved 'em.
The first, US-made passenger jet was the Boeing 707, technically superior in many respects (bigger, faster, higher-flying, more luxurious) to any prop plane at the time, it could NOT make a transatlantic flight non-stop when it first flew in 1958.
But like you said @3175375 ... shortly after came the jets in the late 1950's. Btw, the de Havilland Comet, a British plane, was the world's first passenger jet in service in 1953.
source: Douglas DC-7: Piston Powered From Coast to Coast
TheWright_R-3350_Duplex-Cyclone. Wound up being used in a lotta military and civi applications. Reliability issues, like all the other mighty radials of the era.
"The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly 3,350 cubic inches (54.9 L). Power ranged from 2,200 to 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on model.
Developed before World War II, the R-3350's design required a long time to mature, and was still experiencing problems with reliability when used to power the Boeing B-29 Superfortress."
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3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The rare Boeing 747 tanker…. In the 1970s trials were conducted using a modified 747 prototype (seen here with an SR-71, B-52 and another 747 (the SR-71 was a dry boom test as the SR-71 uses JP-7 fuel)
Eventually 4 tanker variants were built and sold to Iran.
Eventually 4 tanker variants were built and sold to Iran.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The Convair Tradewind was an interesting flying boat from the 1950s. Only 2 prototypes and 11 production models were built in 2 variants before engine issues forced cancellation of the programme.
6 were converted into mid air refuelling tankers. In 1956 a Convair Tradewind became the first tanker to simultaneously refuel 4 aircraft (in this case Grumman F9F Cougars)
Convair R3Y Tradewind - Wikipedia
6 were converted into mid air refuelling tankers. In 1956 a Convair Tradewind became the first tanker to simultaneously refuel 4 aircraft (in this case Grumman F9F Cougars)
Convair R3Y Tradewind - Wikipedia
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
WWII, Cleveland Tank Plant, Ohio - These M4 Sherman tanks are in final step of production where they receive their turrets and guns. These Sherman tanks have the stronger welded hull.
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
M4 Sherman tanks roll off the assembly line at the American Locomotive Company in January 1943
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
You can see that the 3rd tank doesn’t have treads, with a stack of them on the right.
mopar preferred
Active Member
And the second one only partially on.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
Royal Navy F-4 of 892 NAS going down forward lift HMS Ark Royal. Phantom servicing was carried out on the upper hangar deck, and Buccaneers on the lower. Hot places in tropical climes.
They had to swing the radome open to get the jet down the elevator. Crazy!
They had to swing the radome open to get the jet down the elevator. Crazy!
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
Tiger I heavy tank being assembled in a factory in Germany, 1944.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The Boeing 747 SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) was a joint project of NASA and the DLR (German Aerospace Center) that used a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft to operate as a flying astronomical observatory.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The XB-52 prototype sits on the flight line during its early development phase, with a smaller X-4 experimental aircraft in the foreground and a massive B-36 Peacemaker visible in the background.
Notably, the XB-52 features its original tandem-seat “bubble” canopy, a design reminiscent of Boeing’s earlier B-47 Stratojet.
This configuration was later replaced in production models with a side-by-side cockpit arrangement, better suited to the operational needs of the emerging jet-powered strategic bomber.
The story of the XB-52 and YB-52, the prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s 'beautification' of the US Air Force Museum - The Aviation Geek Club
Northrop X-4 Bantam - Wikipedia
Notably, the XB-52 features its original tandem-seat “bubble” canopy, a design reminiscent of Boeing’s earlier B-47 Stratojet.
This configuration was later replaced in production models with a side-by-side cockpit arrangement, better suited to the operational needs of the emerging jet-powered strategic bomber.
The story of the XB-52 and YB-52, the prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s 'beautification' of the US Air Force Museum - The Aviation Geek Club
Northrop X-4 Bantam - Wikipedia
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
This is incredible. Lacey Lady is planning to take to the skies again!
From Gas Station Landmark to Iconic Warbird Restoration: The Remarkable Revival of B-17 Flying Fortress "Lacey Lady" - Vintage Aviation News
From Gas Station Landmark to Iconic Warbird Restoration: The Remarkable Revival of B-17 Flying Fortress "Lacey Lady" - Vintage Aviation News
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
They made only 12 of these and only four made it till the end of war.
Heinkel He-111Z Zwilling landing in Naples, Italy.
Notice the three engines already shut down. July 1943.
And what do you see in the background?
Heinkel He-111Z Zwilling landing in Naples, Italy.
Notice the three engines already shut down. July 1943.
And what do you see in the background?
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
(2/6/1985) The space shuttle Enterprise, mated to an external tank and solid rocket boosters, rests on the launch mount next to the access tower at Space Launch Complex Six, Vandenberg Air Force BaseDOD Image TSGT Doug Gruben
The Enterprise on the 747 flew right over my parents house in Ventura while I was mowing the lawn…
The Enterprise on the 747 flew right over my parents house in Ventura while I was mowing the lawn…
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The Republic XF-12 Rainbow was a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed in the 1940s for the U.S. Army Air Forces. The sharp nose and cylindrical cigar shape of the XF-12 fulfills a designer's dream of a no-compromise design with aerodynamic considerations. It was capable of flying at over 450 mph—exceptional for a piston-engine aircraft of its time. Despite its advanced design, it was cancelled after just two prototypes due to the rise of jet-powered aircraft.
Republic XF-12 Rainbow - Wikipedia
Republic XF-12 Rainbow - Wikipedia
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
The Tupolev OOS was a Soviet concept for an air-launched, single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane. Its proposed carrier, the Antonov AKS, featured two An-225 fuselages joined by a center wing and powered by 18 Progress D-18T engines mounted above and below the wings. Designed in the late 1980s, the project never moved beyond the design phase.
3175375
Old Man with a Hat
At the Flettner PLANT Fl.282s newly built at the flight line. By 1943, two dozen Fl.282 were built, which were used to cover convoys in the Mediterranean and in the Aegean.
Flettner Fl 282 - Wikipedia
Flettner Fl 282 - Wikipedia
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