Ernie P.

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Still lots to choose from at this point, but I'll take a shot. So far, the Caproni Vizzola F.5 seems to fit all the clues. I wasn't aware it fascinated anyone, but... Thanks; Ernie P.


The Caproni Vizzola F.5 was an Italian fighter aircraft built by Caproni. It was a single-seat, low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable landing gear.

The F.5 was developed in parallel with the Caproni Vizzola F.4, with which it shared a common airframe. Design began in late 1937 by a team led by F. Fabrizi. The aircraft had a welded steel-tube fuselage and wooden wing; the fuselage was covered with flush-riveted Duralumin, while the wing had a stressed plywood skin. The F.5 (standing for Fabrizi 5) had a two-row 14-cylinder Fiat A.74 R.C. 38 radial engine, unlike its cousin the F.4, which Fabrizi and his design team intended to be powered by a water-cooled engine. The F.4 project was not pursued immediately because the Italian Air Ministry held its proposed engine in disfavor, but development of the F.5 continued.

The F.5 prototype first flew on 19 February 1939. The aircraft displayed very high maneuverability during official testing, prompting an order for both a second prototype and 12 pre-production models. The last of the pre-production aircraft was selected for use as a prototype in a renewed F.4 program, but the rest of the F.5 order was delivered to the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force).

No F.5 production models were built as Caproni decided to produce the more developed Caproni Vizzola F.6M fighter instead.

The Regia Aeronautica assigned the 11 pre-production F.5 fighters to the 300° Squadriglia, 51° Stormo for operational use. By 1942, they were serving as night-fighters in the 167° Gruppo.

The F.5 was offered to foreign customers. It has been said that the Aeroplani Caproni subsidiary in Peru acquired the license rights for local manufacture, but no F.5s ever were built in Peru.

perttime

Nope, not what I have in mind...
It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.

perttime

It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.

6) Apparently, this design influenced subsequent designs in the countries that evaluated it.
7) Among other perfarmance-increasing features, the design incorporated an experimental cooling system. It proved "temperamental" and was abandoned in the second batch of "pre-Production" aircraft.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

That fifth clue keeps nagging at me. I have a feeling I'm going to kick myself when the answer is known. Curtiss maybe? Thanks; Ernie P.

wallace.tharp

Great info on the A-10. As I type this, I am on Barry Goldwater Bombing range waiting for 2 A-10s to come down from D. M. AZ and play a little drop the bomb & shoot em-up. Been doing the Range Control Officer on contract for the USAF for 8 years. Air Traffic control and pilot background. I went to work at Edwards RAPCON, Ca in Oct of 1974. As luck would have it we were testing the A-10. Was quite an airplane then and it still is. USAF has plans to replace it, but they have had plans to do so before. Pilots all love it. You really have to see it do ground attack up close to appreciate it. Army guys and other grunts worship it, and justly so. Quite an airplane!! wallace.tharp

perttime

It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.

6) Apparently, this design influenced subsequent designs in the countries that evaluated it.
7) Among other performance-increasing features, the design incorporated an experimental cooling system. It proved "temperamental" and was abandoned in the second batch of "pre-Production" aircraft.

8) Armament consisted of a mix of Cannon and Machine Gun. Armed prototypes had more than the pre-production aircraft.

I wouldn't be surprised

perttime

It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.
6) Apparently, this design influenced subsequent designs in the countries that evaluated it.
7) Among other performance-increasing features, the design incorporated an experimental cooling system. It proved "temperamental" and was abandoned in the second batch of "pre-Production" aircraft.
8) Armament consisted of a mix of Cannon and Machine Gun. Armed prototypes had more than the pre-production aircraft.

9) With the unusual cooling system, it was seriously fast. With a pretty normal radiator, it was right up there with the best of its time.

perttime

It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.
6) Apparently, this design influenced subsequent designs in the countries that evaluated it.
7) Among other performance-increasing features, the design incorporated an experimental cooling system. It proved "temperamental" and was abandoned in the second batch of "pre-Production" aircraft.
8) Armament consisted of a mix of Cannon and Machine Gun. Armed prototypes had more than the pre-production aircraft.
9) With the unusual cooling system, it was seriously fast. With a pretty normal radiator, it was right up there with the best of its time.

10) One of the countries that evaluated this design soon ended up fighting against the country where it was produced.

perttime

It is an aircraft ...

1) It seems to fascinate a lot of people.
2) It did not go into large scale production.
3) Prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built. Not quite sure about numbers - about 20, or so.
4) A dozen of the aircraft were used in a defensive role.
5) Authorities at home didn't want it - but two other countries showed interest and purchased some prototypes and pre-production aircraft for evaluation.
6) Apparently, this design influenced subsequent designs in the countries that evaluated it.
7) Among other performance-increasing features, the design incorporated an experimental cooling system. It proved "temperamental" and was abandoned in the second batch of "pre-Production" aircraft.
8) Armament consisted of a mix of Cannon and Machine Gun. Armed prototypes had more than the pre-production aircraft.
9) With the unusual cooling system, it was seriously fast. With a pretty normal radiator, it was right up there with the best of its time.
10) One of the countries that evaluated this design soon ended up fighting against the country where it was produced.

11) None of the aircraft is known to have survived to the present day. There's a mockup replica in a museum in USA.

zippome

How about the Heinkel He 100??
Thanks, Zip

perttime

Heinkel He 100 is correct!
You're up, zippome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_100
"it seems safe to accept the RLM version of the story largely at face value; that the production problems with the DB series of engines were so acute that all other designs based on the engine were canceled. At the time the DB 601 engines were being used in both the Bf 109 and Bf 110 aircraft, and Daimler couldn't keep up with those demands alone."

There's a pretty good collection of He 100 photos and other images in this gallery on Photobucket:
http://s286.photobucket.com/user/jg5...?sort=3&page=1

Logan Hartke has made some (to me) interesting What-If profiles, based on the He 100:
http://comradeloganov.deviantart.com/gallery/36273612

I'm attaching a small copy of relatively subtle one...

zippome

Ok, let's see if I remember how to do this...

1. Only 2 prototypes were built.
2. Single engined.
3. That engine was quite powerful for it's day. And large.

Thanks !
Zip

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Ouch! Yep.... Thanks; Ernie P.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

XB-70 Valkyrie????

Ken

zippome

Not the XB-70, but that is one beautiful bird.

1. Only 2 prototypes were built.
2. Single engined.
3. That engine was quite powerful for it's day. And large.
4. Built to carry a new powerful weapon .
5. Was probably the largest single engined aircraft of it's time. (Era might have been a stretch)



Thanks !
Zip

zippome

1. Only 2 prototypes were built.
2. Single engined.
3. That engine was quite powerful for it's day. And large.
4. Built to carry a new powerful weapon .
5. Was probably the largest single engined aircraft of it's time. (Era might have been a stretch)
6. The engine was an unusual design and the manufacturer only built 6.
7. Did I mention it was a biplane?




Thanks !
Zip

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

How about the Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo? It was to carry a new type of torpedo and it had an unusual engine. Thanks; Ernie P.




The Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo was a prototype Britishbiplanetorpedo bomber of the 1920s. Built by Blackburn Aircraft and intended to carry a large 21 in (533 mm) torpedo, the Cubaroo was one of the largest single-engined aircraft of the world at the time of its first flight.

In 1921, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 8/21 to Blackburn for a Coastal Defence Torpedo Aeroplane, the resulting design was designated the T.4 Cubaroo. Due to the change of policy in the Air Ministry to favour a twin-engined design a new sepcification was issued in 1922, the British Air Ministry drew up Specification 16/22, for a long-range torpedo bomber capable of carrying a 21 in (533 mm) torpedo (which was at the time thought capable of sinking the largest warship) over a range of 800 mi (1,300 km). Major F. A Bumpus, chief designer of Blackburn Aircraft submitted the design for the Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo, which was a large biplane powered by a single example of the new 1,000 hp (750 kW) Napier Cubengine. Avro also submitted a design against this specification, the Avro 557 Ava, which was a similarly large biplane, powered by two 600 hp (450 kW) Rolls-Royce Condor engines.

In order to carry the heavy (over 2,000 lb/907 kg) torpedo over a long range, the Cubaroo was massive. With a wingspan of 88 ft (27 m), it may have been the largest single-engine military aircraft in the world at the time, and was fitted with the most powerful aircraft engine available, the Napier Cub, which was an unusual X-type engine which weighed over a ton excluding radiators. The Cubaroo, with a mainly metal structure, had a deep fuselage to accommodate the Cub engine, and was fitted with folding, two-bay wings. In order to allow the torpedo to be carried, the Cubaroo was fitted with a main undercarriage comprising two sets of two wheels, with the torpedo being carried on a crutch between the two sets of wheels.

The first prototype (with serial N166) flew in secrecy in the summer of 1924, proving to have good handling characteristics, with the engine not causing problems (the Cub had already been test flown in an Avro Aldershot test bed). It was then fitted with a metal, three-blade adjustable-pitch propeller and was delivered for testing at RAF Martlesham Heath, but was written off after its undercarriage collapsed on 2 February 1925. A second prototype flew in 1925, but the Air Ministry abandoned the requirement for a torpedo bomber to carry the 21 in (533 mm) torpedo, and lost interest in single-engine heavy bombers, so the second prototype Cubaroo was used as an engine test bed, flying with the experimental 1,100 hp (820 kW) BeardmoreSimooncompression ignition engine.

zippome

That's IT! Ernie nails it again!
The name Cubaroo seems a bit silly for a warplane, but I guess ya gotta call it something. I have this mental picture of Cubby from the OLD Mickey Mouse club as the Pilot with a Mickey Mouse Eared flying helmet. Or was that TMI?

Thanks!
Zip

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

<chuckle> Zip; it's just nice to know I'm not the only one left who remembers Cubby. And Annette, And Spin & Marty. I'll dust off one of my reserve questions and post it tonight. Thanks; Ernie P.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Okay; let's switch to the men, rather than the machines. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like almost all noted aces, he was a natural marksman. Unlike many, he was also a naturally gifted pilot.

(2) And like most very successful aces, he practiced incessantly.

Redback

Mick Mannock??

Terry

Mein Duff

Georges Guernemeyer?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. Perhaps this morning clue will help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like almost all noted aces, he was a natural marksman. Unlike many, he was also a naturally gifted pilot.

(2) And like most very successful aces, he practiced incessantly.

(3) He also did exercises to improve his eyesight and to sharpen his reflexes.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. Perhaps this morning clue will help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like almost all noted aces, he was a natural marksman. Unlike many, he was also a naturally gifted pilot.

(2) And like most very successful aces, he practiced incessantly.

(3) He also did exercises to improve his eyesight and to sharpen his reflexes.

uncljoe

My Feedback: (8)

Chuck Yeager