Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Johnny, that really is a very good answer; although it isn't correct. Maybe this will help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

(1) This aircraft was a revised version of an earlier aircraft, which had a history of some worrisome problems.

(2) Nevertheless, both this aircraft and it’s predecessor had long service lives; although not necessarily in their original role.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

(1) This aircraft was a revised version of an earlier aircraft, which had a history of some worrisome problems.

(2) Nevertheless, both this aircraft and it’s predecessor had long service lives; although not necessarily in their original role.

(3) The predecessor aircraft was famously copied by another country.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

B-50? Revised B-29, with better wing, engines, and landing gear. The Russians copied the B-29 with a different airfoil, basing the copy on B-29s that had gone astray and landed in the USSR. The B-50 ended its career as a hurricane hunter and tanker, the B-29 finished in recon, I think.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

You nailed it, Top_Gunn; the B-50 it is. Great job! And, you are now up. The B-50 performed well in the years after WWII; but is almost forgotten today. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

(1) This aircraft was a revised version of an earlier aircraft, which had a history of some worrisome problems.

(2) Nevertheless, both this aircraft and it’s predecessor had long service lives; although not necessarily in their original role.

(3) The predecessor was famously copied by another country.

(4) This aircraft had an interesting nickname, inspired by a comic character.

(5) Several hundred were produced.

Answer: The B-50 Superfortress




The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for the United States Air Force. Not as well known as its direct predecessor, the B-50 was in USAF service for nearly 20 years.
After its primary service with SAC ended, B-50 airframes were modified into aerial tankers for Tactical Air Command (KB-50) and as weather reconnaissance aircraft (WB-50) for the Air Weather Service. Both the tanker and hurricane hunter versions were retired in March 1965 due to metal fatigue and corrosion found in the wreckage of KB-50J, 48-065, which crashed on 14 October 1964.
Development of an improved B-29 started in 1944, with the desire to replace the unreliable Wright R-3350 engines with the more powerful four-row, 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp-Major radial engine.[3] A B-29A-5-BN (serial number 42-93845) was modified by Pratt & Whitney as a testbed for the installation of the R-4360 in the B-29, with four 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) R-4360-33s replacing the 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) R-3350s. The modified aircraft, designated XB-44 Superfortress, first flew in May 1945. The planned Wasp-Major powered bomber, the B-29D, was to incorporate considerable changes in addition to the engine installation tested in the B-44. The use of a new alloy of aluminum, 75-S rather than the existing 24ST, gave a wing that was both stronger and lighter, while the undercarriage was strengthened to allow the aircraft to operate at weights of up to 40,000 lb (18,000 kg) greater than the B-29. A larger vertical fin and rudder (which could fold to allow the aircraft to fit into existing hangars) and enlarged flaps were provided to deal with the increased weight. Armament was similar to that of the B-29, with two bomb bays carrying 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of bombs, and a further 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) externally. Defensive armament was 13 Χ .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (or 12 machine guns and one 20 mm cannon) in five turrets.

First flying in May 1945, the sole XB-44 proved 50–60 mph (80–97 km/h) faster than the standard B-29. (Available sources do not indicate how much of this increased speed was due to differing aircraft weight or to deleted armament.)
Revisions to the B-50 (from its predecessor B-29) would boost top speed to just under 400 mph (644 km/h). Changes included:
Larger engines
Redesigned engine nacelles and engine mounts
Enlarged vertical tail and rudder (to maintain adequate yaw control during engine-out conditions)
Reinforced wing structure (required due to increased engine mass, larger gyroscopic forces from larger propellers, greater fuel load, and revised landing gear loading)
Revised routing for engine gases (cooling, intake, exhaust and intercooler ducts; also oil lines)
Upgraded remote turret fire-control equipment
Landing gear strengthened and takeoff weight increased from 133,500 lb / 60,555 kg to 173,000 lb / 78,471 kg
Increased fuel capacity with underwing fuel tanks being added.
Improvements to flight control systems (the B-29 was difficult to fly; with increased weights the B-50 would have been more so).
Nose wheel steering rather than a castering nose wheel as on the B-29
Redesigned with a large upper fuselage grafted on, the B-50 design would form the basis for the Boeing 377 series of airliners and C-97/KC-97 military transports, with 816 of the KC-97 built. The B-29 and B-50 were phased out with introduction of the jet-powered B-47 Stratojet. The B-50 was nicknamed "Andy Gump" because the redesigned engine nacelles reminded aircrew of the chinless newspaper comic character popular at the time.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Today's clues. I hope this goes fast, because I don't have a lot to say about this aircraft.

1. A conversion of a civilian aircraft to military use.

2. Less than 40 of the first military version were produced, but subsequent military versions totaled several thousand.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Evening clue.

1. A conversion of a civilian aircraft to military use.

2. Less than 40 of the first military version were produced, but subsequent military versions totaled several thousand.

3. Twin engines.

Redback

Lockheed Hudson?

Terry

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Not the Lockheed Hudson, but I'm glad you asked, because I had forgotten that the Hudson, like the plane I'm looking for, started as a civilian design. Too late for thinking here, so I'll add another clue in the morning.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Several thousand? Well, that narrows it down a lot. How about the Apache? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 Chain Gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage. It has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
The Apache originally started as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra. The prototype YAH-64 was first flown on 30 September 1975. The U.S. Army selected the YAH-64 over the Bell YAH-63 in 1976, and later approved full production in 1982. After purchasing Hughes Helicopters in 1984, McDonnell Douglas continued AH-64 production and development. The helicopter was introduced to U.S. Army service in April 1986. The first production AH-64D Apache Longbow, an upgraded Apache variant, was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security; over 2,000 AH-64s have been produced to date.[SUP][3][/SUP]
The U.S. Army is the primary operator of the AH-64; it has also become the primary attack helicopter of multiple nations, including Greece, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands and Singapore; as well as being produced under license in the United Kingdom as the AgustaWestland Apache. U.S. AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its military conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip; British and Dutch Apaches have seen deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Not the Apache. It's morning, I'm more or less awake, and here's the clue that may make this a short quiz:

1. A conversion of a civilian aircraft to military use.

2. Less than 40 of the first military version were produced, but subsequent military versions totaled several thousand.

3. Twin engines.

4. A civilian version of the plane was featured in a popular TV show. Unlike the case of most TV shows about aviation, the actor who played the pilot actually flew the plane.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

You do realize how old some of us are, right? Or are you trying to get this answered in a hurry? Thanks; Ernie P.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Yeah, I'm that old too. Looking for a short quiz, because there aren't that many questions to ask about this plane. If this doesn't do it, I'll describe the structure of the wing.

JohnnyS

Beech 18?

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Not the twin Beech, but somewhat similar. Close enough guess to earn another clue:

1. A conversion of a civilian aircraft to military use.

2. Less than 40 of the first military version were produced, but subsequent military versions totaled several thousand.

3. Twin engines.

4. A civilian version of the plane was featured in a popular TV show. Unlike the case of most TV shows about aviation, the actor who played the pilot actually flew the plane.

5. Its unofficial nickname describes (though inaccurately) its structure and a make-believe version of its military role.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I'm pretty sure that I have this one, but since I dont' have a quiz ready and I'm way too busy this week to get a quiz put together I'm just going to see if anybody else can get it.

Ken

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Possible correction to clue no. 4: Although the actor who played the pilot in the TV show was a pilot, he did not do all of the flying in the show, and he may in fact not have done any of it, according to one source. My memory seems not to be as good as I remember it being back in the day.

1. A conversion of a civilian aircraft to military use.

2. Less than 40 of the first military version were produced, but subsequent military versions totaled several thousand.

3. Twin engines.

4. A civilian version of the plane was featured in a popular TV show. Unlike the case of most TV shows about aviation, the actor who played the pilot actually flew the plane.

5. Its unofficial nickname describes (though inaccurately) its structure and a make-believe version of its military role.

JohnnyS

Ah, yes. That gives it away: The "Bamboo Bomber" or Cessna AT-17 Bobcat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_AT-17_Bobcat

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

Yes, indeed! "Out of a clear blue western sky ... it's Sky King!" Used to watch that show on our neighbor's TV (we didn't have one). A friend of mine owned one of these after the war. Mice got into the wings and chewed up the rib stitches. He said it still flew OK, but the covering on the top of the wing ballooned up and looked weird. This must have been one of the last multi-engine planes with fabric covered wooden wings, but I don't know for sure.

You're up, JohnnyS.

JohnnyS

OK, here's a new one.

1. Six engines.
2. Only one completed.
3. Heaviest aircraft in its war.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Yep, I was correct. That was what my answer!!!!

Ken

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

As a young fellow, I had a crush on Penny. I thought she was almost as pretty as Annette; and almost as daring as the Jungle Girl. Ah, the days of our youth. FWIW, there seems to be a lot of opinion that Grant did, indeed, do a lot of the flying for the Sky King TV show. Thanks; Ernie P.


The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat was a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat aircraft. The AT-17 was powered by two Jacobs R-755-9 radial piston engines. The commercial version was the Model T-50, from which the AT-17 was developed.

The AT-17 was a military version of the commercial Cessna T-50 light transport. The Cessna Airplane Company first produced the wood and tubular steel, fabric-covered T-50 in 1939 for the civilian market, as a lightweight and low-cost twin for personal use where larger aircraft such as the Beech 18 would be too expensive. A low-wing cantilever monoplane, it featured retractable main landing gear and wing trailing edge flaps, both electrically actuated. The wing structure was built up of laminated spruce spar beams with spruce and plywood ribs. The fixed tailwheel is non-steerable and full-swivelling. The prototype T-50 made its maiden flight on 26 March 1939.

In 1940, the United States Army Air Corps ordered them under the designation AT-8 as multi-engine advanced trainers.

Thirty-three AT-8s were built for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and production continued under the designation AT-17 reflecting a change in equipment and engine types. In 1942, the U.S Army Air Force ( the successor to the Air Corps from June 1941 ) adopted the Bobcat as a light personnel transport and those delivered after January 1, 1943 were designated UC-78s. By the end of World War II, Cessna had produced more than 4,600 Bobcats for the U.S. military, 67 of which were transferred to the United States Navy as JRC-1s. In addition, 822 Bobcats had been produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force as Crane Is, many of which were used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.[2] The aircraft did not last long in North American postwar military service. Few (if any) Bobcats were in service with the United States Air Force when it was formed in September, 1947. Surviving military aircraft were declared obsolete in 1949.

Dubbed the "Bamboo Bomber" by the pilots who flew them, it was one of the aircraft featured in the popular television series "Sky King" of the early-to-mid 50s. The aircraft was replaced in later episodes by the T-50's successor, the all-metal Cessna 310.

Postwar, surplus AT-17s and UC-78s could be converted by CAA-approved kits to civilian standard aircraft allowing their certification under the T-50s original Type Certificate (ATC- 722, issued 3-24-1940). They were used by small airlines, charter and "bush" operators and private pilots. Some were operated on floats. By the 1970s, the number of airworthy aircraft had dwindled as they were made obsolete by more modern types and by the maintenance required by their aging wood wing structures and fabric covering. Since then, several have been restored by antique airplane enthusiasts.

In August 2009, FAA records show 378 T-50s, 10 AT-17s and 30 UC-78s are listed on the FAA registration database.

In the postwar years, Bobcats continued in military service with Brazil and the Nationalist Chinese.


Numerous references to Grant's flying skills came from co-workers, personal friends, and historian Kent Volgamore, who wrote the book for the Sky King DVDs. Volgamore clearly states Grant was a pilot, and started his flying career in a Waco 1929. In a 2006 interview with Airport Journal, Gloria Winters recalled that both Grant and her late husband were pilots.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

The Blohm & Voss BV 238? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat ("Flugboot") designed in the World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever flown when it first flew in 1944 in aviation and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis Powers in World War II.

The sole completed BV 238 was strafed and sunk while docked on Schaalsee. Sources differ in date, the attackers and the attack aircraft used.

According to American sources, the BV 238 V1 was destroyed while docked on Schaalsee in September 1944 by North American P-51 Mustangs of the US 361st Fighter Group. The lead Mustang, "Detroit Miss", was piloted by World War II pilot Lieutenant Urban "Ben" Drew, and another was piloted by William D. Rogers. This represented the largest aircraft to be destroyed during the war. Drew was told after the attack that he had destroyed a BV 222 Wiking (another large flying boat). He continued to believe this was the case until he was contacted by the BBC in 1974 for a documentary and told that their research had determined that the aircraft he had destroyed was actually the BV 238 V1, undergoing flight tests at the seaplane base at Schaal Lake.

German sources, based in part on the testimony of nearby inhabitants and Blohm & Voss employees– claim that the BV 238 V1 was discovered by the RAF between 23 April and 26 April 1945. The Allies were concerned that Hitler could use it to escape to South America and so an attack followed shortly afterwards. The aircraft was attacked by Hawker Typhoons, or Hawker Tempests. Their strafing set the engines alight and the aircraft burnt and sank with only part of a wing remaining above the surface.

According to the British, the attack happened on 4 May 1945. During the strafing the back of the flying boat broke and the forward part of the plane sank into the water.

JohnnyS

That's it! Well done Ernie!!

Over to you!

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you, Sir. Actually, you simply asked a question on a subject with which I am pretty familiar. Moving along, and since the men are always more interesting than the machines... Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird ace do I describe?

Clues:

(1) He was certainly the first in at least one category; and at the top of the lists in another.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Afternoon clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird ace do I describe?

Clues:

(1) He was certainly the first in at least one category; and at the top of the lists in another.

(2) He destroyed more enemy aircraft on the ground, than in the air.