The "Santa Maria"
07-31-2007 | 08:08 PM
#1
The "Santa Maria"
Okay , are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. i was at the airport today here in Albuquerque picking up the wife and there has been for years, an excellent display of model planes. Several hundred in glass cases. I get their maybe once every six months depending on who is coming or going. This time I noticed a huge frame with a photo and a story. It was about the italian airforce wanting to get in on th epublicity back in the 20's and 30's.
Some italian hero (I forgot his name) supervises a build on a plane to take him around the world. Now you need to vision this photo in your heads. It looked like a big wing, with a pair of "catamarans sp?) attached underneath probably 20 ft apart or so which both sides also acted as dual cockpits . Now on top of this POS is an engine setup similar in function of a cessna sky master. front prop rear prop.
So this thing gets airworthy and flown over and comes up from south america towards the usa making appropriate stops for fuel along the way. it gets to texas, san antonia making its way toward new mexico and lands at elephant butte lake. So with full fuel and supplies, it won't lift off due to the altitude. They keep removing supplies until it finally gets airborne and heads to arizona.
Over there it lands on some lake with problems but nothing serious. So they hire some kid to come fuel the thing up. he does but unknowingly to the pilots , he dumped quite a bit of fuel in the water. So all these onlookers see this strange plane in the lake and come over with their boats to check it out. One of the guys in a boat chucks his cigarette into the lake. Sets the fuel on fire and blows up the plane!
people were looking at me while I was laughing my ***** off.
Some italian hero (I forgot his name) supervises a build on a plane to take him around the world. Now you need to vision this photo in your heads. It looked like a big wing, with a pair of "catamarans sp?) attached underneath probably 20 ft apart or so which both sides also acted as dual cockpits . Now on top of this POS is an engine setup similar in function of a cessna sky master. front prop rear prop.
So this thing gets airworthy and flown over and comes up from south america towards the usa making appropriate stops for fuel along the way. it gets to texas, san antonia making its way toward new mexico and lands at elephant butte lake. So with full fuel and supplies, it won't lift off due to the altitude. They keep removing supplies until it finally gets airborne and heads to arizona.
Over there it lands on some lake with problems but nothing serious. So they hire some kid to come fuel the thing up. he does but unknowingly to the pilots , he dumped quite a bit of fuel in the water. So all these onlookers see this strange plane in the lake and come over with their boats to check it out. One of the guys in a boat chucks his cigarette into the lake. Sets the fuel on fire and blows up the plane!
people were looking at me while I was laughing my ***** off.
07-31-2007 | 08:44 PM
#2
My Feedback: (90)
RE: The "Santa Maria"
This must be the one you are referring to, the Savoia Marchetti S.55:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoia-Marchetti_S.55
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/SAVMARS-55.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoia-Marchetti_S.55
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/SAVMARS-55.htm
07-31-2007 | 08:55 PM
#4
RE: The "Santa Maria"
Thats it!! I went looking on the net but nothing. The photos in the airport were real and looked worse than your pictures here. These photos make it look like a real nice plane. THose others looked like a real POS.
