Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
12-07-2019, 12:22 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
It is indeed the XB-19, later labeled the XB-19A when the radial engines were replaced. Until the B-36 came along it was the largest airplane ever made in the US. The Wikipedia entry is somewhat sparse, so here's a link to an excellent piece with some good photographs and links to further sources. This source says the XB-19A was in fact used as a transport; the Wikipedia piece gives the impression that using it as a transport may not have actually occurred.
https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/am...oug-1632864365
https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/am...oug-1632864365
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the “inter war” period.
12-08-2019, 03:04 AM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
A couple of clues today, to help jump start your search. Thanks; Ernie P.
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the “inter war” period.
5. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful airplane; one which is reminiscent of the later P-51.
6. It was intended to replace a biplane fighter.
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the “inter war” period.
5. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful airplane; one which is reminiscent of the later P-51.
6. It was intended to replace a biplane fighter.
12-08-2019, 05:27 AM
My Feedback: (6)
#5. Could open a can of worms, given the Brits were capable of building some really stunning looking airplanes then turn around in the same breath and make some truly ugly airplanes, Blackburn and Boulton-Paul had the ugly suitcased!
Sparky
Sparky
12-08-2019, 08:10 AM
as per: https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-t...ug-ugly-25834/
National Air and Space Museum archivist Brian Nicklas has formulated Nicklas’ Law of Aircraft Identification, whereby: “If it’s ugly, it’s British; if it’s weird, it’s French; and if it’s ugly and weird, it’s Russian.”
National Air and Space Museum archivist Brian Nicklas has formulated Nicklas’ Law of Aircraft Identification, whereby: “If it’s ugly, it’s British; if it’s weird, it’s French; and if it’s ugly and weird, it’s Russian.”
12-08-2019, 10:15 AM
as per: https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-t...ug-ugly-25834/
National Air and Space Museum archivist Brian Nicklas has formulated Nicklas Law of Aircraft Identification, whereby: If its ugly, its British; if its weird, its French; and if its ugly and weird, its Russian.
National Air and Space Museum archivist Brian Nicklas has formulated Nicklas Law of Aircraft Identification, whereby: If its ugly, its British; if its weird, its French; and if its ugly and weird, its Russian.
12-08-2019, 03:10 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
You all make good points, but we're only looking for one aircraft, and I think it's a pretty one. That having been said, and barring any dispute later, here's an evening clue to narrow your search. Thanks; Ernie P.
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the “inter war” period.
5. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful airplane; one which is reminiscent of the later P-51.
6. It was intended to replace a biplane fighter.
7. Which was, at the time, the main fighter aircraft of the nation which produced our subject aircraft.
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the “inter war” period.
5. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful airplane; one which is reminiscent of the later P-51.
6. It was intended to replace a biplane fighter.
7. Which was, at the time, the main fighter aircraft of the nation which produced our subject aircraft.
12-08-2019, 07:53 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
And BANG! Just like that, the new guy blows it out of the water. The Renard R.36 it is, Sir. At this stage of development, the Renard was, in my opinion, a bit sportier than the Hurricane that was license produced to take its intended place in the Belgian air force. And, it was, again in my opinion, a much better looking plane. What gave it away, Sir? You are now up and we're all looking forward to seeing your question. Well done, Sir! Thanks; Ernie P.
What warbird do I describe?
1. Sometimes very promising aircraft are stillborn.
2. For reasons that puzzle us in hindsight.
3. And this is one such aircraft.
4. It first flew in the inter war period.
5. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful airplane; one which is reminiscent of the later P-51.
6. It was intended to replace a biplane fighter.
7. Which was, at the time, the main fighter aircraft of the nation which produced our subject aircraft.
8. Our subject aircraft easily surpassed the existing fighters performance.
9. After nearly a year of testing, involving around 75 hours in the air, it was approved and ordered into production.
10. But shortly thereafter, the prototype crashed, killing the pilot.
11. An official investigation failed to uncover a conclusive cause for the accident.
12. There was no evidence of structural failure while in flight.
13. The most likely cause was that recently installed equipment had broken loose during stressful maneuvers; either injuring the pilot or damaging the controls.
14. The production order was then cancelled and the decision made to go with another fighter.
15. A fighter that was to become an icon.
16. Although it was itself overshadowed by another, even more iconic aircraft.
Answer: The Belgian Renard R.36
The Renard R.36 was a Belgian all-metal fighter aircraft designed to replace the Fairey Firefly II within the Belgian Air Force. Designed to improve on the Renard Epervier, which was never adopted by the Belgian government, the prototype R.36 first flew on 5 November 1937. Following testing the R.36 was approved by the Belgian Air Force in late 1938, with 40 aircraft provisionally ordered, to be delivered in two years. However, on 17 January 1939 the prototype, OO-ARW, crashed near Nivelles, killing pilot Lt. Viscount Eric de Spoelberch. The official investigation was inconclusive, no evidence of material failure being discovered, with the most probable causes being radio equipment coming loose during a high-G manoeuvre, jamming the controls, or the pilot becoming incapacitated. The airframe had accumulated 75:30 hours' flight time. The order was then dropped in favour of licence production of the Hawker Hurricane by SABCA.
Variants
R.36
Single-seat fighter powered by a 910hp (679kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine, one built.
R.37
Former unfinished R.36 evaluation aircraft completed with a 1100hp (823kW) Gnome-Rhτne 14N-21 radial engine, one aircraft captured by German forces in May 1940.
R.38
Another former unfinished R.36 aircraft completed with a 1030hp (771kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin II, first flown on 4 August 1939 and had a top speed of 326 miles per hour (525 km/h)), one built evacuated to France but captured by German forces. Planned armament was four 7.7 mm FN Browning and two 13.2 mm FN Browning machine guns.[4]
R.40
Former unfinished R.36 aircraft completed with a Merlin engine following French interest, not finished and components captured by German forces.
R.42
Twin fuselage variant of the R.36 similar to the F-82 Twin Mustang. Armament would have been doubled that of the R-36.
Specifications
General characteristics
· Crew: One
·
· Length: 8.80m (28 ft 10½ in)
·
· Wingspan: 11.64 m (38 ft 2Ό in)
·
· Height: 2.90m (9 ft 6⅛ in)
·
· Wing area: 20.00m2 (215.28 ft2)
·
· Empty weight: 1,770 kg (3,902 lb)
·
· Loaded weight: 2,470 kg (5,445 lb)
·
· Powerplant: 1 Χ 910hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs 12-cylinder Vee-type liquid cooled, 678 kW (910 hp)
·
Performance
· Maximum speed: 515 km/h (320 mph)
·
· Range: 1000 km (620 miles)
·
· Time to 4,000m: 4.93 minutes
·
Armament
· Guns: 1 Χ engine mounted 20-mm cannon, 4 Χ wing-mounted 7.7m machine guns
Hurricane
General characteristics
· Crew: 1
· Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
· Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
· Height: 13 ft 1.5 in (4.001 m)
· Wing area: 257.5 sq ft (23.92 m2)
· Airfoil: root: Clark YH (19%); tip: Clark YH (12.2%)[164]
· Empty weight: 5,745 lb (2,606 kg)
· Gross weight: 7,670 lb (3,479 kg)
· Max takeoff weight: 8,710 lb (3,951 kg)
· Powerplant: 1 Χ Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,185 hp (884 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Performance
· Maximum speed: 340 mph (550 km/h, 300 kn) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) [N 12]
· Range: 600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi)
· Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
· Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
· Wing loading: 29.8 lb/sq ft (145 kg/m2)
· Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament
· Guns: 4 Χ 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon
· Bombs: 2 Χ 250 or 500 lb (110 or 230 kg) bombs
12-09-2019, 09:10 AM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
12-09-2019, 11:39 AM
The first three all had spinners that either allowed the front of the fuse to be more streamlined or were the width of the fuse. You could add the P-38 and P-39 to that list very easily as well. As for radial planes, the A6M, FW-190 and Brewster Buffalo all had large spinners. One that not many think about but had a large spinner on it initially was the XF4F-3
Last edited by Hydro Junkie; 12-09-2019 at 11:41 AM.
12-09-2019, 06:40 PM
OK Here we go.
Fighter Need a name.
1:started as an advanced monoplane (for the era)
2: two backup biplanes ordered to be safe if this one failed.
3: It used a Bristol Jupiter engine. License built under a different name.
Fighter Need a name.
1:started as an advanced monoplane (for the era)
2: two backup biplanes ordered to be safe if this one failed.
3: It used a Bristol Jupiter engine. License built under a different name.
12-09-2019, 09:20 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
The first three all had spinners that either allowed the front of the fuse to be more streamlined or were the width of the fuse. You could add the P-38 and P-39 to that list very easily as well. As for radial planes, the A6M, FW-190 and Brewster Buffalo all had large spinners. One that not many think about but had a large spinner on it initially was the XF4F-3
12-09-2019, 11:58 PM
Finally, I found a picture of F4F-3 Wildcat Bu No 1845, with the large spinner:
And, circa 1942, an F4F-3 production model
And, circa 1942, an F4F-3 production model
Last edited by Hydro Junkie; 12-10-2019 at 12:01 AM.
12-10-2019, 05:05 PM
Ok you slackers here is another clue!
Fighter Need a name.
1:started as an advanced monoplane (for the era)
2: two backup biplanes ordered to be safe if this one failed.
3: It used a Bristol Jupiter engine. License built under a different name.
4: It saw extensive combat experience between the two big wars.
Fighter Need a name.
1:started as an advanced monoplane (for the era)
2: two backup biplanes ordered to be safe if this one failed.
3: It used a Bristol Jupiter engine. License built under a different name.
4: It saw extensive combat experience between the two big wars.
12-10-2019, 06:24 PM
The I-16 was the only radial engine plane that I know of that flew in combat between the "two big wars". I didn't count the Japanese fighters that flew combat missions in Korea and China prior to the declarations of war that started WWII since their engines were basically knock offs of American designs. In fact, one of their radial engines was an almost direct copy of the engine used in the Curtis P-36, the Wright 1820.
Give me a bit to find something for a quiz.
Give me a bit to find something for a quiz.
12-11-2019, 03:20 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
The I-16 was the only radial engine plane that I know of that flew in combat between the "two big wars". I didn't count the Japanese fighters that flew combat missions in Korea and China prior to the declarations of war that started WWII since their engines were basically knock offs of American designs. In fact, one of their radial engines was an almost direct copy of the engine used in the Curtis P-36, the Wright 1820.
Give me a bit to find something for a quiz.
Give me a bit to find something for a quiz.
12-11-2019, 04:09 PM
Maybe one of you guys can help me with something. I'm looking for a photo of an I-16 with the cockpit hood in the closed position. I know many (most?) pilots flew with the hood open, but I've never seen a photo or video of the cockpit hood closed, and I want to see the details of the hood. Drawings, yes; but not a picture. Can anyone point me toward a photo or video which shows the hood in a closed position? Thanks; Ernie P.
This is the only one I could find.
12-11-2019, 08:31 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
Well, that's better than anything I've seen so far. Thanks; Ernie P.
12-12-2019, 03:51 PM
Okay guys, I think I found a decent but easy quiz for you all.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was designed and built for an apparent need that was perceived during a previous war
2) Only two of this design were constructed, both of which still exist
3) One of the design features was similar to an adversary's aircraft design feature in the previous war
Good Luck
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was designed and built for an apparent need that was perceived during a previous war
2) Only two of this design were constructed, both of which still exist
3) One of the design features was similar to an adversary's aircraft design feature in the previous war
Good Luck
Last edited by Hydro Junkie; 12-12-2019 at 03:54 PM.