The Stuka dive bomber created terror as its sirens wailed before releasing bombs on Europe from 1939 onwards. Although designed to help ground operations it was always to be found with the army as ‘flying artillery’.

Also, note the interesting video aliasing effects on the props as they harmonise with the frame rate of the camera. It’s especially cool when the props move faster, and you can see how the camera scans from top to bottom for each frame as the props appear more and more “bent”. It’s a bit like the effect of how wagon wheels appear to be turning backwards, etc, in old movies.

Stable and Safe
AVA17239VNB1 – FA 704 – 1968

Reveals what frequently happens when pilots inadvertently fly into marginal or IFR weather and lose their visual reference, becoming dangerously disoriented. Describes the different types of stability augmentation systems available for use in general aviation.

National Archives and Records Administration

How to Fly the P-47: Pilot Familiarization

War Department. Army Air Forces. (06/20/1941 – 09/26/1947)

ARC Identifier 2770 / Local Identifier 18-AF-107A. Describes flight characteristics of the P-47 Thunderbolt, including service ceiling, speed, power, fuel consumption, turbosupercharger system, use of turbo and throttled landing gear and flaps, armament, and switch and control panel. Shows use of the P-47 cockpit trainer.

Made possible by a donation from Aleksandr Milewski.

National Archives and Records Administration

How to Fly the P-47: High Altitude Flight and Aerobatics

War Department. Army Air Forces. (06/20/1941 – 09/26/1947)

ARC Identifier 2772 / Local Identifier 18-AF-107C. Demonstrates the Thunderbolt in dives, loops, slow rolls, Immelman turns, spins, and recoveries, and half rolls. Stresses precautions and proper speeds for various altitudes. Also explains functions of turbosupercharger and water injection systems in high altitude flight.

Made possible by a donation from Alexsandr Milewski.

For a small city like Hattiesburg, having this nationally recognized icon within thier city limits was a newsworthy event.

Many thanks to the Good Year Corporation and Bobby Chain Airport’s Management for allowing me access to shoot this video for all to enjoy!

Specification CREW 8
ENGINE 8 x 400hp Liberty piston engines
WEIGHTS Take-off weight 24993 kg 55100 lb
DIMENSIONS Wingspan 30.00 m 98 ft 5 in Length 23.47 m 77 ft 0 in Height 9.24 m 30 ft 4 in
PERFORMANCE Max. speed 112 km/h 70 mph

Boeing’s Model 299, prototype for the military bomber aircraft, which duly became the B-17 Flying Fortress, was developed in parallel with a civil version of the same aircraft, which had the company designation Boeing Model 300. The Model 307, or Stratoliner, was a straight-forward conversion from the supremely successful B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. It employed the wings and tail surfaces of the B-17C Flying Fortress. The Boeing 307 was developed to start another era, that of pressurized comfort at higher altitudes than had been previously contemplated.

The aircraft was the result of considerable research in high altitude flying by “Tommy” Tomlinson, of TWA, who was estimated to have flown more hours above 30,000 feet, than all other pilots combined. With his recommendations, Boeing produced an airliner which could cruise at 14,000 feet.

The Boeing 307 first flew on December 31, 1938, and TWA put it into service on the transcontinental route on 8 July 1940, reducing the time to 13 hrs. 40 min., and cutting two hours off the DC-3′s time.

Three (S-307) Stratoliners flew on Pan Am’s South American routes; five (SA-307B) served with TWA, and a ninth (SB-307B) Stratoliner was supplied to Howard Hughes. One Boeing 307 (prototype NX 19901) crashed on March 18, 1939 during a test flight. Each aircraft cost $315,000 in 1937 when ordered. During World War II Stratoliners were employed as military transports (C-75s), flying principally to South America and across the Atlantic. In 1951 the ex-TWA machines, replaced the Four 900 hp (671-kw) Wright GR-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines, with Wright Cyclone 1,200 hp (894 kw) engines. The wings were replaced with B-17G wings. They were then sold to Aigle Azur in France, operating to French IndoChina. Here they became involved with the Vietnam War, worked with operators such as Air Laos and were still flying into the 1970s.

One example survives, The Flying Cloud, and is owned by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. After a six year restoration by volunteer Boeing retirees, it was rolled out of the hangar on June 23,2001. Unfortunately, the plane was almost lost, when during a test flight, it ran out of fuel and ditched into Elliot Bay, just west of downtown Seattle. Luckily, the airplane did not suffer severe damage and it was recovered and repaired again. It is currently on display at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Washington/Dulles International Airport.

General characteristics
Crew: 5, including two pilots and flight engineer
Capacity: 33 passengers
Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
Wingspan: 107 ft 0 in (32.61 m)
Height: 20 ft 10 in (6.34 m)
Wing area: 1,486 ft² (138.0 m²)
Empty weight: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg)
Loaded weight: 42,000 lb (19,050 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Wright GR-1820 radials , 900 hp (671 kW) each
Performance
Max Speed: 246 mph
Cruise speed: 222 mph (357 km/h)
Range: 2,390 mi (3,846 km)
Service ceiling: 26,200 ft (7,985 m)
Wing loading: 28 lb/ft² (138 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.09 hp/lb (140 W/kg)

This was my first editing attempt using Apple’s iMovie. I rode in the back seat of a T-6 with the canopy removed and my brother was in the fire truck. It was quite a thrill. The inside B-29 shots are from a flight I took in June of 1997. Note the Boeing 307 parked on the ramp as the B-29 taxis in. That was shot two weeks before that same Boeing 307 took a swim in Puget Sound. The 307 is on display now at the Smithsonian and the B-29 flies from Midland, TX.

The S-40 was nicknamed the “Flying Forest” for its maze of support struts.

General characteristics
Crew: four
Capacity: 40 passengers
Length: 76 ft 8 in (23.37 m)
Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.76 m)
Height: 23 ft 10 in (7.27 m)
Wing area: 1,875 ft² (174.3 m²)
Empty: 24,748 lb (11,249 kg)
Loaded: 34,000 lb (15,455 kg)
Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial engines, 575 hp (429 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h)
Range: 875 miles (1,408 km)
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,963 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
Wing loading: 18 lb/ft² (89 kg/m²)
Power/Mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)

Flight test report:
To: MR. I. I. SIKORSKY

cc: Mr. Neilson Capt.Sergievsky Mr. S. Gluhareff Mr. N. Sinitzin Files (2)

Date: August 31, 1931

From: M. GLUHAREFF

Subject: FLIGHT REPORT ON S-40 AMPHIBION – GROSS WEIGHT 32,000#

Weather: clear, approximately 12 wind (N.W.)

Temperature: 75

Barometer pressure: 30.04

Time: start 2:15 P.M.; finish 4:13 P.M.

Take-off time on water – 30 seconds

Cruising on 1650 R.P.M. all engines – average speed 100.5 M.P.H.

Cruising on 1750 R.P.M. all engines – average speed 107.75 M.P.H.

High speed, full throttle, 2010 R.P.M. all engines – average speed 130.25 M.P.H.

Cross wind interfered with the speed test flight; it was exactly 90 degrees to the course.
The fairing on the landing gear axles came off, building a screeen about 1-1/2 sq. feet
flat plate area on each side.

Landing at New Haven Harbor about 3:20 P.M. the fairings from the axles were removed entirely.

Climb to Altitude Time Speed Ind. R.P.M. 500 30 sec. 90 1850 1000 1 min. 17 sec. 95 1800 2000 3 min. 7 sec. 95 1820 3000 4 min. 40 sec. 96 1820 4000 6 min. 25 sec. 95 1800 5000 8 min. 10 sec. 97 1800
5800-6000 10 min.

At 6000 ft. altitude – three engines – flight was tested – rate of climb approximately
200 ft. per min. (R.P.M. – 1830)

At 2000 ft. altitude – two engines – flight was tested – during five (5) minutes 600 ft
was lost – (R.P.M. – 1820)

At 2000 ft. altutude – three engines – flight was repeated – during 1 minute exactly,
the ship gained 200 ft. (from 2100 to 2300 ft.) (R.P.M. – 1820).

Pilot: Captain Sergievsky
Observers: S.Gluhareff M.Gluhareff

Signed
M. GLUHAREFF

The aircraft’s immense size allowed for passages within the wing, which the crew could use to make minor repairs in flight. Due to the technology of the time, a 5,000 mile flight took several days; the crew was made up of several shifts, and bunks allowed them to sleep when off duty.
The XB-15 was designed around liquid-cooled 1,000 hp (750 kW) engines. Unfortunately, these were not available, and 850 hp (637 kW) engines were used instead. These engines left the bomber significantly underpowered; its top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h) was far too slow for a combat aircraft, and the project was abandoned. Even without the improved defensive armament that would have been needed in service, the XB-15 had a maximum takeoff weight 5,000lbs greater than the later B-17G, but with a total engine output of 1,400 less horsepower.

No B-15s were put into service; the Army Air Corps converted the only prototype into a transport designated the XC-105, which carried freight around the Caribbean during the war. The sole XC-105 was scrapped in Panama in 1945.

Despite its cancellation, the XB-15 did feature a number of significant innovations:

Automatic Pilot
De-icing equipment
Auxiliary power units independent of the main engines to power the electrical system
Engines serviceable in flight using an access tunnel inside the wing
Crew compartment with rest bunks, galley and lavatory
Double-wheel main landing gear.

General characteristics
Crew: 10
Length: 87 ft 7 in (32.6 m)
Wingspan: 149 ft 0 in (45.5 m)
Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m)
Wing area: 2,780 ft² (258 m²)
Empty weight: 65,000 lb (30,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 69,000 lb (31,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 77,000 lb (37,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4× 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 radial engines, 850 hp (640 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 200 mph (170 knots, 320 km/h)
Cruise speed: 152 mph (132 knots, 245 km/h)
Combat radius: 3,400 mi (3,000 nm, 5,500 km)
Ferry range: 5,130 mi (4,460 nm, 8,250 km)
Service ceiling: 18,900 ft (7,830 m)
Rate of climb: 670 ft/min (3.4 m/s)
Wing loading: 25 lb/ft² (120 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.049 hp/lb (81 W/kg)
Armament
Guns:

3× .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
3× .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
Bombs: 12,000 lb (5,400 kg)

The aircraft had vectored thrust engines, similar to the Harrier. One engine was mounted forward of the cockpit, and one was below the cockpit. The exhaust exited through vectoring nozzles in the center of gravity which were vectorable through about 90º.

The Yak-36 made its first hover on 9 January 1963, the first transition from vertical take-off to forward flight and back to vertical landing on 16 September 1963.

The next development step was the Yak-38 which flew for the first time in 1971 as the Yak-36MP.