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Post by nikkortorokkor on Oct 30, 2010 0:59:12 GMT -5
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photax
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Post by photax on Oct 30, 2010 6:13:42 GMT -5
Hi Michael ! A couple of wonderful pictures ! Unfortunately no sound  Why does the plane on the first picture have wings which can be folded ? To save space on a carrier vessel ? Are the biplanes replicas or original models ? MIK |
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Post by olroy2044 on Oct 30, 2010 7:34:54 GMT -5
Ah Michael, I am so jealous! What a great set of photos! From Sopwith and Fokker Triplanes to a Culver Cadet and a Corsair! Wow!! What a treat!
Mik, you got it exactly right. The Corsair was a carrier-borne fighter. Along with the F6F Hellcat, it was instrumental in allowing the US Navy and Marine Corp flyers finally to be able to meet the Japanese pilots flying the legendary Zero on more than equal terms. While still not as maneuverable as the Zero, the Corsair was significantly faster straight and level, and miles ahead in a dive. It also saw extensive service as a ground attack aircraft after control of the air was wrested from the Japanese. Tremendous aircraft.
Michael, do you have more ?
Roy
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Post by herron on Oct 30, 2010 7:35:36 GMT -5
Hi Michael ! A couple of wonderful pictures ! Unfortunately no sound Why does the plane on the first picture have wings which can be folded ? To save space on a carrier vessel ? Are the biplanes replicas or original models ? MIK MIK - You're right. The old Corsair wings folded so they could be stored and carried on aircraft carriers! Neat old planes! |
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Post by nikonbob on Oct 30, 2010 8:38:50 GMT -5
Michael
I had almost forgotten that you lived near this airfield. Thanks for posting the great shots of those lovely old planes. I was not aware of the PAC Fletcher or Cresco and their history. You learn something every day on here. The Corsair is one of my favourites to view. I have read that the bent/gull wing design was adopted to give the 13 foot long prop blades the ground clearance they need. Makes for a very distinctive looking aircraft.
MIK
This is for you and anyone else interested in how the Corsair sounds. The net is an amazing place.
Bob
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Oct 30, 2010 9:14:16 GMT -5
What a wonderful day out, Michael, and some very nice pictures, too. It was also quite nostalgic that the name of the place is an aerodrome and not an airfield.
I imagine the WW1 planes, the Sopwith and Fokker triplanes and the SE5 (or maybe SE5A), are replicas but the "youngster" from the 1930s, the Tiger Moth, is probably original, or as original as any plane that age and still flying can be.
I worked on the "upside-down" engines of Tiger Moths in the RAF when I did a stint posted to an IFTS (Initial Flying Training School). The RAF used hundreds of them as initial trainers in the 1940s, and hundreds more were used in flying schools all over the Commonwealth.
They are still quite common, with Tiger Moth clubs all over the UK.
PeterW
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Oct 30, 2010 9:24:05 GMT -5
MIK,
Splendid pictures.
I think I am becoming an airplane enthusiast.
Is it true that the Corsair's wings were bent so the propeller would clear the ground?
Mickey
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photax
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Post by photax on Oct 30, 2010 10:58:35 GMT -5
Mickey,
I wish I had taken them, but these impressive pictures are from Michael, located on the opposite side of the planet. The only thing I have seen here flying during the last days, except some leaves, was a police helicopter…
MIK
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Post by nikkortorokkor on Oct 30, 2010 14:26:03 GMT -5
Thanks all for your kind comments. Roy, I get to take the student's unholy pleasure in pointing out a small error in the words of my elders and betters. The pretty wee private two seater monoplane is not a Culver Cadet or, indeed a Culver Dart, though the resemblance is very close. ZK-RJK is a (homebuilt) Gardan GY20 Minicab, designed by Yves Gardan in France, 1949. Kitsets are sold in North America as the Hawk BM4 by Miranda Aircraft Company (a collectable camera link!). Apparently Minicabs are very popular with homebuilders here in NZ. All this was news to me until I looked up the callsign of the aircraft in the picture. Here's a close shot of ZK-RJK, plus a few more.        And some for Peter! (BTW, yes, the WWI aircraft are indeed mostly built from the ground up, but all use genuine, WW1 era engines, or so I believe. I think that the SE-5a are actually officially called the SE-5a2 in recognition that they've been batch built here in NZ by the Vintage Aviator Co., i.e., they're a new production run of a 95 year old aircraft.)      Shooting from the carpark (allbeit, right beside the hangers) stretched my lenses a bit. In a couple of weeks I'll get closer to the action at the annual Memorial Day Airshow. |
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Oct 30, 2010 14:44:21 GMT -5
MIK, Splendid pictures. I think I am becoming an airplane enthusiast. Is it true that the Corsair's wings were bent so the propeller would clear the ground? Mickey Michael, I apologize.  Mickey |
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Post by nikonbob on Oct 30, 2010 14:48:23 GMT -5
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Oct 30, 2010 19:39:09 GMT -5
Hi Michael,
Thanks for clarifying the WW1 replicas.
You've shown some more excellent pictures. In the pictures of the SE I can sympathise with the guy at the back, holding down the tail and hunching down in the howling slipstream from the prop while the pilot ground runs the engine to bring it up to operating temperature. Not too bad a job in summer, except for the dust, but I hated it on a cold and frosty morning!
You've also got a good sequence of a mechanic starting a Moth engine by swinging the prop.
But, Oh Dear! My old Flight Sergeant would have wanted a word or two with that guy. From Chiefy's point of view he has committed several cardinal sins.
First he's using two hands on the same blade to position the engine on compression stroke. He should have pushed up with his left hand and pulled down with his right.
He's holding the blade about a third of the way in instead of right at the tip to get maximum leverage.
In the second picture, judging by his expression of effort, he's using his arms and shoulder muscles to “spin” the prop past compression and his body is leaning forwards, off balance and ready to topple into the spinning prop!
This was regarded as a big safety NO-NO.
He should have started he swing with his right arm almost straight and right hand near the tip of the blade, body upright, legs straight and his right leg forward carrying most of his weight. His left arm should be extended straight, pointing rearwards of his body.
To complete the swing he should have rocked his body weight back on to his left leg, turned about 45 degrees and finished with his right arm across his body.
This wasn't just “do it this way because it's Service procedure”. It was designed, after years of experience, with safety foremost in mind and was practised over and over again at fitter's training school.
BTW, National Service men, with only 18 months to serve, didn't go on the full fitter's training course of nine and a half months. They went on a shortened course of seven weeks and were limited in what they were allowed to do. They were called engine assistants, not fitters, were not allowed to hand-swing props, and not allowed to start and ground-run engines.
PeterW
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Post by Randy on Oct 30, 2010 21:45:23 GMT -5
Those are some really great photos, I like the Corsair....where's Pappy?
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Post by olroy2044 on Oct 31, 2010 20:22:27 GMT -5
;D ;D You got the "elder" part right, but I will argue with you about the "better" part!
Wow, that little airplane sure looks like a Culver. On closer look, the design of the Minicab looks newer and cleaner than the Culver. Somewhere in my archives, I have some photos I took of a red Culver Cadet. I'll look for them, and post them if and when I find them, and let you see the similarity for yourself. Possibly good designs can come from more than one source.
Thanks for the neat shots!
Roy
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2010 21:50:17 GMT -5
The Corsair was faster than the F6F Hellcat, I think, but the Hellcat was a lot more forgiving in carrier landings. The Corsairs were used more off land airstrips although some did fly off carriers. From what I have read the Corsairs were rather stiff legged and you had to put them down on a carrier deck very gently.
W.
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Why does the plane on the first picture have wings which can be folded ? To save space on a carrier vessel ? Are the biplanes replicas or original models ?
