Circa 1960: The Amazing RCAF Golden Hawks F-86 Aerobatic Team!

(click pic to enlarge)

 I'd never even heard of these guys... so I'm guessing there's a chance you haven't either. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Golden Hawks aerobatic team was formed in 1959. They only operated for a total of 6 years, but wow, this was one amazing aerobatic team! The first video below will give you a pretty good idea of just how sharp these guys were in their Canadair built F-86 Sabres. Don't let the old-school, warpy 'film' music scare you, it's an awesome video.

 1959 was the 35th year of the RCAF as well as the 50th anniversary of the first controlled powered flight in Canada. The Golden Hawks had been put together to celebrate these events, and then wound up such a success that they continued on. It was later decided tho that the money it took to operate the team could be better spent elsewhere, so in 1964 the team was shut down. 

 It's interesting that just a few years later in 1967, an aerobatic team called the Golden Centennaires was put together to celebrate 100 years of the Canadian Federation. I didn't realize Canada was so big on using jet akro teams to 'celebrate' stuff! Anyway, the  Golden Centennaires only flew that one year... but, they flew the Canadair CT-114 Tutor aircraft, which means it's easy to see how the new team that formed in 1971, that would later be known as the Canadian Snowbirds, came to be.

 I think this is all especially good to know since the Snowbirds will be the jet team flying at the 2010 Reno Air Races in September. I remember seeing the Snowbirds a lot back in the 80's and they are really something special. Can't wait to see them again : )

 Circa 1960 footage of the Golden Hawks flying their F-86's as good as anybody. Ever!

 Modern video from 2009 of a commemorative F-86 in Golden Hawks paint flying simple formation with a Tudor in Golden Centennaires paint. No akro in this video, but man does it look like they're having fun! And, thankfully, all you hear is the wind noise, no music!

Video: E Team Skydivers And The 5,000 Sq Ft American Flag!

Because the 4th of July is coming soon, and Americans need to spend a little more time thinking about what this flag really represents.

DVD Review: 'Obsession' - Inside Sport Class Racing At Reno

The 'Obsession' DVD is not for sale, but interested individuals or groups can
find out how to get a copy by sending an email to 77Obsession@gmail.com

 (7 pix)

 Scott Alair spent 2-1/2 years building up his Lancair Legacy which was like an obsession for him... to get the airplane built, and then to race it at the Reno Air Races. This DVD is a pretty detailed look at Scott's experience in the Sport Class racing his Legacy at Reno 2006. The airplane is named 'Obsession', and so is this approximately 50 minute DVD video.

 The video isn't for sale, but it is available to people who are interested in sharing this inside look at Sport Class racing at Reno with groups, EAA chapters, and more. It's very well produced, with a coherent story line, great video images, and it's narrated at times to make sure the story is well communicated. I really enjoyed it. It's both entertaining and educational. Send an email to 77Obsession@gmail.com for info on how to acquire a copy.

 All of the pictures below are screenshots taken from the video. 

 The video begins by giving a nice overview of what the Reno Air Races are about, which includes a good look at several of the Unlimited racers.

 Several minutes are dedicated to showing the Legacy while under construction. It's not a video on how to build the airplane by any means, but it does take the time to explain about how the airplane came to be.

Click to read more ...

B-29 Caricature Drawing From Back In The Day: Watcha Think?

 The post from a few days ago about the B-29 FIFI's first flight in 4 years, which is scheduled for tomorrow, got me remembering this drawing that I did back in 1988. Back about that time, I started a little t-shirt company making caricatures of iconic aircraft like the Piper Cub, the DC-3, and the P-51. I didn't have hardly any money at the time (Ha! Very little seems to change in my life!) so I only ran ads in Trade-A-Plane for the shirts since it was a cheap place to get some good exposure. Well, I had some success, but nothing like I had hoped for. But I did have a guy request that I do a B-29.

 Now back in those days, we actually took a pencil and drug it across a piece of paper to generate a graphic. It was a bit of a bizarre concept, but if you stuck with it long enuf, you'd actually emerge with something to look at... never mind the sore hand and tired eyes. For whatever reason, this B-29 never made it onto a shirt. I don't think it was exactly what the guy was looking for, and I'll admit that while it's technically pretty accurate, it lacks that special little magic that my other caricatures seemed to possess. It is however a pretty cool treat for me to see it again after all these years.

 I'm kinda wondering if you people out there on the other end of the internet like it. If I get some fashion of positive response, I might see if I can figure out a way to show you the other, better airplanes that I drew. I can't seem to find the original drawings at the moment, but if I dig deep enough in the dungeon I bet I can. So, watcha think?

Raise Your Hand If You Like This 1974 BD-5 Promo Pic

(click pic to enlarge)

 I found this BD-5 promo pic in the Vol. 1 No. 3 edition of the 'BD News' publication put out in 1974. I've got a small stack of amazing Bede promo materials left over from the early 70's when my dad had purchased a BD-5 kit. He sold the kit before it was really even started and put a deposit down on two of the 'D' model airplanes, the ones that were supposed to be a factory built and ready-to-fly. Then shortly after, he traded one of the 'D' slots for an order on a BD-5 Jet. As it would turn out, none of these airplanes would ever be delivered... but at least I've got a stack of cool promo materials to show for all the excitement : )

 I thought this pic was particularly interesting. It shows Bede test pilot Les Berven cruising along at 90 mph with the canopy in the open position. It was actually the third in a series of pictures showing how easily the canopy could be opened in flight and how well the airplane flew with it there. The caption with this pic even mentioned; "At 90 mph the BD-5 feels only a slight draft from behind and even his baseball cap stays in place". It was a typical Bede promo that worked pretty well in stirring up more interest in the great looking machine.

 The BD-5 will always be a fascinating piece of aviation history. You can expect to see a lot more interesting pix and info that I pull out of those old promo materials in the next few months. And just to make it all feel kind of official, I'm adding a 'tag' for the BD-5 now as well. Maybe it will help inspire someone to truly make an 'electric' airplane like the BD-5 Micro was in 1971.

Video: Russian Aerocar Circa 2008 - Not So Much!

Not so much pretty much says it all : )

CAF B-29 'FIFI' Scheduled To Fly Again June 29, 2010

Installing 1 of 4 modified Wright R-3350's on the B-29 FIFI    photos: cafB29B24.org

 After 4 years on the ground plus a lot of hard work and financial support, the world's only flyable Boeing B-29 Superfortress, owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, is scheduled for a test flight on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. FIFI will be back in the air once again! The flight is expected to take place at 8:00 am at the CAF Airpower Museum in Midland, Texas. Visitors are welcome to come watch, and the museum will be opening at 7am to give interested spectators a front row seat to see pre-flight prep and the flight itself. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $9 for ages 13-17 and over 65, and $7 for age 5-12.

 FIFI first began showing up at airshows in 1975 after an extensive search and restoration project by what was known then as the Confederate Air Force. I clearly remember it was a really big deal when she first arrived at Oshkosh, and I have years of memories of this grand aircraft from WWII participating in the Warbird airshows there. My recent ride in the B-17 'Yankee Lady' has really made the historical importance of these aircraft, and the people who did battle in WWII, become so much more real to me.

 The work required to put FIFI back in the air centered around the need to update the huge Wright R-3350 engines. The version originally used in the airplane has always been problematic, and when metal shavings were found in the oil, it was clear that major changes would have to be made. The re-engine project built up a variation of the engine from two different versions and required modifications to the engine mounts and cowlings. Hopefully these modifications will not only get FIFI back in the air, but will make it easier to keep her there for many years to come.

 Much of the re-engine project funding was jump-started by support from Jim Cavanaugh of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum (CFM). Both the B-29 and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator operated by the CAF will be based out of the CFM in Addison, Texas for 6 months of the year, and then be on tour with CAF crews around the country the other 6 months.

 Lastly, I haven't seen any confirmed reports yet, but hopefully FIFI will be included in the large collection of aircraft scheduled to be at Oshkosh from the CAF. The EAA's "Salute to Veterans" along with 75th anniversary of both the DC-3 (C-47) and the B-17 are drawing a lot of significant historical aircraft to the best place on earth: Oshkosh : )

CoolPix - NASA: A Green SST Concept... In More Ways Than One

(click pic for hi-res)                                                       photo: NASA/Lockheed Martin

 This CoolPix in the NASA category is really a recently released rendering of a new concept for a 'green' Super Sonic Transport by Lockheed Martin in conjunction with NASA. Note the Skunk Works logo above the outboard engine. The design was presented in April 2010 to the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate for its NASA Research Announcement - funded studies into advanced aircraft that could enter service in the 2030-2035 timeframe. One of the primary objectives of the design is to achieve supersonic cruise speeds while dramatically reducing the sonic boom when flying over terrain. Boeing's Sonic Cruiser was a concept meant to cruise just under the speed of sound, but this needly green machine appears to have cruise speeds well in excess of Mach 1 in mind. Certainly a design that could acceptably cruise supersonic over land would be quite an accomplishment. 

 I wasn't able to find much detailed info about the concept, but it seems they're also interested in minimizing the environmental impact as well. I think it's always a good idea to strive for maximum efficiency with minimal impact on the environment, but I lean that way because that's usually where the best overall experience is found for everyone. I admit that I'm not overly concerned for the impact on the planet at large, mostly because I believe it has shown itself to be more than robust enough to deal with anything we can throw at it. I realize you might disagree.

 Regardless, there's another 'green' issue here. Money. It would take some pretty big buckets of money to engineer this into a fully successful transport. As much as I enjoy dreaming of wild flying machines for the future, I honestly have to wonder if the money it would take would really be worth it.  Again, my point of view here is probably a little different than most folks. I think we desperately need transport aircraft that bring classic comfort and fabulous I-can't-wait-to-fly-again experiences to everyone. That doesn't necessarily have anything to do with going fast. We should be able to engineer the poor passenger experience out of the airplane, but for whatever reason, we haven't. Sure, we've got some incredible luxury experiences available in the sky these days, but ultimately, there shouldn't be a single bad seat on any airliner. I'm hopeful that the 787 will actually be at the leading edge of this kind of thinking... and we should have a good idea of where it stands on 'passenger experience' before long.

 So, please be sure to click the pic and check out this needle-nose SST up close. But if you're an aeronautical engineer and schooling up on great aircraft designs for the future, could you please consider finding ways to make airliners profitable while also offering lots of leg and elbow room for everyone? Me and about 2 billion other cheap seat passengers per year would like to thank you in advance for your help : )

Video: Some Very 'Precious Metal' From Reno 2006

 I was at Reno 2009, and interestingly, the last Reno I had been to before that was... 1970! So it's true, I missed a lot of the details of faster-than-fast air racing for a lot of years. But I'm trying hard to keep up with what's going on these days, and I'm loving it.

 I'll admit that all I knew about the P-51 racer called 'Precious Metal' was that it had green wings and looked pretty highly modified. This video really helped get me up to speed on this gorgeous airplane. Partly from what I saw, and partly from the journey searching for more info that it put me on.

 Ron Buccarelli raced the airplane at Reno from 2002 thru 2007, tho I don't see any record that it was raced in 2005. The green-wing P-51 never got tuned to be killer fast, but it had some features that make it very special. The biggest of them being that it was powered by the Rolls Royce Griffon engine. The Griffon was the last of the big V-12 engines from Rolls Royce, and it incorporated a lot of design improvements over the very popular Merlin. It was only slightly larger than the Merlin but it had 36% more displacement: 2,240 cubic inches. The engine was produced in many different variants with a range of horsepower from 1,730 hp to 2,420 hp. The last versions used in WWII aircraft were equipped with contra-rotating props that eliminated the torque experienced on take-off. This was especially important because the engine rotated opposite of the Merlin's rotation leading to difficulties for some pilots.

 So, Precious Metal was also equipped with the contra-rotating propellers. The engine prop combo made for some great sounds and sights! This video does a great job of sharing both with you. And thankfully, the video maker didn't put any music in there to mess up the beautiful airplane 'noises' : )

 Precious Metal still seems to be owned by Buccarelli, but I couldn't find any specifics on the current status of the airplane. Regardless, seeing her at Reno 2006 in the video is a really big treat. You might also want to check out this mustangsmustangs.net page on Precious Metal, it has more info and a boatload of great pix of the green winged, Griffon powered P-51!

 And, Reno 2010 is September 15-19... get there if you can!

With Flared Pants And Big Feet: Quest Kodiak Goes Amphibious!

The first delivered Kodiak on the recently certified Wipline 7000 floats   photo: Quest

 If I had the cash, I'd have an order in for a brand new Viking 400, the back-in-production Twin Otter derivative. But, with money kinda tight these days, maybe what I really need is a Quest Kodiak, especially since now you can fetch one with some snazzy new Wipline 7000 floats. For less than half the green of the Viking 400, I could be hopping from the lake to the airport, and then back to lake again. And truthfully, I've got less than 9 friends anyway, I'd have a heck of a time filling all 18 seats in the Twin Otter. Oh wait, If I had a Kodiak OR a Twin Otter, I'd probably have a lot more friends!

 Well anyway, the point is that you can now add floats, with or without wheels, to the already hard-working Kodiak. It's the completion of the original concept for the Kodiak... to make a modern STOL aircraft that's comparatively economical and offer maximum versatility. An airplane like this would certainly make much of the world readily accessible. And I'm thinking you could have some pretty serious fun getting there too, wherever there is.

 Back in April 2010, Quest also received FAA approval for an increase in the max take-off weight on the Kodiak to 7,255 pounds.  That's a 505 pound increase. I'm thinking that's a pretty big deal, and could make a noticeable difference on a day when you've got an extra 2 people, and their stuff, that really need hauled out of the jungle.

 The bottom line for me is that I'm really glad both the Kodiak and the updated Twin Otter are in production and available to work their tails off for operators who need real, hardcore utility aircraft!

 Testing the Wipline 7000 floats on a Kodiak   photo: Wipaire