CoolPix - Airliners: A380 Preparing To Depart Oshkosh 2009

(click pic for hi-res)

 Yeah, I know it’s the second CoolPix entry for the A380 at Oshkosh 2009, but c’mon, having the mega-super-big-bus sitting on the ramp all week making lots of shade should definitely earn it several CoolPix awards.  Plus, I took this pic while the airplane was waiting to do its departure flight demo, so this is the A380 getting ready to say goodbye to Oshkosh 2009.  It’s a special moment.

 As always, remember to click the pic for the hi-res version.  The whole point of the  CoolPix experience is to be pulled into the image, to experience it in a way that a 530px wide image just can’t do.

 I like this pic for several reasons.

 The airplane is facing east on the taxiway that leads from AeroShell Square (where it sat all week) out to the runway… it didn’t spend very much time sitting here, so it’s not all that common of a picture.

 I like it cuz it’s such a cool contrast of the world’s largest airliner floating on a sea of what makes Oshkosh so great: people and airplanes.

 You should also notice that while that big honkin’ airplane is not far from all these people, they are definitely looking at something else.  The something else is the WhiteKnightTwo just about to start takeoff roll for its flight demo.  WK2 was such an awesome machine to have up there in 2009, and here we have almost every eye glued to it.

 Lastly, it’s just neat to be able to look around at people who are enjoying Oshkosh.  You can even see the captain sitting in the front office of the A380.  I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking it’s a pretty cool CoolPix : )

Circa 1913: 6 Cylinder Anzani Radial Engine At The Henry Ford Museum

 I’m constantly amazed at the state of the art of aircraft engine building back 90 to 100 years ago.  It was a lot more advanced at the time than it seems like it should have been.  For example, this cute looking Anzani 6 cylinder radial engine from around 1913.  That’s one gorgeous looking little engine!  (if you need another example, check out the Duesenberg V-16 beast from 1919)

 I’m not really all that up to speed on historical engine design and manufacture, but I do know that radial engines essentially always have an odd number of cylinders.  The fact that this one is an even 6 cylinders stood out right away.  So I did a little research and found out something pretty cool… this engine is likely the first ever twin row radial!  It’s actually 2, 3 cylinder engines slightly staggered, as can be seen when you look where the cylinders attach to the case.  This 280 cubic inch engine made about 45hp at 1,300 rpm.  Gotta love those big slow turning props : )

 Alessandro Anzani was an Italian that moved to France and set up an engine shop in 1907.  His engines found their way into all kinds of machines from cars to cycles and of course airplanes.  When Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel in 1909, he had an Anzani 3 cylinder engine up front.

 The engine pictured is on display at the fabulous Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  If you don’t know, it’s a must see museum with a nice aircraft collection along with loads of other interesting artifacts from the automotive world and beyond, way beyond.  I go at least once a year and I never get tired of the place.

 The airplane that the engine is attached to is a small biplane designed and built by Matty Laird and flown in an exhibition tour of Japan in 1916 by Katherine Stinson.  I must admit that I’m just getting to know some of the story on her, and I can see that there’s gonna be a lot to talk about.  Katherine was the fourth woman to receive a pilot’s license, was the first to perform a loop, and her flying is what inspired her brothers to start the Stinson Aircraft Company.  When you look at the picture of the airplane on display in The Henry Ford, you're looking at a lot of history!

 Lastly, I’m thinking it’s time for someone to build some cool, small (60hp) radial engines that turn big props nice and slow.  If guys like Anzani could do it 100 years ago, seems like all our fancy technology could sure do it affordably today.  I think the sport aircraft world needs it… any thoughts?

Highly Modified P-51 Galloping Ghost Fixin’ To Haunt Reno In 2010

Read the fascinating story of trying to get the airplane to Reno 2009

 It would be easy to think that tough economic times lead to a downturn for air racing, but the races in 1929 and thru the 30’s tell a different story.  Huge crowds came out in those days to see a bunch of wild men and their speedy racers fly around the pylons.  And my firsthand experience at the Reno Air Races in 2009, my first since the 1970 races, showed me there’s a ton of interest out there both in the number of racers and the people who come to watch ’em tear up the sky.

 So I’ve got reason to think the 2010 races will be a pretty big honkin’ deal for sure.  One team hoping to add some serious excitement to the Unlimited Class is the Leeward Air Racing team with their modified P-51, Galloping Ghost #177.  At first glance, it pretty much looks like your standard run-of-the-mill clipped, chopped and streamlined P-51 racer.  But maybe you missed the fact that the trademark Mustang ’belly scoop’ is missing.  That’s a pretty big deal. 

 De-scooping a P-51 has been done before, but this one has an interesting twist that might make it unique… maybe I can get an air racer historian to clarify this, but it looks like the mods done in the past removed the scoop only to relocate the radiators somewhere else on the airplane.  That means that air is still being directed into the radiators, and some drag is being created as a result. 

 On the Galloping Ghost, they’ve traded the radiators for a heat exchanger mounted inside a tank containing a mixture of water and methanol.  The hot coolant and oil are pumped thru the heat exchanger where the heat is transferred to the water/methanol which then boils and vents overboard.  The tank is inside the aircraft, and no air is being diverted, so all this is done without any additional drag being produced.

 It’s all pretty sweet stuff, and exactly the kind of thing that makes air racing so interesting to begin with... ok, that plus the fact that these guys are going 500mph about 50 feet of the ground!  The team had really hoped to have the airplane ready to race for Reno 2009, and actually came about as close as you can get without making it.  The story of trying to get the airplane done in time is chronicled in a fascinating Galloping Ghost post at the Leeward website.  I highly recommend you check it out.  It’s mentioned there that the first flight of the airplane back in September 09 seemed to indicate that the scoopless mod was doing the job.  Let’s hope we find out just how well it works with some great unlimited racing at Reno 2010!

Beautiful illustration of the scoopless Leeward Air Racing Galloping Ghost

Additional historical info on P-51 N79111 from MustangsMustangs.com

1:10 Scale (36’ Tall) Flying Saturn V Rocket - Must See Launch Video!

 While millions of people get their life sucked right out of them sitting in front of the TV every night, people like Steve Eves spend their time doing really cool stuff.  Like his off-the-scale amazing 1:10 scale model of the Saturn V rocket.  It’s the world’s largest model rocket.  A little over 36’ tall, weighing in at over 1,600 pounds, and it really flies!  In fact, as the video shows, it flies fantastic.  Altitude reached with the array of 9 rocket motors was just over 4,000’.

 The flight took place at Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland on April 25, 2009.  You can learn loads more about this inspiring accomplishment at RocketsMagazine.com and also at RocketryPlanet.com.

 Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Caption Contest #32: Punch Out! Ends Wednesday 3.3.10 At 9PM EST

 You probably already know that this is a real pic… seems that it was a stunt performed for a movie called Kerosene Cowboys that’s supposed to release in November 2010.  Before we see it on the big screen tho, we’ve got the chance to make something funny out of it.  (UPDATE) - It was brought to my attention that this stunt wasn't real after all.  The research I did before we used the pic, just to have fun in the caption contest, showed that it was real, but, there's more info out there that shows it wasn't really done while in flight.  I'm also unsure if this was actually directly connected the Kerosene Cowboys movie, even tho I found some sources that said it was.  But it does look like the movie is for real and Russian fighters were used to make parts of it.  Any questions : ) 

 Strap in tight and hang on, you’ve got til Wednesday evening at 9pm EST to submit captions, then I’ll pick the best 5 and put ’em in a poll for everyone to vote on.  The most popular caption will put the winner in line for $20 in AirPigz funny money. 

 The Rules:

1) Max of 3 submissions per person

2) Submissions go in the 'comments' area 

3) Game ends Wednesday at 9pm EST 

4) Keep it clean!

  Anyone who wants to cast their vote will be able to after the poll goes up around an hour after the 9pm Wednesday submission deadline.

  We'll vote for 24 hours, til 9pm EST on Thursday.  The winner will be posted  Friday morning 3-5-10.  Have fun, but please, keep your hands off the eject handle!

CoolPix - X Planes: Neil Armstrong And The X-15 In 1960

(click pic for hi-res)

 This is definitely a great image for the CoolPix - X Planes category… Neil Armstrong in January 1960 standing in front of X-15 ship #1 after having landed on the dry lakebed at the Dryden Flight Research Center.  It’s just awesome to see him here about 9 years before he was the first man to walk on the moon.  Some interesting things to note are the skid tracks from the main gear legs, the apparent bottle jack under the nose gear, and Neil’s right hand placed just above the ball nose, also called the ‘Q ball’.

 Here’s some great NASA info that tells more about Neil and the X-15:

 Armstrong was actively engaged in both piloting and engineering aspects of the X-15 program from its inception. He completed the first flight in the aircraft equipped with a new flow-direction sensor (ball nose) and the initial flight in an X-15 equipped with a self-adaptive flight control system. He worked closely with designers and engineers in development of the adaptive system, and made seven flights in the rocket plane from December 1960 until July 1962. During those fights he reached a peak altitude of 207,500 feet in the X-15-3, and a speed of 3,989 mph (Mach 5.74) in the X-15-1.

 Read more about Neil Armstrong and the X-15.

Martin Jetpack: The Ultimate Fanny Pack! - Video

 Ok, since it’s not really a jet, and instead uses two ducted fans for vertical lift, I’ve long considered the Martin Jetpack to be more of a ‘fanny’ pack… but it’s without a doubt the ultimate fanny pack : )

 I missed the demo/debut of this New Zealand designed VTOL at Oshkosh 2008, and to my knowledge it wasn't displayed at Oshkosh 2009, but I’ve kinda been watching the development process.  I’ve gone from thinking they were likely gonna slowly go the way of the buffalo with this project, like so many other unusual VTOL efforts have over the last 40 years, to thinking it looks pretty awesome.  I must say this video seems to show a very controlled and stable flying machine!  I think there just might be some serious possibilities here that will make this fanny pack jetpack feasible. 

 If you aren’t familiar with some of the details of the Jetpack, here’s a list of essential answers:

1 engine: 2.0L 200hp V-4 2-stroke (burns premium auto fuel)

Empty weight: 250 pounds

Pilot weight: over 140 pounds, under 240 pounds

Range: approx. 30 miles

Cost and availability: see official website

 And yes, it is equipped with a ballistic recovery parachute in the event of a loss of power or other catastrophic failure.  It’s also classified as an ultralight so no license is required (tho pilots will have to pass a factory training program)

 Get more info at MartinJetpack.com

Sonic Cruiser: Back To The Future - Includes In Flight Video!?

Boeing's Circa 2001 Sonic Cruiser concept for near supersonic air travel

(8 pix + 1 video)

 Now that the 787 era is finally off the ground, it’s kinda cool to look back at what Boeing was telling us the future of air travel was circa 2001.  This very cool collection of renderings, models, and a video can sure stir the imagination!

 It was December of 2000 when Airbus committed to the A380 project with the hope of knocking the 747 off of the throne as the high capacity airliner to the world.  Boeing certainly had to respond, especially since it had already been 7 years sine the 777 had first flown.  Boeing needed to show the industry how it was planning to meet the changing needs of the world’s travelers.

 Enter the Sonic Cruiser concept.  In March 2001, Boeing went public with a pretty radical looking design for a 200 to 250 seat airliner capable of cruising just short of the speed of sound, .95 - .98 Mach.  The general idea was that the bulky hub and spoke method of moving people around was not what the airlines or passengers ultimately wanted.  But the A380 with its rather massive pax capacity was certainly not going to fit a direct point-to-point model of operation.  Boeing reasoned that smaller capacity aircraft would fit the point-to-point, nonstop model that travelers clearly preferred, and best of all, the Sonic Cruiser would get ’em there fast.

Click to read more ...

Caption Contest #31 - Wing Walking Winner!

 A big thanx to everyone who played this time around - it was a great response with lots of dandy captions and some good voting too.  Looks like this game can stay out to play for a while longer : )

 Congrats go out to Jay at Schumann Aviation for wing walking his way to the winning caption.  I was pretty sure when I saw that submission that it was gonna be hard to beat.  It's also a nice follow up to podcast #8 that includes a lot of wing walking talk with Kyle Franklin.

 Watch for next Monday morning (3-1-10) and we'll see if we can do this all over again!

WACO Classic: Hand-Crafted Perfection (Check Out The Virtual 360 Cockpit!)

The YMF-5 from WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation  photo: WACO Classic

Click the pic to open up an awesome 360 virtual cockpit

(5 pix )

 Back in March of 1986 something really cool happened: the first ‘brand new’ WACO YMF Classic was completed as a fully certified aircraft under the original WACO type certificate.  Just like the one pictured above, the WACO Classics look exactly like the original YMF of the 1930’s except that they've been modernized where it makes sense and are available with fully updated instrumentation. 

 Click the panel pic above to go to an awesome 360 degree hi-res picture that puts you right in the pilot’s seat so you can check out that instrumentation. (mouse around for a full 360 view)

 You might not know that the YMF is one of the WACO designs from the golden age of aviation that has a front cockpit big enough for two.  That helps makes these biplanes a good choice for scenic ride takers.  It’s a lot more likely you’ll be profitable when you’ve got two paying passengers on board!  Plus, two seats up front makes the ride more fun for those a little unsure about riding in an open cockpit.  As for me, I don’t think it gets any better than a round engine, an open cockpit and two wings!  That’s some pure avgeek perfection : )

  These gorgeous airplanes are built by the WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Company president Peter Bowers says they’ve been able to stay busy during the tough economic times, tho the backlog isn’t very deep.  The fact that they haven’t had layoffs and shutdowns actually makes them unique in the world of general aviation manufacturing these days.  And, increased demand from European customers keeps things looking promising.  Typically, they build 4 to 8 airplanes a year with the 26 employees on staff. 

 My dad took this picture of a WACO Classic in the Southwest a few years back.  He'd go for a scenic ride each year while he was staying out of the cold Midwestern winters.

Click to read more ...