Video: Clipped Wing Cub - Possibly The World's Greatest Airplane!

 
 This video of Brendan O'Brien (O'Brien's Flying Circus) at the Rougham (England) Airshow in 2010 gives you an idea of why I believe the Clipped Wing Cub is possibly the world's greatest airplane. On just 100hp (or 90hp like the one I used to fly way back in the day) you get a very sporting, aerobatic leaning, antique icon that is cheap to fly and nothing but smiles, smiles, smiles. You can open the window on the left and the whole door on the right and be almost open-cockpit, or you can button things up and go for a high speed cruise of almost 90mph!

Brendan O'Brien and his 100hp Clipped Wing Cub  (photo: O'Briens Flying Circus)

 It's both an easy and challenging taildragger... there's something very cool about having to fly it from the back seat, but it'll keep you busy when you've got a big person in the front that you can't see around. And to me, it's hard to beat the simple beauty of an old Continental hanging its cylinders out in the breeze!

 All things considered, flying just doesn't get any better than doing it in a Clipped Wing Cub! My personal financial recovery from the collapse of 2008 is both long and very slow, but I'm ever hopeful that somehow 2012 will give me the chance to wrap my arms around a Clipped Wing Cub once again : )

Me in N38365 in 1980 when I was 19 years old - my most favorite airplane ever!
 

N38365 in 2007 - it hasn't been part of my life since 1981 (photo: Terry Shepherd)

Rutan/Scaled ARES Spotted: Gray, In The Wild Blue Yonder

Scaled Model 151 ARES in gray paint against a blue Texas sky (photo: Steve Douglass)

 The Scaled Model 151 ARES designed by Burt Rutan in the late 80's and first flown in 1990 did a great job of meeting the design goals of a small, inexpensive and agile close air support aircraft... but in the end, only one prototype was built. As is common with Scaled aircraft, the ARES moved past its original intent to be used for any purpose a customer was willing to pay for. That even included being in the 1992 film Aces: Iron Eagle III playing the part of a fictitious version of the Messerschmitt Me 263. And while this unique composite flying machine with the off-center mounted turbofan was sent to storage in 2000, it was seen in 2008 to be back in the air doing some sort of testbed work.

The Scaled ARES recently passing thru amarillo Texas  (photo: Steve Douglass)

 And now here recently it was spotted by photographer Steve Douglass as it made a stop in Amarillo Texas. It appears that the aircraft was on its way eastward and is presumably doing some work for the Navy. So, technically, that may not have been the Wild Blue Yonder that its sweet and simple gray paint was contrasting with : )

 It's just great to see this little Warthog-ette, that once had a 25mm canon mounted onboard, is back in the air and working again!

More ARES design info: Video: Getting To Know The Rutan Model 151 'ARES' Circa 1990

Caption Contest #66 Winner - Christmas Revenge!

 It's interesting how many times the first caption to come in (and usually just minutes after I put the contest up) is the one that nails the idea and winds up the winner. That's the case this time around as Jack Hodgson (from the world famous UncontrolledAirspace podcast - @jackhodgson) gets a little Christmas revenge against Santa. Even better than that, Jack has earned a big congrats and a delicious bacon sandwhich at Oshkosh 2012 : )

 A big thank you goes out to Jack and everyone who played along this time as we bring 2011 to a close. You can expect more of this creative avgeekery to continue as we plow our way into 2012!

Video: Nearly 14' Wingspan RC Airbus A400M - With Paratroopers!

 
 This amazing and very large (1:10 scale) Airbus A400M RC model has been around for a while but there's so dang much cool stuff on the interwebs these days that sometimes it takes a while to find the must-see items. With a nearly 14 foot wingspan, a little over 90 pounds, and with 18 servos operated by two people with two radios, this is one complex RC model. And, as this video shows, it has video cameras mounted in the cockpit(!), under the belly, in the tail, and one pointed out the back of the cargo area. That last one is especially cool since it gives us the chance to see the cargo doors open from the inside while in flight, and then we get to see some little paratroopers exit the aircraft! (doors opens at the 3:10 mark)

 The model is from France and took 6 years to build. In addition to being large and complex, this A400M appears to be a great flyer. You even get a bit of a scale-like sound out of it at times given that it has some pretty massive electric power. The flight props in the video are just two bladed but the Facebook picture gallery from Millenium Modélisme in France shows the scale 8-bladers that are also fitted. I'm assuming they are static display only... but wouldn't it be awesome if they had airworthy super screws for this thing!

Video screenshot of the huge and awesome RC A400M in flight

 You can learn a bit more from this Millenium Modélisme blog post , otherwise there doesn't seem to be a lot of additional info on the model to be found. Hopefully we'll see more great videos of this amazing beast in the future!

Impossibly Rare 'Flying Dorito' (A-12 Avenger II) Canopy For Sale On eBay!

The only known part of the mysterious A-12 Avenger II in the wild - and it's for sale!

 Buy It Now for $620,238.00

 Did you fail at finding the perfect Christmas gift for that loved one who has everything? How about fetching up this canopy for the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II? It's pretty safe to say that they don't already have one! In fact, it appears that this is the only piece of the never-got-completed stealth aircraft project from the late 80's... and it's currently for sale on eBay! (multiple pix in the gallery there)

 The A-12 (nicknamed the flying Dorito) was the advanced stealth design intended to replace the Navy's Grumman A-6 Intruder carrier-based aircraft. The ATA (Advanced Tactical Aircraft) program was begun by the Navy in 1983, and the team of McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics won the contract to produce the ATA over the team from Northrop/Grumman/Vought. The flying Dorito A-12 program appears to have bitten off more than it could chew. The idea of using composite structures for stealth carrier-based aircraft were a good one, but they were having all kinds of troubles achieving the design goals, and the weight was getting out of control. A lot has been learned about composite structures in the last 20 years! In 1991, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney pulled the plug on the program that had spent $2 billion but hadn't produced a flying (or even finished) aircraft, and apparently couldn't give a believable estimate of when it would. It's an icky mess that continues to be fought in court yet today.

McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II (the flying Dorito) rendering

 But for us mere mortals outside of the defense contractor/aerospace industry and the glamorous world of US politics, the A-12 was just a really fascinating attempt to change everything we knew about what a carrier-based military aircraft looked like. And now, for the asking price of just $620,238.00, you can purchase the only known piece to be available from a real A-12 on eBay!  It seems that this little gem of a find has actually spent last 15 years stored just 1-1/2 hours from me down at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. As the story goes, no one there seems to know how it got there, or even why it was there. They don't appear to have been doing anything with it, and they were thinking of selling it for scrap but then decided to put it up on the GovDeals website. That's where Seth Kettleman, a seller of surplus aircraft stuff, found the rare and unique piece. He grabbed it for $2,300, and after checking it all out, he's come to the conclusion it's the real deal. He's also come to the conclusion that it's really valuable! I'd certainly agree, but I'm thinking more like $75,000 valuable insetad of $600,000+. It'll be very interesting to see if it sells, and for how much.

Beautiful model of the A-132 avenger II from over at HyperScale.com

 The existence of this one canopy has gotta make you wonder if there are other parts hidden away from the A-12 airframes that were in production at the time the program was cancelled. You would think not, but after this piece turning up on eBay, who knows. The mock-up for the A-12 is still in existence, and it appears that it'll be restored and on display at the Fort Worth Air & Space Museum when it opens in 2015. And, for a better idea of what the aircraft looked like, several scale plastic models can be found on the internet, like this really great on over at HyperScale.com. The gallery of images there really help to see a lot of A-12 details - be sure to check it out.

 Ultimately, I'd love to have this impossibly rare piece of the A-12, but it's much more likely that I'll just have a $.99 bag of Doritos with lunch : )

Caption Contest #66 - Ends Wednesday 12.28.11 At 9PM EST

 This pic of unknown origin has been traveling the interwebs for several years now, so there's a pretty good chance you've seen it, but I thought now is a perfect time to use it in a Caption Contest since it's the day after Christmas. I'm thinking y'all will have no trouble making funny out of it.

 And, the next best thing to Christmas is a bacon sandwich at Oshkosh 2012(!) - and that's exactly what the winner will get. So I'm here to remind you to take this stuff seriously : )

 You've got til Wednesday evening at 9pm EST to submit your clever/funny/cool captions. Then, I’ll pick the best 5 and put ’em in a poll for everyone to vote on for all day Thursday and Friday so we can find the winner. 

 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!

 Then, anyone can cast their vote starting Thursday morning and running thru til 9pm EST Friday. The winner will be posted Saturday morning 12-31-11. Merry Christmas!

Merry CHRISTmas To You!

 You don't have to dig very deep thru AirPigz.com to see that I have a real passion for the amazing concept of flight. The ability to leave the ground (and the troubles of the world) and move gracefully thru an ocean of air... it's truly one of the greatest experiences of life!

 But as much as I love flying and the machines that make it possible, my real passion in life is for Christ. Maybe that freaks you out. Or maybe it frustrates you that I even mention it here on an aviation website. Please believe me when I say that it's not my intention to freak you out or to frustrate you. It is my intention to be honest with you tho, and honestly, I have experienced that Jesus is everything He claims to be. And there's no better day to make that clear than the day we celebrate His earthly birth - Christmas Day.

 Human beings are sinful and in need of salvation, and Jesus claimed to be the only path to that salvation. That makes him either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. I have found Him to be the Lord. People don't talk much about sin these days, but c'mon, we all know we've done wrong. If we're really honest with ourselves, we know we do wrong to one extent or another, every day. The point here isn't to focus on the problem but rather the solution. Jesus.

 So on this Christmas Day, I hope you're with friends and/or family, and if you've never given Christ a serious look, I really hope you'll wrap your head around this from Psalm 34:8 -  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
 

Merry CHRISTmas!

Poll: Airliners, Side Stick Controller Or Center Control Column?

Center control column in the Boeing 787 cockpit

 This can be a very heated debate, but I don't ask the question to get people yelling, I'm just curious to see what kind of response I'll get here. I've had a strong opinion on this for years but I'm only now beginning to do some research on the philosophies of design & function that drive the decision. There's an even bigger question to be addressed in the debate; whether the two control input devices should always move in unison (I absolutely believe they should), but for now I thought I'd just see if there's a strong leaning one way or the other on what and where the controller is.

 I admit that I'm somewhat out of the experience loop here. I don't have any experience flying airliners (unless you count my insanely cool opportunity to make 2 takeoffs and landings in a full motion 747 simulator when I was 10 years old - thanx dad!) - and I'm not directly connected to the aerospace industry where these kinds of discussions take place. But still, I have a real passion for what really works the best overall in the design and function process, and I have some strong feelings that one of these two options is actually superior to the other when installed in the cockpit of an airliner. This Popular Mechanics story on the cockpit communication and actions in the Air France 447 tragedy point to some of what makes me feel this way.

Side stick controllers in the Airbus A380 cockpit
 

 I'd really like to open up some form of effective discussion on the issue but I haven't figured out yet how we could do that... especially since the overriding goal is to be 'effective' rather than just have passionate shouting matches. In an effort to get the ball rolling, here's a simple poll to see how some of you are thinking. And please feel free to leave some comments on this subject - I love to get a discussion of some sort moving forward. Lastly, while I have a great fondness for the concept of the side stick controller (especially in certain situations), I ultimately fall on the side of a center control column for airliners.

(trying some new poll software - I hope it works well) 

Video: 'Woopy Jump' Inflatable (Sorta Arup) Flying Ski Wing!

 
 (best viewed with speakers off!)

 The slick little glider in this video is called a Woopy-Jump. A while back I saw a video for the enlarged and motorized version of this inflatable flying wing concept called the Woopy-Fly, and while I found it interesting, it just didn't quite trip my trigger. But now I learn of this ultra compact glider version (which is where the idea started to begin with) and I gotta say it's actually one of the coolest flying machines I've ever seen. And it's not just about how the thing flies, it's also in the looks... it reminds me a lot in basic planform of the 1930's era Arup, an almost forgotten aircraft designed by a podiatrist in South Bend Indiana, just up the road from where I live. I've included a few pix at the end of the post of the Arup, and I'll have a dedicated post on it in the future.

 
Video screenshot showing the very small Woopy-Jump glider wing area

 
 Back to the Woopy-Jump. It's been around for a few years now having been designed by Swiss inventor Laurent de Kalbermatten and is named for what people tend to say (woopie!) when they fly it - and the Jump comes from it being more for short flights or 'jumps'. The wing is fabric with very little internal structure. It is then inflated to give a very nice airfoil shape. That shape is maintained by two small battery powered blowers and it's claimed that it can sustain a small hole without deflating. It appears from the info on the website that the wing only weighs 22 pounds! That's part of the reason the wing area can be so small; about 110 square feet with about a 17 foot span.

 When you also consider that this is a very low drag design with no wires or struts, and the fact that it's really meant to be flying with a fairly high rate of sink (meaning almost always down the slope of a ski hill), then you get even more of an idea as to how it can fly with such a small wing. Two other aspects of the design make a lot of sense to me. The small wing keeps the wing loading high which has to help when flying when the air is turbulent. I don't think flying down a ski hill where the air can be a bit dicey in a very low wing loading glider would be a very good idea at all! And the other interesting concept is the fact that the landing gear is a pair of skis. That means instead of running (and easily falling), the skilled skier can leave the ground at 25 to 30 mph with relative ease.

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2nd Annual AirPigz/Air Force Museum Meetup: January 27-29, 2012

A de Havilland Mosquito in U.S. markings at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio

 2nd annual AirPigz meetup at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio will
take place January 27-29, 2012 (Fri, Sat, Sun - come 1, 2 or all 3 days)

Click here to be added to the meetup email list for more details

(10 pix)

 Come-if-you-can to this casual gathering of avgeeks to again experience the amazing collection of aircraft at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people made the trip in 2011, including two that flew via the airlines to join in. Museum admission is free and of course the meetup is too. This is a great winter getaway and a fantastic aviation history experience.

 Friday (January 27, 2012) will include the behind-the-scenes restoration shop tour. You must register in advance with the museum for the restoration shop tour (free) that only runs on Fridays - click here for more info and to register (look for the behind-the-scenes info in the lower left) - BE SURE YOU REGISTER FOR THE JANUARY 27TH DATE. Tour check-in is at 11:45am, with the short bus trip across Wright-Patterson AFB at 12:15pm. The guided walking tour runs about 3 hours... and it's worth the trip no matter how far away you are! Check out the pix below from the restoration shop last year.

 Saturday & Sunday (January 28 & 29, 2012) will give you the chance to take in the massive collection of unique and historic aircraft at your own pace, with a casual gathering for lunch (buy your own) in the Valkyrie Cafe inside the museum from 11:30 to 12:30 both days. You can come for just one of the meetup days, or two, or even all three if you have the availability.

 We'll plan to meet in the entrance lobby Saturday and Sunday at 9am (museum hours are 9 to 5) and then people can journey into the museum on your own or together with friends. For more info on the meetup, click here to get on the Air Force Museum Meetup email list.

 And here's a few more pix from last year at the museum to help convince you that you should make the trip! (and you can also check out the AirForceMuseum AirPigz category for a few more posts)

The 'Swoose' B-17 project in the Air Force Museum restoration shop

Click to read more ...