History Friday

[bfargin]

5 hours ago, SurelySerious said:

Don’t mourn, surely you’ve been proselytized regarding the resurrection?

I was super glad that 1 in 3 alert died. There's always good and bad with any major change.

[M2]

80 years ago today, 10 Sep 1944, the C-82 Packet’s prototype made its first flight above the Fairchild plant in Hagerstown, Maryland. Incorporating notable design features that would become the standard for cargo aircraft, such as its tricycle landing gear and high wings and tail (which allowed vehicles to approach it from any angle without fear of a collision), it was the first aircraft designed specifically for cargo transfer during WWII. Indeed, even its name, the “Packet,” harkened to the packet ships that hauled cargo up and down the coasts between seaports. But although it was designed for cargo, it did also see use as a troop transport, and could carry up to 41 paratroopers or 34 medical stretchers. In the photo, from Oct 1944, the aircraft’s clamshell rear doors are opened to show-off how efficient its cargo and vehicle loading operations could be. (Photo: NMUSAF)

Note:  223 aircraft were built, and the C-82 was retired from the USAF inventory in 1954.  Small numbers were sold to civilian operators in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the US and were utilized for many years as rugged freight aircraft, capable of carrying bulky items of cargo. The last example was retired in the late 1980s.

Static displays:

44-23006 – Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

45-57814 – Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Hagerstown, Maryland. The aircraft was flown to the airport on 15 October 2006, marking the world's last flight of a C-82.

48-0574 – McChord Air Museum at McChord Field in Tacoma, Washington.

48-0581 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio

[M2]

On 9/9/2024 at 1:18 PM, Biff_T said:

What a beautiful photo. 

[M2]

Today in 1953, the Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9A prototype Sidewinder missile had its first successful fire and kill above China Lake, California, at the Naval Ordnance Test Station (today called the Naval Air Weapons Station—about an hour’s drive north of Edwards AFB). The experimental heat-seeking air-to-air missile was fired by Lieutenant Commander Albert S. Yesensky (USN) from an AD-4 (A-1) Skyraider at a radio-controlled F6F-5K Hellcat “drone.” As the location of the testing and the affiliation of the pilot firing it suggests, this missile was originally developed for the Navy; but it was later adapted by the Air Force for fighter aircraft use and entered the Air Force inventory in 1956. It saw heavy use during the Vietnam War—and its latest versions remain in use today as advanced short-range air-to-air missiles. (Photo: NMUSAF)

[Lawman]

Today in 1953, the Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9A prototype Sidewinder missile had its first successful fire and kill above China Lake, California, at the Naval Ordnance Test Station (today called the Naval Air Weapons Station—about an hour’s drive north of Edwards AFB). The experimental heat-seeking air-to-air missile was fired by Lieutenant Commander Albert S. Yesensky (USN) from an AD-4 (A-1) Skyraider at a radio-controlled F6F-5K Hellcat “drone.” As the location of the testing and the affiliation of the pilot firing it suggests, this missile was originally developed for the Navy; but it was later adapted by the Air Force for fighter aircraft use and entered the Air Force inventory in 1956. It saw heavy use during the Vietnam War—and its latest versions remain in use today as advanced short-range air-to-air missiles. (Photo: NMUSAF)

Going with this, an interesting history for development of AIM9 as the underdog program that went on to win in the end…

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Biff_T]

Edit:  This thing would have been insane to see fly.  It never happened but is part of history, never the less, as a crazy idea developed during the Cold War.  

 

Edited September 11 by Biff_T
Afterthought

[M2]

On 12 Sep 1947, an experimental new autopilot (or “mechanical brain,” as it was reported by the press) developed over the past two years at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, was used to fly a C-54 Skymaster from the All-Weather Test Center in Wilmington, Ohio, (an adjunct of Wright Field) to Bangor, Maine, to Miami, Florida, and then back again to Ohio. It was the second of three tests of the autopilot that year, with an earlier test conducted cross-country from Long Beach, California, to Dayton in June. The third test, occurring on 21 September, saw a crew of 11 fliers and observers flying across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to England. That third flight made national headlines, and won its commander—Col James M. Gillespie—the Thurman H. Bane Award (named for the McCook Field commander from 1918-1922) for 1947. (Photo: NMUSAF)

[snoopyeast]

Do you like the 80s, synthesizers, and Cold War aesthetics?  If so, this video is for you.   Oh and don't forget Brooke Shields. 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:04 AM by snoopyeast
edit

[M2]

14 hours ago, snoopyeast said:

Do you like the 80s, synthesizers, and Cold War aesthetics?  If so, this video is for you.   Oh and don't forget Brooke Shields. 

 

Like it?  I lived it! 😎😎😎

[RASH]

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