by Nick Anderson | Mar 19, 2021 | Plane Tales
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The landing gear, or undercarriage, of a big airliner is a massive and powerful system. In modern times stowaways, have frequently attempted to hide within the undercarriage wheel-wells of airliners. The chances of surviving such an ordeal are remote in the extreme as the hazards are many. If someone attempting such a dangerous journey isn’t crushed by the movement of the gear as it stows or fall to their death when the undercarriage doors open to raise or lower the gear, then the environment will present an almost insurmountable hazard. Some, however, still survive!
The landing gear of a B747
The forces that the undercarriage assembly is subjected to are considerable
The landing gear assembly and doors of a B747
FAA guidance on times of useful consciousness
Stranded near Newfoundland in the ice
A Douglas DC8
The DC10
Japanese troops in Timor
A 1950’s airport similar to Kupang
A Netherlands Air Force C47
Darwin Hospital
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Adrian Pingstone, Faisal Akram, Alf van Beem, Australian War Memorial, Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Luchtmacht and kenhodge13.
by Nick Anderson | Mar 12, 2021 | Plane Tales
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The Hovercraft is something of a rare beast. This story examines the many engineers and scientists who contributed to the development of a vehicle that is lifted on a cushion of air and is capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, tarmac, sand and many other flattish surfaces.
The Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg is known to have sketched the first hovercraft design in 1714.
Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl’s Luftkissengleitboot, a surface effect boat.
How a hovercraft functions.
Ford’s efforts at hovering cars.
The L1 hovering tank.
Charles Fletcher’s Glidemobile.
Cockerell’s hovercraft patent.
Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell.
SRN1.
SRN4.
The US Navy LCAC.
The Soviet Zubr class ACV, the biggest in the world weighing in at 555 tons.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to those in the Public Domain, Technical Museum Vienna, Messer Woland, the Ford Motor Company, Ad Meskens, GB Patent Office, The National Archives UK, USN, Andrew Berridge and Mil.Ru (LightZone).
by Nick Anderson | Mar 4, 2021 | Plane Tales
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Out of the gloom of thick cloud, through their windscreens, the pilots suddenly saw the tops of pine trees but it was too late to pull up. They ploughed through them as the branches smashed into the left wing shattering the navigation light. One of the passengers onboard was the President of the airline, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker… this is his story.
An Eastern Airlines DC3
Atlanta had poor weather and it was close to midnight when the aircraft crashed
Eddie Rickenbacker
The findings of the inquiry
Racing in San Francisco
Rickenbacker becomes CO of the 94th, the Hat in the Ring gang
After receiving many decorations, Rickenbacker returns to the US a hero
The Rickenbacker motor company
Rickenbacker survives a second crash, this time in a Boeing B-17
Capt. E.V. “Eddie” Rickenbacker wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor
Images published under Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Jack Delano, the Library of Congress, CAB, SF Public Library, NARA, Rickenbacker Motors, the USAFand the USAAF.
by Nick Anderson | Feb 20, 2021 | Plane Tales
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This is the final part of the Red Flag tales which carries on directly from Part II where we heard some exploits from participants of Exercise Red Flag. If you haven’t listened to the previous taleson this subject, it would be worth going back them. My thanks to Jaguar Pilot Nij, Tornado pilot Gasher, Tomcat RIO Scott and RAAF F111 Nav Abs.
The E-3 Sentry AWACS.
Break Right Chuck, there’s one in your 6 o’clock!
A Smokey SAM.
Live weapons being dropped during Red Flag.
A Tornado drops flares.
An RAAF F111 puts its wings back and goes!
The Jaguar pilot’s favourite dance.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, Photo-Concepte.de, the RAF, the USN,
by Nick Anderson | Feb 13, 2021 | Plane Tales
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In the first part of the Red Flag tales we talked about the reasons for the formation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the subsequent creation of Exercise Red Flag. Now we get a chance to hear from some of the participants. Firstly there is Nij who took time off from his Nuclear QRA duties to fly his RAF Jaguar in Flag exercises. Then we have a Tornado GR1 pilot, Gasher, who also participated on behalf of the RAF. Jack was an F15 pilot who took part as a wingman, formation leader and also as a Fighter Weapons School graduate. Scott was a Tomcat RIO who was part of Red Air during Flag exercises and Abs, a navigator from the Royal Australian Air Force flew with the F111 force and was even a Blue Force Commander during the exercise.
An RAF Jaguar
An RAF Tornado at Nellis
The mighty F15 Eagle
The USN F14 Tomcat
The RAAF F111
The Nellis ranges with Area 51 marked in red
The Nellis Air Force Base
A Red Flag briefing
The symbol of Exercise Red Flag
The EF-111A Raven
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Steve Lynes, Finlay McWalter, the USAF, USN, Ken Lund, the National Museum of the Air Force and the MOD.
