Air Trivia

Charlie Blair flying an American Export from Ireland to New York in 1945.
 
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The Other Guy said:
A Martin SeaMaster?
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Nope, sorry (AFAIK).

The Martin P6M SeaMaster, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company, was a 1950s strategic bomber flying boat for the United States Navy that almost entered service; production aircraft had been built and Navy crews were undergoing operational conversion, with a service entry about six months off, when the program was cancelled on August 21, 1959.
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One more (mis)try and I will resolve, do not want to keep you all on edge ;) .

Last hint: It was in the 90´s...

Just to relay the question again:

Last 4-engine flying boat that crossed the Atlantic? When? Pilot?
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*Really* last hint :mrgreen:: ...make that "piston engines"...

Rattler
 
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"shorty " was a jockey before he became a fighter pilot, on the Hurricane and later the Spitfire, for the RAF. He was less than five feet tall, and he had to have blocks on the rudder pedals, and a pillow under him, to be able to fly. He was a American.

Jim B. Toronto.
 
48th highlanders said:
"shorty " was a jockey before he became a fighter pilot, on the Hurricane and later the Spitfire, for the RAF. He was less than five feet tall, and he had to have blocks on the rudder pedals, and a pillow under him, to be able to fly. He was a American.

Jim B. Toronto.
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And I guess (like me) he had to carry a lead cussion (pillow) to keep CG in place?

Rattler
 
rattler said:
Last 4-engine flying boat that crossed the Atlantic? When? Pilot?

Rattler
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Ok, to not block the thread any longer I will resolve:

Short Sunderland, 1993, Kermit (yes indeed! :) ) Weeks

Nice narrrative about why and how, here: http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/sunderland.htm

Bkgnd here: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0225/102.html

Kermit Weeks, an oil heir who operates a Florida museum and theme park called Fantasy of Flight, wishes he could get his hands on one. His $40 million collection of vintage planes includes a 1944 Short Sunderland, the last four-engine passenger flying boat in the world still capable of flight. In 1993 Weeks bought the 57,000-pound aircraft for $500,000 from an owner who had acquired it from former Pan Am pilot Charlie Blair. Weeks flew it across the Atlantic, becoming the last flying boat pilot to complete a transatlantic hop.
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Rattler, at your orders.
 
What WW2 fighter aircraft was sometimes equipped with a six pounder anti tank gun ( mounted under the cockpit floor and fired by the navigator with a lanyard ) for anti submarine attacks in the Bay of Biscaine ?

Jim B. Toronto.
 
48th highlanders said:
What WW2 fighter aircraft was sometimes equipped with a six pounder anti tank gun ( mounted under the cockpit floor and fired by the navigator with a lanyard ) for anti submarine attacks in the Bay of Biscaine ?

Jim B. Toronto.
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Mosquito FB Mk XVIII sometimes known as the Tsetse
 
48th highlanders said:
Britinafrica '

I was able to find one reference to a Bristol Hercules engine, with about 300 Lancasters having them installed.

jim b.
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Correct

As an aside a number of Wellington bombers the type 406 Wellington Mark II were fitted with Merlins, for some reason the engines tended to overheat.

As far as I am aware there is not a single example of the Wellington airworthy. I think thats a disgrace to the crews who fought and died in the aeroplane.
 
Britinafrica :

I don't know of any Wellingtons that can fly either.

About 40 miles to the west of Toronto , is the Canadian War Plane Heritage Museum, with over 50 WW2 era aircraft, of which 23 are flyable. The CWPHM has the only flying Avro Lancaster in North America, but there are also two others in various states of re-building in Canada.

Here is a link to the website at CWPHM

http://www.warplane.com/

The only fully restored Halifax bomber is also located in Canada, at CFB Trenton, in Ontario. Here is a link to the website.

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/news_e.asp?id=1463

Jim B.
 
48th highlanders said:
Britinafrica :

I don't know of any Wellingtons that can fly either.

About 40 miles to the west of Toronto , is the Canadian War Plane Heritage Museum, with over 50 WW2 era aircraft, of which 23 are flyable. The CWPHM has the only flying Avro Lancaster in North America, but there are also two others in various states of re-building in Canada.

Here is a link to the website at CWPHM

http://www.warplane.com/

The only fully restored Halifax bomber is also located in Canada, at CFB Trenton, in Ontario. Here is a link to the website.

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/news_e.asp?id=1463

Jim B.
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A Wellignton Bomber Wellington Mark IA Serial Number N2980 was recovered from Lock Ness a few years ago and restored to non flying condition. I watched her recovery on TV years ago, which was witnessed by former workers of Vickers who built Welligntons. When she was pulled out of the water and placed on land, a battery was connected and her nav lights lit up.

She was ditched while on a training exercise in 1940 after the pilot ordered the crew to bail out, all survived except for the rear gunner. The aircraft has been restored except for the props as a tribute to the gunner who was killed.

The Canadian Lancaster along with the City of Lincoln are the only two Lancasters in airworthy condition. I have witnessed the City of Lincoln landing a few times during my service in the RAF, a sight to behold.

Thank you for the links, amazing. I'm glad to see the CWHM is paying tribute to those who fought for our freedom and the Halifax is awsome.
 
You are welcome.

I act as a volunteer guide at CWHM, and as a reward for doing 1500 hours of tours, I was given a 2 hour " hop ' on the Lanc in 2005. We flew to CFB Trenton, for a air show on Canada Day, July the first. I had a ride back by car, to allow another volunteer to ride back to Hamilton.

The public can fly in the Lanc, for a donation of $1.000 CDN each , with a minimum of 4 persons in the group, which is also the max seating load.

Our Lancaster pilots are all "heavy 4 engine jet " commercial pilots who fly on a strict rotation, so every one gets the same amount of seat time.

Unlike many other war plane restoration groups, CWHM does not allow individual ownership of the aircraft. They are all owned by the members, all 17,000 of them.

jim b.
 
I'm jealous. That has been one of my dreams to fly in a Lancaster.

As far as I am aware the BBMF do not allow paying passenger in their Lanc, if they did there would be a queue for miles.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/

An excellent place to visit is the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in the UK. They have a number of static display aircraft as well as airworthy Spits, Hurricane and a BF109 among others.

They have a tremendous display of vehicles and captured equipment from the Falklands War. If you are ever in UK, its well worth a visit.

http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/
 
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