Me 262 flys again

stormbirds.com ^ | 5/27/05 | stormbirds.com

[SkyPilot]

Yup-er! The Russians captured some of the German engineers that designed the TA 183 too.

There was a great show on the MIG 15 on Modern Marvels (History Channel) a couple of nights ago---did you catch it?

[Western Phil]

Didn't put in the part which said that this was an unfueled flight.

[yarddog]

That does make you think of the MIG-15. The Russians stole the design from the Germans and the Brits gave them the engine.

I saw a program on the History Channel a while back in which they claimed the British gave them the engine based on losing a pool game.

I thought at the time that was probably total nonsense. The British government was full of Commies. I suspect that is how they got it. Anyway they got the best jet engine in the world without doing any development work. We then paid the price in korea.

[GBA]

As much as I love the F-16, I hate to say this, but the Thunderbirds are boring. The Blue Angles are the the ones to watch. Those guys really know how to fly and put on a show!

[struwwelpeter]

I wonder how original the Yak-28's design was. It looks like it has some Sturmvogel genes.

[struwwelpeter]

Here's an interceptor version, Yak28P (perekhvatchik).

[wolficatZ]

I used to fly Jaleco's Fighter Ace..it was so cheap back then, 9.95 a month..unlimited..and up to 100+ pilots in one arena...flying against human opponents and with wingmates is such a rush...

 

I kind of miss it..the Spit XIV was my favorite. I wonder what's going on with that game now. I know they expanded to Japanese subscribers, so you can actually fly against real Japanese squads..and they are usually pretty good.

 

I think I have a few screenies still.. VROOOOM   ***RATATATAT***

 

 

The Yak-9 was one slippery squirrel of a plane...one I could never get comfortable with..but all the hotshots seemed to like it..

 

The cool thing with an MMPO like this is being able to jump right into a big battle in a matter of seconds and then land...and make a sandwich..very convenient..and cheatproof too..very tightly monitored by the game mods.

[RobRoy]

I've never seen that cockpit style before. Is that a trainer?

[IonImplantGuru]

My uncle tried to catch one when he was flying P-51's during the war. Didn't know what in the hell it was, "but it sure was fast!"

The 2-engine ME-262 used Junkers Jumo 004B axial Turbojets with a thrust of 1,980lb. Its maximum speed was 870 km/h (461 mph) and a range of 1050 km (560 Mi). It used four 30 mm MK 108 cannons in the nose. Two cannons had 100 rounds and two were with 80 rounds (260 total). Rockets could also be loaded on the wings in later versions.

By comparison, The most common Mustang, the P-51D, powered by RR Merlin V-12 engine, had a max speed of 437 mph and a combat range of 950 mi (1,855 if equipped with drop tanks). Arnament was 6 .50 machineguns with 1880 rounds of ammo. It could carry 2 1,000# bombs or 10 rockets.

Yeah, the ME-262 was max 25 mph faster, but acceleration wasn't great on those early jets because they took a long time to spool up. Given that the Mustang has over 7 times the ammo, 2x or more the range - and was probably more maneuverable - I'm not so sure I wouldn't have rather been in the cockpit of a Mustang.

[wolficatZ]

I'll never forget being a wee lad..in the middle of Charleston Harbor on a boat, and watching the Blue Angels flying F4s(!).

A6s used to "strafe" us on the beach all the time, we would wave and they would give us a little wing wag.

I also got to see the Angels many years later in Upstate NY..spectacular show.

Whenever we were playing on the beach and a guided missile cruiser would steam out of the Naval Base under full power, we kids knew the "big wave" was coming, and everyone would run into the water to body surf the monster Kona wake wave!

[wolficatZ]

More like 540mph; is generally agreed upon as the max speed of the 262...am I mistaken?

[Colonel_Flagg]

Well, heck. Maybe we can start one!

[struwwelpeter]

The Russian 'bard' Vysotskiy had a nice song about the the Yak-9:

Ya - 'Yak', istrebitel',
Motor moy zvenit.  Nebo - moya obitel'.
No tot, kotoriy vo mne sidit,
Schitaet, chto on - istrebitel'.

     I'm the "Yak" fighter,
     My engine whines.  The sky is my abode.
     But the one who sits inside of me,
     Thinks that he's the fighter.

[wolficatZ]

I was so bummed when the Champlin Fighter museum here closed and moved everything to commie Seattle...the Yak9 was one of my faves...a mean little plane! The Fw-190D11 was one menacing hulk of a plane.

 

And the KAWANISHI N1K2-J SHINDEN-KAI was one sweet beast of a bird...another tragedy was the CASA He-111 crashing in Wyoming..it used to fly over Tempe occasionaly, I could always tell it was  aproaching from the sound of the twin Merlins, a tragic loss of a great plane and two great pilots.

 

I spent a whole day there videotaping every single plane there (a huge selection of WWI kites too)..they even had a T-34 tank in full running condition there for a while.

 

[yooling]

Nah, but I've seen programs that mention it. Maybe the same one, different night. If you like this stuff I recommend German Aircraft of the Second World War by Jr Smith and Antony L Kay. It's the most comprehensive book that I've found on the subject, 750 pages of pure aviation nerd bliss. I wish I could find ones like it on Japanese planes and German armor.

[yooling]

Yep. They're making six(I think) only one dedicated single seater, some that can be either single or dual and two 2 seaters. The original that they used for mock-ups was a trainer. The trainers would also be more profitable for a potential buyer as he could sell rides for a freakin fortune.

[Taxman]

How many times have you watched "Twelve O-Clock High?"

Watched it again last night. Hairs go up on the back of my neck every time I hear (the whine-clank-clank-fart-fart-snort-snort-rumble-rumble as) those magnificient R-1820s come to life as Harvey is standing on the tarmac at the beginning of that movie.

The fact that I have several thousand hours sitting behind (T-28) and next to R-1820s (S-2, E-1B, C-1A) may have something to do with the nostalgia.

But dammit! I will FReely admit that the sound of an(y) unmuffled round aircraft engine turns me on!

[csvset]

France surrenders!

[skinkinthegrass]

Thanks, A. :))

[Taxman]

I was at the 1975 CAF airshow when "FiFi" made here first public appearence. AWESOME!