So how fast and manueverable were these babies? I know they actually saw action in WWII but there were too few to have any effect.
And are any actual 262s stil flying? I take it these are reconstructions, right?
Gorgeous planes. And what about the ME 163?
Jesse
And what about the ME 163?
Seems I saw a site that was making reproductions of
those too, none flying as yet I think.
Not using T-stoff etc, but modern propellents.
Fast for the period. There are no original Me262's flying. The real ones are too scarce. These examples are pretty much authentic, down to the nut and bolt recreations with a few changes (improvements) made for safety. The engines are not the original Junkers units. They are modern G.E. engines that have been shrouded with facades that mimic the appearance of the originals.
The Me 163 was a death trap and will not be flying again anytime soon.
Unless these guys have anything to say about it.
Back in the 1970s a friend of mine had a summer job at the Royal Ontario Museum where he had the privilege of working with a janitor who happened to be one of the few Komet pilots to actually survive the experience. The ME183 had the unfortunate tendency to blow up on landing but some of the pilots discovered that it was safe if, immediately prior to engine burnout, the nose was pointed vertical to drain the fuel tank completely. The man flew a few dozen sorties IIRC.