GERMAN JET FIGHTER REPLICA HEADS OVERSEAS (US Gov. alarmed at "war weapon export")

AOPA Online | 1/13/06

[pabianice]

A replica of one of Germany's greatest technological triumphs late in World War II, the Messerschmitt Me.262 fighter jet, has left American soil and reached Germany after U.S. State Department officials delayed it 60 days because they saw it as a weapon of war.

The four 30 mm replica cannons aboard lack a firing mechanism and still wouldn't fire if they had one. The aircraft now has arrived in Germany where it will be reassembled by the Messerschmitt Foundation aircraft collection and flown once again.

The replica project has been taken over by a group of retired Boeing engineers operating in Everett, Washington, as Legend Flyers. The aircraft are for sale by Air Assets International/Warbird Recovery in Colorado. Messerschmitt granted five additional serial numbers. Two have been built, with three to go.

[tarheelswamprat]

"possibly a U2"

You really think Bono has that kind of clout?

No, but I'd lay odds he's been that high! /grin

[-YYZ-]

Oooh, I love the B1-B, although neither of those shots does full justice to it. You really need to see it overhead banking through a hard turn, and then straighten out, hit the afterburners and sweep the wings back. I got a personal tour of one some years ago - personal, not one of those air show static display tours, but a "go-ahead, try all the seats, put your hands on the controls" tour. Really cool, but very utilitarian and "60s" looking inside.

[dljordan]

"Flying around in a Stuka, complete with the siren, could certainly be fun ;)"

My dream? A Mosquito. I'd love to roll in on my local airport at 400 mph.

[af_vet_rr]

I want to know what plane took that shot. I am sure it is either a touched photo or was done by a satellite.

I believe it's a touched-up photo, probably for a promotional brochure (either for the Air Force or Lockheed) - I've seen it several times on FR and elsewhere, and I vaguely remember a recruiting poster that had something similar.

The only aircraft close to that altitude was the X-15, and I think that was a bit high for an X-15 (which only went out to around 350,000 feet). I remember hearing somewhere that Neil Armstrong had an X-15 flight where things got a little wild and he nearly ended up going into the upper atmosphere (or low orbit if you prefer) after he should have started his descent. Later on they pushed it upto 350,000 feet (I think Armstrong's highest flight was in the 200,000 foot range, because he left for astronaut training before getting a chance go higher and faster). Seems like a big difference between 350,000 and higher, and 200,000 feet, but when you're doing 4000mph + you can cover that distance pretty quick.

[ABN 505]

Apparently a female officer took umbrage at a male officers statement that he "got wood" after seeing the new Destroyer he had been assigned to. She reported him and he received a reprimand and a report in his file.I saw the article awhile back in the forum and thought it was funny.

[rattrap]

The Ta-152 was the long winged, high-alititude version of the FW-190, it saw combat in the late stages of the war and was a devestating fighter.

[rvoitier]

Yes!

Thank God the war was all but over before they went into volume production.

[rvoitier]

I'm not an afficanado like some on this board but this plane is my favorite.

I *think* its predecessor, the YF-12, was so fast that it could shoot itself down; after firing rounds the plane could catch up to the bullets. At least that's a story I heard.

[rvoitier]

WooooooW, now THAT's flying.

[tanknetter]

Actually, it's a 'backwards' F-20 Tigershark.

Sort of. The forward fuselage, nose gear and vertical tail came from a surplus F-5. The rest of the aircraft was built by Grumman. I believe that the main gear was modified from an F-16 set. The engine was the same one (F404?) used on the F-20, but also on the Legacy F-18 and F-117.

[tanknetter]

I heard those had to be refueled after every takeoff because they leaked like a sieve until the airframe got up to cruising temperature. Think it was an old retired USAF coworker that told me.

They leaked like a sieve because the fuselage and fuel tanks were designed and built with cracks in them ... better allowing the aircraft to expand (by at least a foot, iirc) at speed/altitude/temperature.

[ericthecurdog]

Yeah, my statement was pretty simplistic. I guess they just look similar to me because of common lineage.

[VOA]

U.S. State Department officials delayed it 60 days because they saw it as a weapon of war.

I guess some Clintonoids at the State Dept. wanted to prove that they
could find WMDs. LOL!

[AFreeBird]

I *think* its predecessor, the YF-12, was so fast that it could shoot itself down; after firing rounds the plane could catch up to the bullets. At least that's a story I heard.

I heard the same thing once back in the early 80's from a guy that was in communications and claimed that he rode in one doing sat com tests. I took that last part with a grain of salt.

But he also said that an armed version was impratical for the very reasons you mentioned; It's not good to out run your own ordinance.

[IGOTMINE]

Yes. The Guadalcanal guys got their kills flying inferior aircraft against the creme of Japanese military aviation. While later aviators bested their records, they were facing ill-trained hamburgers.

[usmcobra]

Nothing beats The 50's for cool looking jets.

[Fred Hayek]

The Russians followed through on it with the S-37 Berkut. A backwards Flanker.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"The MiG-15 was a design based on a never-built jet the Luftwaffe commissioned from Focke-Wulf. That plane was designed by the brilliant Kurt Tank and would have been known as the Ta-152"

Actually, I think it was the Ta 183--the 152 was a high-altitude version of the Fw 190.

[Robert A Cook PE]

So, the Estate Dept CAN'T find a way to prevent Iran from getting REAL-WORLD nukes (other than to appease the UN and "express displeasure!) BUT they CAN find a way to prevent a big model (of a historic (and certiflyably) antique!) "model airplane" from getting to our 50-year ally against Soviet Russia.

[Fred Hayek]

I don't think the YF-12 was intended to carry any cannon (this was in the day that the gun was "obsolete" only to find out otherwise over North Viet Nam). Main armament was supposed to be the AIM-47, a predecessor to the AIM-54 Phoenix.
The YF-12 would not have been any kind of air superiority fighter, more likely would have been assigned to Air Defense Command. Similar role as the F-101, F-102, F-106, and cancelled F-108.