 | Boeing 314 PanAm Clipper depron radio control boeing 314. windy day, crummy landing |
 | Sikorsky S-40 Flying Boat The Sikorsky S-40 was an amphibious flying boat built in the early 1930s, and the largest commercial airliner of its time. Flying for Pan American Airways, a total of three aircraft were built, manufactured by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut. All three were scrapped during World War II. The aircraft first flew on November 19, 1931 and was piloted by Charles Lindbergh from Miami, Florida to the Panama Canal Zone. The S-40 was the first of many aircraft known as Flying Clipper and Pan Am Clipper. The S-40 was nicknamed the "Flying Forest" for its maze of support struts. General characteristics Crew: four Capacity: 40 passengers Length: 76 ft 8 in (23.37 m) Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.76 m) Height: 23 ft 10 in (7.27 m) Wing area: 1,875 ft² (174.3 m²) Empty: 24,748 lb (11,249 kg) Loaded: 34,000 lb (15,455 kg) Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg) Powerplant: 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial engines, 575 hp (429 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h) Range: 875 miles (1,408 km) Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,963 m) Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min) Wing loading: 18 lb/ft² (89 kg/m²) Power/Mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg) Flight test report: To: MR. I. I. SIKORSKY cc: Mr. Neilson Capt.Sergievsky Mr. S. Gluhareff Mr. N. Sinitzin Files (2) Date: August 31, 1931 From: M. GLUHAREFF Subject: FLIGHT REPORT ON S-40 AMPHIBION - GROSS WEIGHT 32,000# Weather: clear, approximately 12 wind (N.W.) Temperature: 75 Barometer pressure: 30.04 Time: start 2:15 P.M.; finish 4:13 P.M. Take-off time on water - 30 seconds Cruising on 1650 R.P.M. all engines - average speed 100.5 M.P.H. Cruising on 1750 R.P.M. all engines - average speed 107.75 M.P.H. High speed, full throttle, 2010 R.P.M. all engines - average speed 130.25 M.P.H. Cross wind interfered with the speed test flight; it was exactly 90 degrees to the course. The fairing on the landing gear axles came off, building a screeen about 1-1/2 sq. feet flat plate area on each side. Landing at New Haven Harbor about 3:20 P.M. the fairings from the axles were removed entirely. Climb to Altitude Time Speed Ind. R.P.M. 500 30 sec. 90 1850 1000 1 min. 17 sec. 95 1800 2000 3 min. 7 sec. 95 1820 3000 4 min. 40 sec. 96 1820 4000 6 min. 25 sec. 95 1800 5000 8 min. 10 sec. 97 1800 5800-6000 10 min. At 6000 ft. altitude - three engines - flight was tested - rate of climb approximately 200 ft. per min. (R.P.M. - 1830) At 2000 ft. altitude - two engines - flight was tested - during five (5) minutes 600 ft was lost - (R.P.M. - 1820) At 2000 ft. altutude - three engines - flight was repeated - during 1 minute exactly, the ship gained 200 ft. (from 2100 to 2300 ft.) (R.P.M. - 1820). Pilot: Captain Sergievsky Observers: S.Gluhareff M.Gluhareff Signed M. GLUHAREFF |
 | Mars Flying Boats Newsreel footage of the Mars Flying Boats and Hughes Hercules construction |
 | Boeing 307 Stratoliner The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner was the first fully pressurized airliner to enter service anywhere in the world. Being able to fly 20,000 feet higher than the 5,000 to 10,000 foot-altitude unpressurized airplanes a that time, it was said that it could "fly above the weather." It carried five crew members and 33 passengers and had a nearly 12-foot wide cabin for overnight berths. The Stratoliner was also the first land-based airplane to have a flight engineer as a member of the crew. Boeing's Model 299, prototype for the military bomber aircraft, which duly became the B-17 Flying Fortress, was developed in parallel with a civil version of the same aircraft, which had the company designation Boeing Model 300. The Model 307, or Stratoliner, was a straight-forward conversion from the supremely successful B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. It employed the wings and tail surfaces of the B-17C Flying Fortress. The Boeing 307 was developed to start another era, that of pressurized comfort at higher altitudes than had been previously contemplated. The aircraft was the result of considerable research in high altitude flying by "Tommy" Tomlinson, of TWA, who was estimated to have flown more hours above 30,000 feet, than all other pilots combined. With his recommendations, Boeing produced an airliner which could cruise at 14,000 feet. The Boeing 307 first flew on December 31, 1938, and TWA put it into service on the transcontinental route on 8 July 1940, reducing the time to 13 hrs. 40 min., and cutting two hours off the DC-3's time. Three (S-307) Stratoliners flew on Pan Am's South American routes; five (SA-307B) served with TWA, and a ninth (SB-307B) Stratoliner was supplied to Howard Hughes. One Boeing 307 (prototype NX 19901) crashed on March 18, 1939 during a test flight. Each aircraft cost $315,000 in 1937 when ordered. During World War II Stratoliners were employed as military transports (C-75s), flying principally to South America and across the Atlantic. In 1951 the ex-TWA machines, replaced the Four 900 hp (671-kw) Wright GR-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines, with Wright Cyclone 1,200 hp (894 kw) engines. The wings were replaced with B-17G wings. They were then sold to Aigle Azur in France, operating to French IndoChina. Here they became involved with the Vietnam War, worked with operators such as Air Laos and were still flying into the 1970s. One example survives, The Flying Cloud, and is owned by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. After a six year restoration by volunteer Boeing retirees, it was rolled out of the hangar on June 23,2001. Unfortunately, the plane was almost lost, when during a test flight, it ran out of fuel and ditched into Elliot Bay, just west of downtown Seattle. Luckily, the airplane did not suffer severe damage and it was recovered and repaired again. It is currently on display at the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Washington/Dulles International Airport. General characteristics Crew: 5, including two pilots and flight engineer Capacity: 33 passengers Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m) Wingspan: 107 ft 0 in (32.61 m) Height: 20 ft 10 in (6.34 m) Wing area: 1,486 ft² (138.0 m²) Empty weight: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) Loaded weight: 42,000 lb (19,050 kg) Powerplant: 4× Wright GR-1820 radials , 900 hp (671 kW) each Performance Max Speed: 246 mph Cruise speed: 222 mph (357 km/h) Range: 2,390 mi (3,846 km) Service ceiling: 26,200 ft (7,985 m) Wing loading: 28 lb/ft² (138 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.09 hp/lb (140 W/kg) |
 | Poking fun at the DoX Perhaps the most dramatic flying boat ever built was the giant Dornier Do X. Conceived by Dr. Claudius Dornier, the Do X design took seven years to complete and two years to build. The giant flying boat was finally launched on July 12th 1929. Financed by the German transport ministry, the plane was built on the Swiss portion of Altenrhein in order to avoid the Allied Commission. When complete, the Do X was the largest, heaviest and most powerful aircraft in the world. On October 21st, the plane took off carrying 169 people consisting of 150 passengers, 10 crew and 9 stowaways, easily breaking the world record for the number of people aboard a flight. A record that would not be tested for 15 years. Weighing 48 tons, the plane taxied for 50 seconds before slowly ascending to only 650 feet. It flew for 40 minutes at a maximum speed of 105 mph finally landing on Lake Constance. The luxurious accommodations and service on the Do X were in keeping with the standards of transatlantic liners. Several cabins on the main deck held passengers comfortably on 32 double seats and two single seats, while the cockpit, captain's cabin, navigational office, engine control room and radio office could be found on the upper deck along with quarters for the 14 man crew. The lower deck held fuel and stores. The plane was enormous with a wingspan of 157 feet 5 inches, a length of 134 feet 2 inches and a height of 33 feet. As a result of the massiveness of the plane, passengers were asked to crowd together on one side to help the flying boat make turns! The plane had an all-metal hull with wings comprised of a metal framework covered in fabric. Powered by twelve 525 horsepower Siemens Jupiter engines mounted in tandem on the wing, the plane was designed carry 66 passengers on long distances or 100 on short trips. The Jupiter engines were only able to lift the plane to an altitude of 1,400 feet, preventing the plane from making trans-Atlantic crossings. After completing 103 flights in 1930, the plane was refitted with water-cooled Curtiss Conqueror engines at 610 horsepower each. On the August 4, 1930 flight, newly fitted with Curtiss engines, the plane reached 1,650 feet, a height that was deemed suitable to cross the Atlantic. The Do X took off from Freidrichshafen, Germany on November 2, 1930 commencing its trans-Atlantic proving flight. The route took the Do X to Lisbon, down the Western African coast, across the Atlantic to South America, and north to the United States finally reaching New York on August 27, 1931. The final leg of the trip began again on May 21, 1932 from New York to Newfoundland, on to the Azores, and finally to Berlin where the Do X was met by a cheering crowd of 200,000. Two other Do X planes, the Do X2 and X3, were completed and delivered to Italy in 1931. Because of their monstrous weight, all three planes were deemed unsuitable for commercial flight. The Do X was retired to the Berlin Air Museum in 1934 and was destroyed by an allied air raid in 1943. The X2 and X3 were used primarily by the Italian military for prestige flights but were quickly retired from service in 1934. While the Do X was not a commercial success, it was an important experiment in early aviation. It remains, by its sheer physical strength and size, one of the most extraordinary seaplanes in history. |
 | Airbus A350 vs Boeing 787 - Boeing tongue-in-cheek joke Airbus A350 vs Boeing 787 - Boeing tongue-in-cheek joke with a jag |
 | Forgotten Aircraft - Lockheed Constitution The Lockheed R6V Constitution was a large, propeller-driven, double-decker transport aircraft developed in the 1940s by Lockheed as a long-range, high capacity transport and airliner for the U.S. Navy and Pan American Airways. (The Constitutions were identified as R6O until 1950.) Only two of the planes were ever built, both prototypes. Although these two planes went into service with the Navy, the Constitution design ultimately proved underpowered and too large for practical airline use at the time. The Constitution remains the largest fixed-wing aircraft type ever operated by the U.S. Navy. The Lockheed Constitution began life in 1942 as a joint study by the U.S. Navy, PanAm, and Lockheed. The design requirements, initially designated Lockheed Model 89, called for a large transport aircraft to improve upon the Navy's fleet of flying boats. PanAm was involved in the study because such an aircraft had potential use as a commercial airliner. This transport would carry 17,500 pounds of cargo 5,000 miles at a cruising altitude of 25,000 feet and a speed greater than 250 mph. The aircraft would be fully pressurized and large enough so that most major components could be accessed and possibly repaired in flight. For instance, tunnels led through the thick wings to all four engines.) The aircraft was designed by a team of engineers led by Willis Hawkins and W.A. Pulver of Lockheed and Commander E. L. Simpson, Jr. of the Navy. The name Constitution was given to the project by Lockheed president Robert E. Gross. The Constitution design had a "double bubble" fuselage, the cross section of which was a "figure eight". This unorthodox design utilized the structural advantages of a cylinder for cabin pressurization, without the wasted space that would result from a single large cylinder of the same volume. The original contract from the Bureau of Aeronautics called for 50 Constitutions for a total price tag of $111,250,000. However, on VJ Day, the contract was scaled back to $27,000,000 for only two aircraft. The first Constitution, BuNo 85163, was built in the summer of 1946 at the Lockheed plant in Burbank, California. Because of the aircraft's large size—the tail towered 50 feet—Lockheed had to build a special hangar for final assembly. The $1,250,000 hangar, Lockheed-California's Building 309, measured 408 feet long, 302 feet wide, and the equivalent of six stories tall. The footprint of the hangar covered four acres. The R6O made its first flight on November 9, 1946. Joe Towle and Tony LeVier flew the plane on a leisurely course to Muroc Air Force Base. Once there, the plane underwent a carefully documented test program. At this time, electronic data recording technology was not well developed, so instrument readings were recorded by a movie camera pointed at the instrument panel. The first Constitution made a nonstop flight from Moffett Field to NAS Patuxent River on July 25, 1948. The pilot for the flight was Commander William Collins (USN) and the copilot was Roy Wimmer, Lockheed engineering test pilot. Four days later, the ship was formally christened by Mrs. John L. Sullivan, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, at Washington National Airport. The R6O tested JATO takeoffs with six rockets mounted on the rear of the fuselage. At full gross weight, the rockets shortened the takeoff run by 24%. Ship No. 1 was delivered to Navy Transport Squadron VR-44, based at NAS Alameda, on February 2, 1949. Both it and its sister ship, Ship No. 2 (which followed six months later), flew the route between California and Hawaii. The second Constitution, BuNo 85164, first flew on June 9, 1948. This aircraft, like its predecessor, had a double-deck configuration. The second aircraft, however, had an upper deck fully furnished as a luxury passenger transport, with accommodations for 92 passengers and 12 crew. The second Constitution, like its predecessor, also made a nonstop transcontinental flight. On February 3, 1949, the aircraft flew its 16 crew and 74 members of the press from Moffett Field to Washington National Airport. At the time, this was the largest number of people flown across the United States in a single flight. In the early 1950s, Ship No. 2 made a Navy recruiting tour of 19 cities. The side of the fuselage proudly advertised "YOUR NAVY—AIR AND SEA." Some 546,000 toured the plane's interior. General characteristics Crew: 12 Capacity: 168 passengers Length: 156 ft 1 in (47.6 m) Wingspan: 189 ft 1 in (57.6 m) Height: 50 ft 4.5 in (15.4 m) Wing area: 3,610 ft² (335.4 m²) Empty weight: 113,780 lb (51,610 kg) Loaded weight: 160,000 lb (72,600 kg) Max takeoff weight: 184,000 lb (83,460 kg) Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engine, 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 303 mph at 25,000 ft (490 km/h at 7,600 m) Cruise speed: 260 mph (418 km/h) Range: 5,390 mi (8,670 km) Service ceiling: 28,600 ft (8,700 m) Rate of climb: 700 ft/min (210 m/min) |
 | Short S.17 Kent Flying Boat The Short S.17 Kent was a British 4-engined 15-seat biplane luxury flying-boat airliner, designed and built by Shorts to meet a requirement from Imperial Airways Limited for an aircraft with greater range than the Calcutta. The new aircraft was to have sufficient range to fly the stage from Mirabella, Crete, to Alexandria in Egypt without the need for refuelling stops in Italian colonial territory, there having been a political row which had led the Italian Government to ban British aircraft from its ports. Three aircraft were built, each receiving its own name: "Scipio", "Sylvanus" and "Satyrus"; they were referred to collectively within Imperial Airlines as the "Scipio Class" boats. Each had an aircrew of three (two pilots and a radio operator/navigator) and a steward to prepare meals and light refreshments for the passengers. The Short Kent flying boat was essentially an enlarged, four-engined version of the Calcutta, with the same passenger carrying capacity but with an increased payload for mail. It was powered by four Bristol Jupiter XFBM radial engines mounted on vertical struts between the upper and lower planes. The wings were constructed using corrugated duralumin box spars, tubular rib assemblies, with a fabric covering and Frise ailerons on all four wings. Duralumin walkways were provided to allow ready access to the engines for maintenance purposes. The tail unit comprised a braced monoplane tailpane with a single fin; the rudder was fitted with a Flettner trimming aerofoil on the Short Scylla which had the same aerostructure as the Kent. The anodised duralumin fuselage was mounted below the lower wing, with the planing bottom of the hull made of stainless steel (as on the Singapore II) with a transverse main step. The use of stainless steel reduced the frequency of land inspections of the hull. The bimetallic corrosion problems experienced on the Singapore II hull had been solved, so Short Brothers became the first company to master the technique of building seaplane floats and flying-boat hulls in this combination of metals. A quick-release hook (controlled by the pilots) was provided, which enabled the captain to start, warm up and (when required) run all four engines up to full power for take-off while the aircraft was still attached to the mooring buoy. Maximum comfort was required for passengers and crew: the Kent's passenger cabin was 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) wide and 14 ft (4.27 m) long. The seating was arranged in four rows of facing pairs, with a centre aisle, Pullman style. The steward's pantry, situated on the port side aft of the passenger cabin, was equipped with twin-burner oil stoves on which IAL Stewards (and the valets of valued passengers) could cook meals in flight. The toilet and washroom were opposite the pantry; the mail and freight compartment was further aft. Special attention was paid to sound levels in the passenger cabin and crew's stations; accordingly the engines were fitted with exhaust collector rings and long tail pipes, to reduce exhaust noise inside the hull. The cockpit, for two pilots, was fully enclosed with a separate Radio Officer's station directly aft of the cockpit. In October 1930, Short Bros. started building the first of the three S.17 Kent flying-boats (G-ABFA, named Scipio). It was launched and flown on 24 February 1931 by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker and was in service in the Mediterranean in May of that year. The second (G-ABFB, named Sylvanus) was launched on 31 March 1931; the third Kent (G-ABFC, Satyrus) was launched on 30 April 1931 and flown for the first time on 2 May 1931. Imperial Airways used the Kent aircraft on the Mediterranean stages of its routes to India and beyond, also using them to survey planned routes to South Africa and Australia. On 22 August 1936 "Scipio", on its way back from India, flipped over and sank in "Mirabella Harbour" (between the mainland and the island of Spinalonga) after landing heavily, killing the two crew members. "Sylvanus" was destroyed by fire at Brindisi on 9 November 1935, killing all on board. Only "Satyrus" survived to be taken out of service and scrapped in June 1938. In 1933 Imperial Airways placed an order for two landplanes based on the Kent; known initially as the S.17/L and later as the L.17, these became the Short Scylla, of which two were built and given the names "Scylla" and "Syrinx". General characteristics Crew: 4 Capacity: 15 Length: 83 ft 10 in Wingspan: 113 ft (34.44 m) Wing area: 2,640 ft² (245 m²) Empty weight: 20,460 lb (9,290 kg) Loaded weight: 32,000 lb (14,510 kg) Powerplant: 4× Bristol Jupiter XFBM air-cooled single-row radial poppet valve piston engine, 555 hp (414 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 137 mph (220 km/h) Range: 450 miles (769 km) Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,944 m) |
 | Boeing XB-15 The Boeing XB-15 (Boeing 294) was a bomber aircraft first designed in 1934 as a test for the United States Army Air Corps to see if it would be possible to build a heavy bomber with a 5,000 mile (8,000 km) range. It was originally designated the XBLR-1 (experimental bomber, long range). When it first flew, it was the most massive and most voluminous airplane ever built in the United States. It set a number of load-to-altitude records, including a 31,205-pound flight to 8,200 feet (July 30 1939). The aircraft's immense size allowed for passages within the wing, which the crew could use to make minor repairs in flight. Due to the technology of the time, a 5,000 mile flight took several days; the crew was made up of several shifts, and bunks allowed them to sleep when off duty. The XB-15 was designed around liquid-cooled 1,000 hp (750 kW) engines. Unfortunately, these were not available, and 850 hp (637 kW) engines were used instead. These engines left the bomber significantly underpowered; its top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h) was far too slow for a combat aircraft, and the project was abandoned. Even without the improved defensive armament that would have been needed in service, the XB-15 had a maximum takeoff weight 5,000lbs greater than the later B-17G, but with a total engine output of 1,400 less horsepower. No B-15s were put into service; the Army Air Corps converted the only prototype into a transport designated the XC-105, which carried freight around the Caribbean during the war. The sole XC-105 was scrapped in Panama in 1945. Despite its cancellation, the XB-15 did feature a number of significant innovations: Automatic Pilot De-icing equipment Auxiliary power units independent of the main engines to power the electrical system Engines serviceable in flight using an access tunnel inside the wing Crew compartment with rest bunks, galley and lavatory Double-wheel main landing gear. General characteristics Crew: 10 Length: 87 ft 7 in (32.6 m) Wingspan: 149 ft 0 in (45.5 m) Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m) Wing area: 2,780 ft² (258 m²) Empty weight: 65,000 lb (30,000 kg) Loaded weight: 69,000 lb (31,000 kg) Max takeoff weight: 77,000 lb (37,000 kg) Powerplant: 4× 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 radial engines, 850 hp (640 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 200 mph (170 knots, 320 km/h) Cruise speed: 152 mph (132 knots, 245 km/h) Combat radius: 3,400 mi (3,000 nm, 5,500 km) Ferry range: 5,130 mi (4,460 nm, 8,250 km) Service ceiling: 18,900 ft (7,830 m) Rate of climb: 670 ft/min (3.4 m/s) Wing loading: 25 lb/ft² (120 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.049 hp/lb (81 W/kg) Armament Guns: 3× .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns 3× .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns Bombs: 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) |
 | Dornier Superwal flying boat 1926 silent footage of Dornier Superwal flight testing in 1926 |
| Oceanfrontier Hideaway | |
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| Coral Beach Club |
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