Questions tagged [aviation-history]
Questions about aviation history, starting from kites, balloons, airplanes, helicopters and rockets.
377
questions
28
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2answers
7k views
In WW2 aircraft, where were gun cameras mounted, and did they suffer performance penalties?
During WW2, some aircraft had gun cameras that activated whenever the guns fired, so that people on the ground could evaluate performance and help with kill ratios and other statistics. These were ...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
Did the Wright brothers patent their Wing Warping method in Germany?
I know that the Wright brothers patented their Wing Warping method for controlling the roll of a plane or glider in Great Britain, France, United States, Austria, Italy,... but did they obtain a ...
2
votes
4answers
137 views
Could Henri Farman have steered his plane with ailerons on January 13, 1908?
It is known that Henri Farman flew (over) 1 km in a circuit on January 13, 1908, and gained a 50000-franc prize. Orville Wright even witnessed Farman on November 18, 1907, attempting to make the full ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Has the “Foote takeoff” technique really existed, and how did it work?
Reading The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters by Christine Negron, I came across the following description, in relation to some early de Havilland Comet ...
1
vote
4answers
124 views
Would the front rudder of the Wright brothers really have helped in recovering the glider from a stall?
I have found a paragraph in the 1904 British patent of the Wright brothers (see the citation below) and it seems, from what they explain, that the two inventors believed the front rudder could have ...
1
vote
4answers
321 views
Did the Wright brothers discover the three-axis control system for airplanes/gliders and the adverse yaw?
1) Various sites like this one: Orville and Wilbur Wright, The Inventors of the 3-axis Flight Control System, 9 Months before their powered flight at Kitty Hawk say that the two brothers invented the ...
1
vote
1answer
133 views
Was the Coanda effect known in 1868 to Matthew Piers Watt Boulton (the one who described the first ailerons)?
Matthew Piers Watt Boulton is known as the inventor whose 1868 British patent No. 392 nullified any claim of the Wright brothers that they discovered the ailerons (see FIG. 5-7).
It seems now that ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
What was in the noses of airliners before the weather radar?
At the time of the first Lockheed Constellations, airliners fitted with a weather radar were not common, and the navigator was not placed in the airplane nose. Thus, the nose seems to be mostly dead ...
5
votes
1answer
993 views
What is this aircraft and its submarine?
I got this picture from an anonymous source and I'm curious to learn more about its mission and I want to know if it's a genuine picture. It happens to be a submarine aircraft carrier.
0
votes
0answers
81 views
Who was Penrose's mystery pioneer?
In his autobiography Adventure with Fate, test pilot Harald Penrose records an undated meeting with a "remarkable old gentleman" at Burton Bradstock in Dorsetshire, England:
Directed to a decrepit ...
3
votes
1answer
341 views
Was destruction of SR-71-related tools really extraordinary?
While reading about Lockheed SR-71 on Wikipedia I was baffled by a piece of information regarding Robert McNamara's order to destroy tools used to create Blackbirds, which took place in 1968 (at the ...
5
votes
1answer
184 views
When were commercial pilots first allowed to use glasses?
Currently, pilots with defective (but correctable) vision are allowed to pilot airliners if they have at least two pairs of their corrective lenses (typically glasses) with them on board.
Was there a ...
15
votes
1answer
3k views
Can anyone identify the aircraft in the background of this photo?
This photo was found in some family belongings and we're trying to date it to identify the family member who may have been in his tri-service imaged. So, can anyone identify the plane in the ...
1
vote
4answers
187 views
Why are early wing planforms mostly rectangular?
I am looking at the history of wing planforms, and I am having trouble finding reasons for why the wright flier and other early aircraft were built with rectangular wings. I thought it was due to ...
4
votes
4answers
205 views
Keeping the engine under the wings, doesn't hurt the lift as the airflow speed is higher under the wings?
To create a lift, the airflow speed on top of the wings should be higher than the airflow speed on the bottom of the wings.
But when you keep the engine on the bottom of the wings, wouldn't it hurt ...
4
votes
1answer
279 views
Can you identify the plane with number NC 14959 photographed in Boston in 1937?
I have a photo of a plane with the number NC 14959 taken in Boston on December 31, 1937. The hanger behind it says "Occidental Airlines".
I am trying to find out what kind of plane this is?
I am ...
3
votes
1answer
129 views
Why was a CFM56 conversion never offered for the short-body DC-8s?
A major part of why the DC-8 hung on well into the 21st century (albeit almost entirely in cargo service) was the late-1970s/1980s conversion of 110 DC-8-60s (out of a total of 262) into DC-8-70s; the ...
14
votes
3answers
570 views
Where does the 90 seconds limit for plane evacuation come from?
New airplanes have to confirm that all passengers have to be evacuated within 90 seconds or they wouldn't be certified by aviation authorities. But where does the 90 seconds limit come from? Why isn't ...
30
votes
10answers
10k views
How could “aggressor” pilots fly foreign aircraft without speaking the language?
Context
I watched a couple documentaries recently and found one where they were mentioning the training of American forces against Mi-24 that were captured and brought back to the US to test fly them....
0
votes
1answer
122 views
Aviation history. My dad PM of F-14 [closed]
My father was Prog mgr of F14. Where can I sell or donate his memorabilia or where is site to help?
0
votes
1answer
184 views
How did the term 'Buttered the bread' originate?
I've heard this term used a few times to describe an exceptionally smooth landing
9
votes
3answers
4k views
7
votes
1answer
155 views
Why were the ailerons of the Fokker Dr. I (Red Baron) located on the top wing?
Photos' source are here: Fokker Dr. I (Red Baron), and here: a Sopwith triplane. They are probably not the actual airplane but only (claimed) authentic models.
It makes sense to me that the Sopwith ...
1
vote
0answers
103 views
What airplane model was this historic propeller attached to?
I have a 9-foot historic wooden biplane propeller with brass edges. It does have a serial number, but it is tough to read. 2250 DN 152 6' 6" is what it appears to say. I am attaching a photo of it. ...
5
votes
1answer
529 views
Is this WWI movie scene realistic?
In a poignant scene of 1933 WWI film The Eagle and the Hawk (not to be confused with the same-name 1950 western film), while the pilot played by Fredric March performs a loop-the-loop in his – I ...
3
votes
2answers
198 views
Where did the SOE agents sit in the 161 squadron Short Stirlings?
I asked this question on history.se, where it was recommended I repost here.
During World War II Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents were dropped into occupied Europe by No. 161 squadron of the ...
16
votes
3answers
9k views
Was a six-engine 747 ever seriously considered by Boeing?
The Boeing 747 can carry a fifth engine on the side. As the airframe looks quite symmetric, I think that it would not be big work to hang a sixth engine on the side as well.
From here, we seem to be ...
8
votes
2answers
318 views
What methodology did ICAO use to create the overall code nomenclature for airports?
If an airport is from North America, then it starts with K and so on.
How did ICAO get the letters from?
Why does the Philippines region starts with A?
Why do airports in Izmir have
LTBx prefix?
Did ...
8
votes
2answers
353 views
What was the first aircraft equipped with a RAT?
RAT are common in airliners today to provide emergency electrical and hydraulic power. Yet, firsts airliners (prior to WWII) may not require the same amount of power than today's airliners (which are ...
-3
votes
1answer
699 views
What is the aircraft type in the movie 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
The new movie Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood has a few scenes in a Pan American Airways aircraft. The movie is set in the late 60s, looking at their fleet from that time, it looks like it was either ...
7
votes
1answer
164 views
When were checkerboard fiducial markers first used in aircraft development?
It's common to put checkerboard fiducial markers on aircraft to help analyze rates and orientations from photographs and film.
When was this practice first used on aircraft?
Flight test versions ...
2
votes
0answers
61 views
Why did Curtiss put his Model F's ailerons on the interplane struts?
Glenn Curtiss's 1912-1918 Model F biplane flying boat has large ailerons on the struts between the wings, not contiguous with any other flying surface. Did this aileron position have any advantage?
...
25
votes
1answer
3k views
Why are electric shavers specifically permitted under FAR §91.21
This struck me as a bit strange, 91.21 which covers electronic devices that can be used during IFR flight has some exceptions, one through three make logical sense (not really sure why portable voice ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
Expendable wingspan, long range early airplanes
Reading this question, I was wondering if, at some point early in aviation history there may have been airplane designs or concepts replacing or anticipating variable swept wing by "expendable ...
14
votes
1answer
1k views
How much maintenance time did it take to make an F4U Corsair ready for another flight?
A coworker I worked alongside once told me that during his time in the Navy, he was responsible for taking care of maintenance on F-22s. He stated that every F-22 required 10 hours of maintenance for ...
3
votes
3answers
203 views
What are the abandoned technologies in aviation industry [closed]
And technologies has come to end of to their life cycle Especially technologies that developed for aviation. This could be a manufacturing technology or an engine rather than avionics or sensors.
6
votes
2answers
340 views
Any biplane flying wings after 1914?
Were any biplane flying wings built and flown after the 1912-1914 variants of the Dunne D.8? If not, why?
Wikipedia mentions merely that this type was too stable and insufficiently controllable, but ...
3
votes
2answers
278 views
Historical gap in high aspect ratio wing transport aircraft
Reading about recent Boeing's high aspect ratio wing concepts for commercial aircraft, such as TTBW and SUGAR, I couldn't help but think of the Hurel-Dubois aircraft, where similar aerodynamic choices ...
39
votes
13answers
8k views
Other than a swing wing, what types of variable geometry have flown?
We're well familiar with swing wings, on small and large aircraft from both the east and west.
What other types of variable geometry have been tried?
5
votes
1answer
335 views
What is this old biplane on a float?
I'm hoping for some help in identifying the plane in these two photographs I found in my father's collection.
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What's the story behind U-2 flying from aircraft carriers?
This video from the CIA YouTube channel shows U-2 aircraft launching via catapult and trapping with a tailhook:
The description only offers this:
After stopping U-...
5
votes
2answers
301 views
What is the typical sink rate during a well-executed carrier landing at the moment the main wheels touch the deck?
What is the typical sink rate during a well-executed carrier landing at the moment the main wheels touch the deck? And how has this changed over the decades?
2
votes
1answer
332 views
Was the F4F-1 Wildcat ever built?
The original design for the F4F Wildcat was as a biplane, but with the -2 model, it was redesigned as a monoplane. I am wondering if the -1 model was ever actually built, or did it remain as a ...
56
votes
13answers
13k views
Have any large aeroplanes been landed — safely and without damage — in locations that they could not be flown away from?
And, what was done with them subsequently?
8
votes
1answer
487 views
Did the Douglas SBD Dauntless have a second set of controls?
In the book Never Call me a Hero, the author mentions that there were controls in the rear seat of the Douglas SBD Dauntless. However, I don't recall ever hearing this before, though I know the TBD ...
8
votes
1answer
459 views
Why was the An-225 built when the VM-T Atlant already did the job?
The Soviet Buran program decided to use a carrier aircraft to move their orbiter and Energia tanks similarly to the American Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. However, the Soviet Union built two types to do ...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
What is the best reliable weight/power ration achieved by a pre-1911 plane?
From the article "DAYTON BOYS EMULATE GREAT SANTOS-DUMONT" that appeared on December 18, 1903, it can be calculated that the apparatus, which took off one day before, flew 700 lb / 16 hp = 19.84 kg / ...
4
votes
1answer
419 views
Are requests for an emergency landing ever refused?
Under what circumstances might it happen that a pilot's request to make an emergency landing is refused?
Is such a thing known to have occurred?
2
votes
3answers
187 views
What are some of the longest flights without modern navigation systems?
Context: As a private pilot, I enjoy preparing my flights with a mix of paper charts and iPad apps. In flight, my navigation is now often very assisted by the G1000 or iPad, relegating the paper maps ...
6
votes
7answers
6k views
What is the largest (size) solid object ever dropped from an airplane to impact the ground in freefall?
What is the record for the largest single solid item that has ever been dropped from an airplane at free fall to the ground?
Here, "free fall" means falling vertically, or nearly vertically falling ...
