Questions tagged [aviation-history]
Questions about aviation history, starting from kites, balloons, airplanes, helicopters and rockets.
434
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1answer
82 views
Was NextGen simulated/tested against alternatives?
Researchers in aviation usually test systems in simulated environments to find out the pros, cons, challenges, etc. Now ADS-B is a key component of NextGen and its European counterpart. And I've seen ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What justifies a biplane over a braced monoplane?
Biplanes became the first airplanes to enter service due to their structurally efficient design being more suitable for the weak materials then. This efficiency comes from the two wings acting as the ...
3
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0answers
125 views
How did the Wright brothers measure the maximum airspeed of their 1904 plane?
The Wright brothers used during their 1904 trials (105 in total, according with their claims) a Richard anemometer mounted on Flyer II (there are numerous pictures on the net with such a device). The ...
13
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1answer
2k views
Can someone identify the Make and Model of airplane that this fuselage belonged to?
This gutted fuselage remnant was photographed by my mother at Whaler's Bay on Deception Island in Antarctica in 1994. Deception Island is directly south of the Falkland Islands in the narrow area ...
2
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1answer
203 views
Can you identify this aircraft?
This photo, taken circa 1939, was taken of my uncle's aircraft at Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York. Lotar Munch and his partner operated "Munch & Romeo Flying Service" out of ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Can anyone identify this pusher plane from apparently the 1930s?
I have performed two searches - a photo search and also an FAA NC number search and failed at both to identify this pusher airplane. My family photo says it was taken by my mother at the Chicago ...
11
votes
1answer
1k views
Identify this USAAF biplane
I have been unable to match this USAAF biplane with a similar photo mainly due to the cockpit canopy. I've found no other like it. I believe the photo was taken at Madison, WI or Chicago, IL in the ...
8
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2answers
669 views
Can anyone help me with the Make, Model (version), and Unit of this WWII army trainer. Appears to be an AT-6 version
Location: Madison, WI Municipal Airport on May 21, 1939.
Notice the straight bottom on the vertical stabilizer, crest emblem, pitot tubes, landing gear, exhaust location, antenna, etc.
I have two ...
0
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0answers
96 views
The cost of these aircrafts in modern US dollar?
Could you tell me where I can find the development cost and market price of a Fairey Rotodyne, Convair CV-240, Martin 4-0-4, Ka-22 in current US dollar?
24
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2answers
6k views
Can anyone identify what appears to be a crashed WWII German plane?
This photograph is in my family's photo collection. The only information with the photo is, "Cousin Bud Kohl - aircraft wreck." If anyone can identify the make and model it is greatly ...
16
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2answers
2k views
Can anyone Identify this FLY FAIR seaplane?
This photograph, from my family's collection, of a high-winged, dual rotary engine, amphibious airplane, probably in the 1930's, appears to be an excursion plane at a fair since it has "FLY FAIR&...
32
votes
1answer
6k views
Why did flying boats in the '30s and '40s have a longer range than land based aircraft?
I just learned that until shortly after world war 2, flying boats had a longer range than land based aircraft
In the 1930s, a flying boat route was the only practical means of transatlantic air ...
2
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2answers
126 views
Why are flight instructors in the US called CFIs?
I live in EASA-land (Europe), here we call our flight instructors simply that, "FIs". That they hold an instructors certificate is simply implied. Why are flight instructors in FAA-land (US) ...
13
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2answers
3k views
Did the Germans ever use captured Allied aircraft against the Allies?
I have noticed that during WWII the Germans captured quite a few P-47s, P-51s, Spitfires, and other Allied aircraft. I know that they tested them extensively but wanted to know if they ever used them ...
2
votes
1answer
181 views
Has a pilot ever been disciplined for taking a guest for a flight in a single-seat fighter aircraft?
I recall reading of a spitfire pilot who was suspended for taking a member of the WAAF up for a jaunt to impress her. She supposedly sat in the pilot's lap throughout the short flight and they were ...
3
votes
1answer
449 views
What is the origin of the “Pickle” switch for release of ordnance?
I am looking for proper proof of the theory that it is called so due to the Norden sight of the B17, which was said to assist the bomber in putting a bomb into a pickle jar, and hence it stuck.
8
votes
2answers
129 views
On old sectional charts, what was the purpose of the domestic ADIZ regions and what was the difference between a “Defense Area” and an “Open Area”?
Looking at an old US sectional chart from 1956, I noticed a few oddities around where Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZs) were placed.
Compared to modern airspace where the US ADIZ is strictly ...
4
votes
1answer
297 views
Why was the Sikorsky Firefly built but never flown?
Sikorsky Firefly is the electric helicopter that has been built but never flown. How do such histories happen?
If the design looked so unsafe that there was not enough courage of trying, why this was ...
6
votes
1answer
238 views
What use was there for Boeing to include customer numbers in their aircraft model names, and why did they end this practice?
Inspired by this question (thanks Hot Network Questions!).
The tl;dr is that Boeing included a unique numeric model number designation, referring to the customer that had purchased a particular plane, ...
-3
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1answer
73 views
When was the first manned rocket-propelled plane launched? [closed]
I believe that it's an issue of some interest in the history of aviation.
0
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0answers
143 views
What's the highest altitude ever achieved by a (rocket-?)plane for level flight?
As probably most of us know, the SR-71 Blackbird holds the altitude record for leveled flight for (manned) jet planes (and ground-launched planes) at 90,000 ft MSL. However, the very altitude record ...
2
votes
1answer
172 views
Is there any clear picture or drawing, of a Wright brothers' plane, published before August 12, 1908?
Based on a video and two articles, one form May 1904, and the other from December 1951, both of them quoting people who personally knew the Wright brothers (see the explanations below), I have reached ...
0
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0answers
94 views
What is the first recorded instance of simulating weightlessness in an airplane?
I wonder what the first instance ever has been of a controlled creation of weightlessness onboard an aircraft, like during a parabola or flying nose-down ~90 degrees. Do we have a record of the first ...
0
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2answers
278 views
Before COVID, what was the largest aviation crisis ever? [closed]
The Covid-19 pandemic is the worst crisis aviation has ever faced. Which one was the biggest one before that pandemic?
3
votes
2answers
186 views
I calculated that Flyer I and II (1903-04) of the Wright brothers were underpowered. Are there better (drag, lift) coefficients than those of Culick?
Based on what the Wright brothers said in a few letters and two article (all relevant excerpts have been attached to this post), and also using the experimental data in the study "AERODYNAMICS, ...
9
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1answer
256 views
When was the concept of V1 introduced?
When was V1 speed first introduced? Was it the result of a particular accident or series of accidents?
4
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2answers
186 views
Writing Research: What stick sensation would you expect in an Su-15 with a total hydraulic flight system failure?
The title pretty much says it all. I have a very specific research question in relation to a writing project I'm working on.
The main character is in an Su-15 performing low flying military training, ...
11
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3answers
2k views
Is it possible for a plane to accelerate easily from 30 to 45 mph in flight while it struggles to reach 30 mph (the engine runs at constant power)?
In two letters sent to Dr. G. A. Spratt (an aviation enthusiast), Wilbur Wright reported the progress he and his brother had made, up to September 10, 1904, regarding Flyer II, a plane powered by a 16-...
3
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0answers
63 views
What were the rules about night flights from LHR in the 80s?
I was just reading a question over on movies.SE: How could Ryan land in New York in early morning?, and the accepted answer suggests that Jack Ryan's plane takes off from LHR at about 4am.
One of the ...
2
votes
1answer
180 views
Does anyone know more about the 1958 Heinkel-211 project?
Industria Aeronáutica Argentina worked in the 50s in a Jet airliner, Kurt Tank design, the IA-36, 'Cóndor', with simmilarities to 1958 Heinkel-211 project, turbines intake aspirating fuselage boundary ...
0
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0answers
59 views
To which side did the first Cierva autogyros fall?
The first Cierva autogyros, before the introduction of the flapping articulation, fell to the right when the take-off was attempted, according to witnesses. That had an explanation, as the rotor ...
0
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2answers
182 views
How can I find a deregistered airplane?
I'm trying to find a 1959 C172 tail number N7393T.
It was my grandfather's and the last registered record of it was near Glendale AZ. It was deregistered in 2015 and I found out that since it cannot ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Did Japan actually use any production aircraft with inverted gull wings during WW2?
The anime film The Wind Rises presents a fictionalized account of Jiro Horikoshi and the development of the Mitsubishi A5M. Throughout most of the anime, Jiro visualizes the plane with this shape:
I ...
51
votes
3answers
12k views
The F-16s that were scrambled to intercept United 93 did not have time to arm the jets, so the pilots were going to “ram it” how does that work?
The Wikipedia page says
Two F-16 fighter pilots from the 121st Fighter Squadron of the D.C. Air National Guard, Marc Sasseville and Heather "Lucky" Penney, were scrambled and ordered to ...
asked Aug 8 '20 at 11:14
George Clooney In a Mooney
4,2912 gold badges17 silver badges44 bronze badges
12
votes
1answer
233 views
What year did the seat belt sign come in to use?
What year did commercial airlines start using a lighted seat belt sign?
5
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1answer
116 views
What happened with the balloons of project Excelsior?
After the flight to the ISS yesterday I am reading more stuff about mankind in the universe.
Reading about the Excelsior project makes me wonder what happened with the helium balloon after Joseph ...
10
votes
1answer
377 views
What is this extension at the tip of the Supermarine Southampton's wing?
Looking at this Wikipedia image of the Supermarine Southampton flying boat, I noticed what at first looked like a small wheel. But then I thought it couldn't be, as a wheel would be pointless in a ...
5
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1answer
175 views
What was the average duration of a Me-262 combat mission during WWII?
Me 262 in 1945
Maximum speed: 900 km/h
Range: 1,050 km
Service ceiling: 11,450 m
Rate of climb: 20 m/s at max weight of 7,130 kg
Thrust/weight: 0.28
Could a Me-262 fight for (1050 km) / (900 km/...
3
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4answers
182 views
When was the first THS (Trimmable horizontal stabilizer) used and on what aircraft?
When was the first THS (Trimmable horizontal stabilizer) used and on what aircraft? Has any UL or GA trimmable stabilizer?
1
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2answers
231 views
Why did the Wright brothers take steps to increase the amount of vertical surface area forward of the CG on some of their aircraft?
Why did the Wright brothers take steps to increase the amount of vertical surface area in front of the CG on some of their aircraft?
Could this have actually improved the flight characteristics in ...
4
votes
1answer
244 views
In what order were the runways built at Paris Charles de Gaulle?
At its commission time (in 1974), Roissy-CDG airport did not have all its runways in service. As an example, I found an article (fr) saying the fourth (and last) runway was built in 2000. But this ...
5
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5answers
327 views
Can a company be both an airplane manufacturer and an airline?
It may be advantageous for a company that manufactures its own aircraft to also be an airline. For example, the airline business would likely have reduced maintenance and parts costs relative to other ...
5
votes
1answer
189 views
What is the historical reasons to start Belgians registrations with “OO-”?
For many countries, the registration number begins with a obvious letter (F for France, D for German (Deutschland I guess), C for Canada,...). For other, historical reasons have already been covered ...
1
vote
2answers
159 views
When was the first picture of the Wright brothers' 1903 plane published?
In their January 6, 1904, press release, the Wright brothers said they flew 4 times on December, 17, 1903, and gave a short description of each trial (see the article below). However, the text ends ...
16
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1answer
3k views
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1answer
193 views
What is (or was) the “international frequency”?
I have recently read a book about Douglas BADER. This pilot has lost his legs (because of accident in 1931) but after (thanks to his single-mindedness) he takes up the "broomstick" again and became a ...
40
votes
4answers
9k views
Why is paragliding not an old invention?
Paraglider looks like a rather simple device for me. It does not have a complex engine that needs lots of technology to be built. It also does not need a powered aircraft just to be launched. Looking ...
2
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0answers
60 views
How did lateral and longitudinal separation minima evolve?
What is the evolution in time of lateral and longitudinal separation minima?
4
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2answers
578 views
Why does the Yak-28 cockpit have two attitude indicators?
Why are there two attitude indicators in the cockpit of the Yak-28? Below is a picture from this YouTube video.
14
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2answers
3k views
Is it common for aircraft tugs to work from under the aircraft?
I came across this photo showing a tug attached in a way I have never seen before. I assume it was used to allow the aircraft closer to the terminal.
Did this require special equipment or ...
