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Questions about aviation history, starting from kites, balloons, airplanes, helicopters and rockets.

10 votes

Is there an example of a classic aviation engineering moment when engineers had to discard a...

The Republic XF-84H "Thunderscreech" was an attempt to improve power responsiveness by using a turboprop to replace the turbojet in a transsonic upgrade to the subsonic F-84. The supersonic tips of th …
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37 votes
Accepted

Why is paragliding not an old invention?

Paragliders as we know them depend on parawings with relatively high glide ratios and useful levels of steering. Neither of these qualities were well represented in the round parachutes (even the so- …
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3 votes

How did the term 'Buttered the bread' originate?

Back when actual butter was the main spread to put on bread, it took a very gentle touch to spread butter straight from the refrigerator (icebox) without tearing up the bread. Thus, a very smooth lan …
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0 votes

Was the adoption of conventional tailplanes as 'everyday aircraft' inevitable, or are there ...

Different applications have different optima, in aviation as in most other things. If you're maximizing one combination of overall performance, pilot forward vision (in the nose-up landing and taxi a …
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2 votes

Why would an airplane with fixed-pitch propeller(s) and no supercharging have manifold press...

RPM tells how fast the engine is turning, manifold pressure (indirectly) how much power it's producing. If you're in a steep climb, for instance, RPM will drop a little due to loading of the propeller …
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3 votes

What was the first jet-powered supersonic aircraft?

While not capable of level-flight supersonic performance, the Korean War era F-86 Sabrejet was capable of slightly exceeding Mach 1 (I recall the figure as Mach 1.05) in a shallow dive. This was one …
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30 votes

Why are electric shavers specifically permitted under FAR §91.21

This is an educated guess, based on history: Electric razors were once well known as prone to generating elctromagnetic interference -- the ones available in the 1940s could pretty well blanket a nea …
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9 votes

Did people really hand-start big bombers in WWII?

The procedure you seem to refer to isn't hand starting. It's done on radial engines, with ignition off and valves locked open, to clear oil that may have settled in the lower cylinders (by seeping pa …
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8 votes

Did WW2-era aircraft have constant-speed or variable-pitch props?

Variable pitch (with feathering) was virtually universal on (at least American) multi-engine fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft even early in the war: the DC-2 had feathering variable pitch, an …
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14 votes

Why, until recently, were smooth nose sections not popular?

Blow-molded canopies (like the acrylic one on the P-51D) were relatively expensive in the late WWII and early post-War periods when the early-modern airliners were designed. Cost is an important fact …
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33 votes

Were propeller airplanes significantly more "scary" to fly in compared to modern jet ones?

Old propeller airliners were much more prone to "bumpy" ride than modern jets, for one major reason: they flew lower. When I was in my early teens (almost fifty years ago), I flew several times aboard …
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