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Anyone for radials?

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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
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Radials in the air, that is.

C-47s, DC-3s, Dakotas, etc., reenact the departures for Normandy. Some of these planes were in the original operation in 1944.


Duxford, June 6, 2019.

Thank heaven - we hear the engines, not announcers at the mike, blaring pop music, or looky-lou's.

"The Sound of Music"? nope - the Music of Sound.
 
Stirring. I had 3 memorable flights in DC3's: Key West to Havana on Q Airways 1954 (one hour); Aspen, CO to Denver 1964 and Washington, DC to Charlottesville, VA in 1966. Smooth, quiet planes. Other memories: laying on my back on the front watching a DC3 fly overhead with that triangular wing and my dad driving us down to LaGuardia Airport and watching them take off and land. Recommended reading: Ernest K. Gann's Fate is the Hunter. Close calls in DC3's.
 
C-47's were part of the "fleet" of aircraft ferrying folks around S.E.A. Called them Klong birds. Canals and ditches were klongs, the planes primarily made hops between all airbases in Viet Nam and Thailand. A number of 'em were made into gunships, as well. "Puff the Magic Dragon." Forerunners to the AC-130 "Spectre" and "Spooky" platforms. Formidable weapons systems.

Once bummed a ride on a Spectre going from Ubon to Udorn, to do a TDY job. As we landed in Udorn, we taxied past the revetments, one of the ground crew kids was staring at the bird as it passed. The A.C. came up on the comm with: "You're lookin' at a REAL weapon, kid!"
 
Love the radials. My Dad introduced me to the workings of the radial engine. Can't miss the music.
 
Distinct sound. When the Commemorative guys show up here you can hear 'em and know instantly what they are.
 
Got a chance to ride in a B17 in 2008 - 4 of those 9 cylinder beasts singing in unison was an amazing sound. Thought I was going to lose the fillings out of my teeth on the taxiway because the idle was anything but smooth, the whole plane was shaking like it was in rough turbulence. When we got to the numbers on the runway and the pilot wound them up, they went smooth as glass and we floated up into the sky.
 
Rick - during WW2, my mom worked at Glenn L Martin in Baltimore (later California) on the Mars; my future dad was in the south Pacific. What stories they could tell.

Tom M.

Martin_XPB2M-1_Mars_in_flight_1942.jpeg
Mars prototype, 1942. Wright R-3350 engines (I think).
 
We had this, that another fella and I flew on RCA test runs, we also had a C-47 and a C-46. Never got in the C-46, but the C-47 a couple times in the right seat. The 25 was my favorite. The pic shows it after setting for a couple years, it was real shiny when we had it. It had antennas all over it radar in the nose nd packed with test equipment. Bought by the American Aircraft museum in England and converted back to original, it hangs inside the museum.
View attachment 59261
 
Yep, love the sound of radials. Years ago I got the see "Fifi" (B-29) at the Cleveland air show. Got rained out on Saturday when I went, but I tried to make it back Sunday. I got delayed and had to settle for watching it take off from about 1/4 mile away. I had pulled off the road next to a fire truck that was idling while the firefighters were taking a break to watch too. When it took off I could still hear it loud and clear over the fire truck. I found out she's coming to Youngstown in a couple weeks, already told the wife we're going to see it up close. Sure wish I could afford a ride in her, but I'll settle for taking a tour through her. Heck with the pilot's seat, I'd love to sit in the flight engineer's seat!
 
NutmegCT said:
Rick - during WW2, my mom worked at Glenn L Martin in Baltimore (later California) on the Mars; my future dad was in the south Pacific. What stories they could tell.

Tom M.

View attachment 59260
Mars prototype, 1942. Wright R-3350 engines (I think).
Click to expand...

The R3350 was also what powered the B29 and continued on powering the Lockheed Constellations through the 60's...
 
Sidelight - I was always able to sleep on a propeller-driven plane but I have never, ever been able to sleep on a jet - even on a flight to China or Europe.
 
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