Aviation BS and Photo Thread

The Guppy and Super Guppy were derivatives of the B-377/C-97 used for heavy transport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Pregnant_Guppy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy

 

I have the strangest b1er...

 

That cantilever wing... that raked windscreen...

 

Yep Ft Hood. No chiggers, No Poison Ivy, No Girls.
3RD day on FTX I was just sitting there in the back of my Huey and a CSM with his driver drove up walked up to me and asked me if every thing was OK. Never saw him before. I said Command Sergeant Major in that GP medium tent there is soldiers there so screwed up with poison ivy they can't function, and we don't have any water. Damn within a couple of hours our Cav Unit got a 500 gal water Buffalo and a Medic. As for as I know they have a Medic to this day

 

Were you there in 90 or 91 when that tornado hit. My God it was like a war zone or worse. Back then we used ropes instead of chains to tie the ACFT down. Saw some strange stuff that day. CH-47 on its side tied down and next to it was a Huey sitting there without a scratch.

Did IFR approaches to Gray AAF seen OV-1 Mohawks on the tarmac and C-5's doing touch and goes.

 

Crazy, when I was stationed out unit had a medic and at least 2 folks that went thru combat life saver. I was in 3 Corps though but worked at HLR.

 

I have a pic like that - just not with that background

Very cool seeing everyone's pics...

 

Here is a Guppy and its cargo:

 

Looks faster than it is!

 

Dad got a chance to go look at the plane today and he doesn’t think it’s totaled, The plastics need to be replaced and one window is broken but other than that it is light damage on the skin.

 

Doesn't look bad, but would hate to guess what the body work is going to cost. Won't be cheap.

 

I was expecting worse from the initial report that we got. Dad doesn’t think the fuselage damage is worth messing with, he wants to paint it, update the radio stack and avionics, get the engine overhauled and start flying it again assuming insurance doesn’t total it.
Apparently the ~1400 ft runway that we’re clearing near our shop site will be plenty to take off and land at.
All we have to do is build the hangar before we trailer the plane to it and start the process.

 

Hopefully the insurance will cover most of it.

I fly two 182 that have the sportsman STOL wing cuff with VGs and large tires. They'd be no problem on a 1400ft runway, but my comfort level is not there with a stock 182.

Picture from last week. Hard to make out, but that's 22 knots indicated and still flying.

 

From a mechanic side of things, looks like a fun little project to work on on the side on my own

 

I hope so, I would enjoy flying around in the old 182 again.

That's impressive, we have stol wing tips and robertson's fence so we have a little advantage over a stock 182, and with a fresh top end we should have the full 230 horsepower.
22 knots is slower than I thought a 182 would stay in the air.

I think it will be a fun project, and I really want to try to get the major dents out before we paint. The difficult part will be having a certified mechanic sign off on or do some of the work for a decent rate.
I mean it's due for a refresh anyway, it's a 1970 model N so it's 50 years old.

 

So the published specs for performance are they measured at max weight or "operating" weight? I assume they have operating weight in the airplane world.
https://www.risingup.com/planespecs/info/airplane259.shtml

We should be fine considering we can clear a few hundred feet on each end of the runway to get the 50' clearance and we're within 20' of sea level so we should get good performance except on hot days.

 

Should be the max take off weight which may or may not be the max ramp weight.
The POH should list it for different weights though.

 

Long Beach harbor and AVX (Catalina) way out past that.

 

Well, I guess my plane was overdue for something to break. My transponder quit replying to ATC so I’m gonna have the antenna and coax tested and then get an exchange unit from Garmin I guess.

 

Finally a bit of good news...I can go fly again...until my credit runs out...laid off last week, but in a decent place...fortunately not as bad as many others are. now, let the market come back....