#1017planes

In early 1917, the German High Command realized that they would always be outnumbered in the sky. The average German Air Force squadron, or Jasta, could only put up 6 to 9 aircraft on patrols and some local commanders began grouping Jastas together in composite groups to increase the number of aircraft on patrols over a given sector of the Western Front. By the middle of the year the grouping Jastas became official with the formation of the world’s first fighter wing or Jagdgeschwader, the first fighter wing being JG 1 which was composed of Jastas 4,6,10, and 11. With its first commander, Manfred von Richtofen “Red Baron”, JG 1 was a mobile unit that could set up operations anywhere on the front and “swarm” that sector with four Jastas’ worth of fighters, creating local air superiority by concentrating forces on key sectors. JG 1’s aircraft were brightly colored and their mobile nature resembled a traveling circus which is how they got their nickname, “The Flying Circus”. The battlefield success of JG 1 led to the formation of JG 2 and JG 3 as well. By the summer of 1918, JG 1 was fully equipped with the Fokker Dr.I triplane’s replacement, the Fokker D.VII. This photo is the Fokker D.VII’s successor, the parasol wing monoplane Fokker D.VIII. Faster and agile, the Allies called the D.VIII the “Flying Razor”- Jasta 6 of the Flying Circus was first to get the D.VIII in July 1918. Structural issues were found and rectified and Jasta 11 of the Flying Circus got its D.VIIIs in October 1918. Only 381 were built and only 85 made it to front line service before the end of the First World War. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “The Greatest Show on Earth” | Day 27 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KBFI #BFI #BoeingField #MuseumofFlight #airport #planespotting #Fokker #DVIII #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at The Museum of Flight)

Only the B-52 Stratofortress has had a longer career as a bomber with USAF than the Douglas A-26/B-26 Invader. Introduced in 1944 as an attack bomber to replace the Douglas A-20 Havoc, the first A-26s went into action in June 1944-September 1944. Redesignated B-26 after the war, the Invaders were one of the first aircraft in action over Korea and carried out the first bomber mission against targets in North Korea in June 1950. Invaders also flew the last combat mission of the Korean War, dropping bombs just minutes before the Armistice went into effect. The Invaders were back in action again in 1960, this time in Southeast Asia. Structural fatigue issues led On-Mark Engineering to rebuild 40 Invaders to the Counter-Invader standard to fly special operations missions in Vietnam. The aircraft were redesignated back to A-26 in acknowledgement of Thai political sensitivities. The Counter-Invaders flew interdiction missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The last Invaders were retired from the USAF in 1972 which were the last examples serving with the Air National Guard special operations units. That’s nearly 30 years of service with the USAF. Not bad for a WW2-era bomber! The B-52 didn’t break the Invader’s service record until 1983. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “As Good As It Gets” | Day 31 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KNFW #NFW #NASFortWorthJRB #CarswellField #AirPowerExpo2016 #airport #planespotting #megaplane #instaplane #Douglas #A26 #B26 #Invader #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #Avgeekery #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at NAS Fort Worth JRB/Carswell Field)

Several years ago visiting Pensacola, the door to one of the restoration hangars was open so I peeked in and got this shot of the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado under restoration- today it’s on display inside the National Naval Aviation Museum. Note the four-bladed props inboard and three bladed ones on the outboard engine. The first PB2Y Coronados had three bladed propellers on all four engines. However, operational experience had shown that the inboard props were subject to more pitting and corrosion caused by the spray thrown up by the Coronado’s hull on landings and takeoffs. Since the outboard engines were further away, they weren’t as badly damaged by repeated spray exposure. As a result, the inboard engines on the Coronado fleet were refitted with four bladed props that were several inches shorter and less impacted by the spray. A smaller propeller with a fourth blade generated the same propulsive force as the larger original three bladed propellers which remained on the outboard engines. Note also the bomb bays in the wings behind the engine nacelles. In January and February 1944, the PB2Ys of VP-13 and VP-102 were assigned to conduct bombing raids on Wake Island which was occupied by the Japanese. VP-13 would attack with 13 Coronado aircraft at low level followed 25 minutes later by VP-102’s Coronados attacking from 8000 feet. Four such attacks were made the by the PB2Ys of both squadrons. For the most part, though, the Coronado fleet was used as transports as their range was actually shorter than that of the aircraft they were supposed to replace, the PBY Catalina. Ten PB2Ys were sold to the RAF, but they found the Short Sunderland to have better range and those RAF Coronados served in transport roles during the war. The Coronado on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum is the sole surviving example. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Night at the Museum” | Day 13 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KNPA #NPA #NASPensacola #Pensacola #NationalNavalAviationMuseum #airport #Florida #Consolidated #PB2Y #Coronado #flyingboat #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at National Naval Aviation Museum)

One of Cavannaugh Flight Museum’s Skyraiders does a very spirited photo pass! The single seat version of the Skyraider actually had an airborne early warning version that housed an AN/APS-20A search radar in a ventral radome and shoe-horned two radar operators in the fuselage. This version, designated the AD-3W, was nicknamed “Guppy” by the US Navy and was only built in small numbers to replace the Navy’s first carrier-borne AEW asset, the Grumman TBM-3W Avenger. Given that the AD-3W’s radar could spot submarine periscopes, Douglas pitched an anti-submarine warfare version (ASW) to work as a hunter-killer pairing with one ASW Skyraider to carry the radar and the other to carry the weapons. But by the time Douglas tested out the ASW Skyraider hunter-killer team, the Navy had moved to an integrated platform on a single airframe that would become the Grumman S-2 Tracker. Not keen on abandoning the idea, Douglas developed the wider AD-5 “family sedan” version of the Skyraider with side by side seating, a stretched fuselage and space for two more crew behind the flight crew for mission flexibility. While the AD-5 variant found use in different roles, the desire of Douglas for an ASW variant drove the design process for the AD-5. The AD-5S was the second time a Skyraider was pitched for ASW warfare but this time in a single airframe pitched as more economical than the S-2 Tracker. Only one was built as by that point the S-2 had proved itself very capable. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “The Hunt for Red October” | Day 5 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Douglas #A1 #AD #Skyraider #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)

Only 12 days had elapsed from the attack on Pearl Harbor to when the 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” went into action over China against Japan. While 1941 was a dark year for the Allies especially in the Pacific, the exploits of the Flying Tigers against a numerically superior Japanese force boosted American morale. The leader of the 1st AVG, General Claire Chennault, rigorously trained his men to capitalize on the strengths of the P-40 Warhawk against the more maneuverable Japanese fighters. The Flying Tigers avoided a turning fight and used the Warhawk’s speed and sturdiness in slashing attacks at high speed. Flown in the right way, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk could effectively battle the vaunted Mitsubishi A6M Zero. The Flying Tigers in China astutely realized the P-40 had a climb and speed advantage and used their P-40s in slashing attacks, avoiding the turning fight with the more nimble Zero. Later in the Pacific campaign, USAAF pilots would use a low yo-yo, trading altitude for an increased rate of turn which dropped the nose into a turn and done right, the P-40 could cut inside a Zero’s turn. The bigger ailerons of the Zero that gave it outstanding roll maneuverability were also a liability as Warhawk pilots would keep their speed up during dogfights- the higher speeds put higher dynamic loads on the Zero’s ailerons, making the aircraft sluggish and less maneuverable. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Jaws” | Day 15 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Curtiss #P40 #Warhawk #FlyingTigers #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

The wonderful thing about aviation museums is when you have juxtapositions like this at the Museum of Flight in Seattle- the Boeing Model 80 which made its maiden flight in 1928 and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird which made its first flight as the single seat A-12 Oxcart variant in 1962 (the Museum of Flight’s Blackbird is actually an M-21, which was an A-12 with second seat for the drone launch control officer who was in charge of the D-21 UAV that was carried on the back of the M-21). Regardless, you’re talking about only 34 years that separates the maiden flights of these two aircraft. The Boeing 80 trimotor airliner had a maximum speed of 138 mph and a range of 400 nm. The SR-71 Blackbird had a maximum speed well over Mach 3.3 (2200mph) and a range of 2900 nm. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Some Kind of Wonderful” | Day 16 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KBFI #BFI #BoeingField #Seattle #airport #planespotting #instagramaviation #Boeing #Model80 #Lockheed #A12 #M21 #SR71 #Blackbird #MuseumofFlight #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at The Museum of Flight)

The UPS MD-11F N260UP basks in the setting sun at DFW. The double hinged, split rudder on the Douglas DC-10 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a consequence of the placement of the number two engine in the fin. Had the vertical fin of the DC-10/MD-11 had a conventional rudder, it would have had insufficient yaw authority in the event of a loss of either the number one or number three engine. To compensate, the rudder is double hinged to allow it more “throw” left or right than what a conventional single hinged rudder could perform. The wing-mounted engines of the DC-10/MD-11 are also placed relatively close to the fuselage to help reduce the yaw moment in an engine out situation. By comparison, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar’s number two engine is set low at the end of the fuselage, allowing for a very generous fin and rudder area. As a consequence, the wing mounted engines on the Tristar are moved further out on the wing which had the effect of lessening the structural weight of the wing (the engines act as mass dampers on wing bending moments) and made the cabin quieter since the engines were further away from the fuselage. However, a FedEx pilot once told me “Douglas builds structural birds that are stronger than brick shithouses!” and that structural robustness is one of the factors that gave the DC-10 greater longevity than the L-1011. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Up” | Day 8 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KDFW #DFW #airport #airlines #planespotting #instaplane #instagramaviation #McDonnellDouglas #MD11 #UPS #N260UP #splendid_transport #instaaviation #Avgeekery #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at DFW Founders Plaza)

Now that the Boeing 737-300 has been retired by Southwest Airlines, there’s only one -300 left in Southwest colors and that happens to be Southwest’s first 737-300 “The Spirit of Kitty Hawk” N300SW which is now on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. Southwest along with US Air were the launch customers for the 737-300. N300SW first flew at Renton Field on 15 August 1984 and was delivered to Southwest Airlines on 30 November 1984, flying its first revenue services on 17 December 1984 between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, the first three cities Southwest served when the airline was founded in 1971. N300SW’s last revenue flight was on 18 January 2011 to Phoenix and its last flight was its flight “home” to the Museum on 18 April 2011 from Everett, Washington, where it got a new coat of paint for its new role as a static display aircraft. “The Spirit of Kitty Hawk” had logged 83,132 hours of flight over 77,301 cycles. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Home Alone” | Day 22 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KDAL #DAL #DallasLoveField #FrontiersofFlight #airport #planespotting #instaplane #instagramaviation #Avgeekery #Boeing #737 #Southwest #SWApic #N300SW #splendid_transport #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Frontiers Of Flight Museum)