Recent content by muskeg13

Straying off topic, but...dash dimmer rheostat overheating was probably a common GM problem. I experienced the same in my 1994 Yukon. The dash light dimmer was always at least warm, but sometimes I was afraid of it being so hot as to melt plastic or start a fire. Fortunately, this problem seems...

Maybe a bit faster than 225 mph? For a fighter that entered service in late 1938? Every little bit helps.

It doesn't get much worse than this: Blackburn Skua

Small updates: NTSB preliminary report released today. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/2024/05/02/ntsb-engine-separated-from-cargo-plane-seconds-before-deadly-crash-near-fairbanks/...

Onboard fire reported prior to in-flight explosions. Tower-AC audio is in second link. I live near the Wasilla airport where this plane was home based and routinely heard and saw it flying, but no more. They haven't released the names of the pilot and crewmember, but they were probably locals...

https://mustreadalaska.com/breaking-douglas-dc-4-crashes-near-fairbanks/ https://www.newsminer.com/alerts/two-dead-after-plane-crashes-into-bluffs-above-tanana-river/article_c46954d0-01a6-11ef-9c07-abe52f7fc25c.html...

The B-24 Liberator had notoriously catastrophic ditching capabilities due to it's bomb bay design and overall lighter construction than the more robust B-17 Flying Fortress. Even under the most controlled nearly perfect conditions, the B-24 would always break it's back and rapidly sink, even if...

Definitely. Both were about as good as it gets in 1939, but I'd install Wright R-2600 Cyclones from the start and have four .50s in the nose with none in the wings and no dorsal turret. They could The NA-40/B-25 was about a year too late to fit this timeline.

Ditto on the B-35 Flying Wing, but for late war deployment in the Pacific where its range and payload would exceed that of the B-29. Initial contracts specified late 1943 delivery of the first prototype. WW2 B-35 production might have been possible if this project had a higher priority, perhaps...

I have no source but remember reading that some USAAF aces, mostly in the Pacific, omitted tracers because they believed tracers alerted their prey that they were being shot at and the U.S. pilot wanted to get as close as possible to an unsuspecting opponent. I believe Bong in particular may...

I had to look up Little Storping, aka Aldbury. This has to be one of the most filmed locations in the UK over many years and in many films and TV series. I immediately recognized the pond in the middle of town from The Avengers, The Dirty Dozen, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders and many others...

Diana is even better in color

F-82s, SB-17Gs (aka B-17Hs), Waco Gliders, the Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System (or a Pre-Fulton system) and a cameo B-36 Wing fly-by all in one film! What's not to like? YeeHaw!!! Working in the garage on an antique firearm restoration project, I happened to pick an Amazon Prime aviation...

Hmmm? For (extra) special missions these CH-47s could carry M3 or modified M8 Scout Cars, jeep towed howitzers and antitank guns, and maybe even motorized heavy mortars or specially modified light tanks. A lot of firepower could be transported for "behind the lines" exploitation.

Now we're getting somewhere. How about the Italian Fiat CR.32? According the all-knowing Wiki, it seemed to be 2-Winged Death to it's opponents in Spain