Recent content by Bruce R.

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    THE ULTIMATE TARGET to test F-89 guns

    It's a shame to see such a rare airplane as the Airacomet shot to pieces, but since it never amounted to much as a fighter, I guess they didn't care. Still it was/is history in aluminum.
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    Test pilots like Tony Levier, Chuck Yeager, Boone Guyton, and Scott Crossfield, to name just a few are and were exceptional people with exceptional skills, the fact that they could handle a plane with "different" characteristics isn't surprising, nor should it be. I knew Scott Crossfield, and I...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    I think the problem we have here is the fact that there are no other aircraft (that I am aware of) that have two outward turning engines as the P-38 does. In most aircraft the engines all turn either clockwise or counter-clockwise; some aircraft have counter-rotating engines that make things...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    It would appear that you are allowing the performance category of this particular aircraft weigh in the definition of what is critical and what isn't, and that just isn't the case. I think we both know that the P-38 would never be able to get a type certificate because of its poor single engine...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    While I can agree with your theory, it still goes counter to FAA definitions and their direction on the subject. The combination of adverse yaw caused by P-factor and airspeed, or lack of airflow over the rudder(s) is what determines critical engine and the proper reactions to it. Just...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    "Aircraft which have counter-rotating propellers rotating toward the cockpit on the top side (such as the Beechcraft Duchess) do not have a critical engine, while both engines are critical on aircraft with counter-rotating propellers turning away from the cockpit. The Lockheed P-38 was an...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    That doesn't matter in the strict definition of the words “critical engine”. The fact that the aircraft was "overpowered" just makes the situation worse. The stronger the asymmetric thrust, the quicker the plane will roll on climb out, or, if still on the ground, spin off into the boondocks...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    I'm a multi-engine rated instructor pilot, if that means anything, and to say that just because both engines effect the aircraft the same way, therefore neither is critical just doesn't make sense to me, sorry. In the case of the P-38, a failure of either engine at less than Vmc is a serious...
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    Contra rotating Propellers

    I hate to be a newbie and for my first post disagree with an "old timer", but I guess I'll have to. The P-38 was a unique plane, it didn't have one critical engine, it had TWO critical engines. I didn't read the Wiki post, but I know a bit about this. The idea is that the down turning...
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