Plane Language is an aviation book like no other. Part One explores the whole language and culture of aviation, from the origin of the very word aeroplane itself (and why Americans prefer airplane) through such terms as Blimp, Canard, Chopper, Archie, Ass-ender, Boxkite, and Bucket of Sunshine. In commercial aviation, why might cabin crew brand you a Phillip or a Bob, and what is crop dusting?
With over a thousand separate entries, Part Two is full of fun facts and anecdotes, and examines aviation nicknames and colloquial terms, changed names, fictional names, and the names of rare and lesser-known variants; what famous aircraft had variants called the Tsetse, Jackaroo or Kurnass? Where in the RAF was Albert Square, how did an American aircraft carrier come to be called John's Sore Penis, and what was Britain's super-secret Vennet fighter? (see cover) What American airlifters were paired as the Big Mac & the Quarter-Pounder, or Fred & Barney as in "The Flintstones" ? Which airliners were known as the Playtex Jet, the Stratoboozer, the Barbie Jet, or John Holmes' Condom? Did president Johnson really fluff his lines when unveiling the Mach 3 Blackbird, and how did a typist change the title of a multi-Billion Pound international helicopter project? What was the Rutland Reindeer, the Mayfield Kestrel, or the Ridgefield Prometheus? Why did the UK and France bicker over the spelling of Concorde? What did the Spitfire's designer think to the name, and what did Harrier pilots really call their aircraft (it certainly wasn't Jump Jet) This book will answer all these questions and many, many more.
Parts Three & Four describe the formal aircraft naming protocols in the US and Great Britain; do you know, for example, why manufacturers had to resort to such curious names as Boulton & Paul Bobolink and English Electric Eclectic? Parts Five & Six are an exhaustive study of Western reporting names of Japanese WWII aircraft and Russian/Chinese aircraft of the Cold War era; how did one of the best WWII fighters come to be called Zero by both sides, and what is a Fishcan, Faithless or Madcap? Plane Language is both informative and entertaining, a book that you will delve into over and over again. (Includes some historic language and/or cultural stereotypes that may be inconsistent with today's standards.)
#AircraftNames #PlaneNames #Nicknames #AviationLanguage #AviationSlang #AviationTerminology #PlaneLanguageBook
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Vought F4U Corsair With its distinctive cranked wing and massive radial engine, the iconic Corsair naval fighter soon picked up a string of titles like Bentwing Bird, Bentwing Monster, Horseshoe, Hog Nose, Hose Nose, U-Bird & Super Stuka, and there were even jokes about seagulls learning to scare Japanese pilots by flying upside down (most so-called gull-winged aircraft would be more accurately termed inverse-gull) The wing configuration was supposedly necessary to keep the undercarriage relatively short whilst still providing ground clearance for the huge 13ft 4ins diameter propellor, although this is now contested (the F6F Hellcat had virtually the same engine/propellor combination, but a more conventional wing) The name Mercury was suggested for the F4U in 1941 (see Part Three) The short-fuselage XF4U-1 prototype became known retrospectively as the Stubby or Stubby Top. Early models with the framed canopy were Birdcage Corsairs, and many sources still say the Japanese knew the Corsair as Whistling Death after the sound from the leading-edge intakes, although this is now generally accepted as apocryphal; Japanese records do not support the name, but oddly show it sometimes referred to as the "Sikorsky" (the Vought & Sikorsky divisions of United Aircraft having merged in 1939)
The F4U was not without its vices though, and an early reputation for hairy carrier landings, ascribed by some to poor forward visibility and a tendency to "bounce" (finally cured by simply adjusting the shock absorbers) earned it the usual USN epithets of Ensign Eater or Ensign Eliminator. Yet another myth surrounding the F4U is that carrier operations only became viable when the British devised the "curved approach," when in fact the USN had been using that method before the F4U even entered service. Either way, once the wrinkles had been ironed out the F4U went from strength to strength, hitting the headlines as the Sweetheart of the Marianas (during the famous 1944 "Turkey Shoot") and again in 1945 as the Angel of Okinawa.
The name Tempest was proposed (see Part Three) for the Brewster-built F3A variant, known unofficially in-house as the Battler, but neither were ever ratified so the F3A remained a Corsair. Brewster was a troubled company at the time, but stories about unreliability and poor quality seem to have been exaggerated. As well as building over 4000 Corsairs under the FG designation, Goodyear developed their own F2G Super Corsair high-altitude interceptor variant with a more powerful R-4360 engine and bubble canopy, but production was limited to just 10 aircraft. The F4U remained in production until 1953 (the longest production run of any American piston fighter) and saw action as late as 1969 when both El Salvador and Honduras used it in the so-called Soccer War. On May 17th 2005, the Connecticut legislature signed into law a bill making the F4U the official aircraft of the State of Connecticut, Vought having moved to East Hartford in the early Thirties.
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Everything you need to know about aircraft names and nomenclature- nicknames, lesser-known conversions, upgrades & variant names, changed names, airline class names, fictional names, NATO & WWII Allied reporting names, phonetic alphabets, anecdotes, colloquialisms, and naming protocols- all recorded & analyzed here; https://tinyurl.com/4tk2nubk
With over a thousand separate entries, Part Two is full of fun facts and anecdotes, and examines aviation nicknames and colloquial terms, changed names, fictional names, and the names of rare and lesser-known variants; what famous aircraft had variants called the Tsetse, Jackaroo or Kurnass? Where in the RAF was Albert Square, how did an American aircraft carrier come to be called John's Sore Penis, and what was Britain's super-secret Vennet fighter? (see cover) What American airlifters were paired as the Big Mac & the Quarter-Pounder, or Fred & Barney as in "The Flintstones" ? Which airliners were known as the Playtex Jet, the Stratoboozer, the Barbie Jet, or John Holmes' Condom? Did president Johnson really fluff his lines when unveiling the Mach 3 Blackbird, and how did a typist change the title of a multi-Billion Pound international helicopter project? What was the Rutland Reindeer, the Mayfield Kestrel, or the Ridgefield Prometheus? Why did the UK and France bicker over the spelling of Concorde? What did the Spitfire's designer think to the name, and what did Harrier pilots really call their aircraft (it certainly wasn't Jump Jet) This book will answer all these questions and many, many more.
Parts Three & Four describe the formal aircraft naming protocols in the US and Great Britain; do you know, for example, why manufacturers had to resort to such curious names as Boulton & Paul Bobolink and English Electric Eclectic? Parts Five & Six are an exhaustive study of Western reporting names of Japanese WWII aircraft and Russian/Chinese aircraft of the Cold War era; how did one of the best WWII fighters come to be called Zero by both sides, and what is a Fishcan, Faithless or Madcap? Plane Language is both informative and entertaining, a book that you will delve into over and over again. (Includes some historic language and/or cultural stereotypes that may be inconsistent with today's standards.)
#AircraftNames #PlaneNames #Nicknames #AviationLanguage #AviationSlang #AviationTerminology #PlaneLanguageBook
"
Vought F4U Corsair With its distinctive cranked wing and massive radial engine, the iconic Corsair naval fighter soon picked up a string of titles like Bentwing Bird, Bentwing Monster, Horseshoe, Hog Nose, Hose Nose, U-Bird & Super Stuka, and there were even jokes about seagulls learning to scare Japanese pilots by flying upside down (most so-called gull-winged aircraft would be more accurately termed inverse-gull) The wing configuration was supposedly necessary to keep the undercarriage relatively short whilst still providing ground clearance for the huge 13ft 4ins diameter propellor, although this is now contested (the F6F Hellcat had virtually the same engine/propellor combination, but a more conventional wing) The name Mercury was suggested for the F4U in 1941 (see Part Three) The short-fuselage XF4U-1 prototype became known retrospectively as the Stubby or Stubby Top. Early models with the framed canopy were Birdcage Corsairs, and many sources still say the Japanese knew the Corsair as Whistling Death after the sound from the leading-edge intakes, although this is now generally accepted as apocryphal; Japanese records do not support the name, but oddly show it sometimes referred to as the "Sikorsky" (the Vought & Sikorsky divisions of United Aircraft having merged in 1939)
The F4U was not without its vices though, and an early reputation for hairy carrier landings, ascribed by some to poor forward visibility and a tendency to "bounce" (finally cured by simply adjusting the shock absorbers) earned it the usual USN epithets of Ensign Eater or Ensign Eliminator. Yet another myth surrounding the F4U is that carrier operations only became viable when the British devised the "curved approach," when in fact the USN had been using that method before the F4U even entered service. Either way, once the wrinkles had been ironed out the F4U went from strength to strength, hitting the headlines as the Sweetheart of the Marianas (during the famous 1944 "Turkey Shoot") and again in 1945 as the Angel of Okinawa.
The name Tempest was proposed (see Part Three) for the Brewster-built F3A variant, known unofficially in-house as the Battler, but neither were ever ratified so the F3A remained a Corsair. Brewster was a troubled company at the time, but stories about unreliability and poor quality seem to have been exaggerated. As well as building over 4000 Corsairs under the FG designation, Goodyear developed their own F2G Super Corsair high-altitude interceptor variant with a more powerful R-4360 engine and bubble canopy, but production was limited to just 10 aircraft. The F4U remained in production until 1953 (the longest production run of any American piston fighter) and saw action as late as 1969 when both El Salvador and Honduras used it in the so-called Soccer War. On May 17th 2005, the Connecticut legislature signed into law a bill making the F4U the official aircraft of the State of Connecticut, Vought having moved to East Hartford in the early Thirties.
"
Everything you need to know about aircraft names and nomenclature- nicknames, lesser-known conversions, upgrades & variant names, changed names, airline class names, fictional names, NATO & WWII Allied reporting names, phonetic alphabets, anecdotes, colloquialisms, and naming protocols- all recorded & analyzed here; https://tinyurl.com/4tk2nubk
