Greatest aviation myth this site “de-bunked”.
- Thread starter SaparotRob
- Start date
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Well, I have now discovered that an armoured nose heater was, in fact, under trial.
However, as it consisted of two candles inside a coffee tin, it proved to be unsuccessful, as the bleed air draft from the prop, flowing back under the nose panels, caused enough disturbance to blow out the candles.
In addition to this, the melting candle wax had a tendency to move, seriously affecting the CoG .............
However, as it consisted of two candles inside a coffee tin, it proved to be unsuccessful, as the bleed air draft from the prop, flowing back under the nose panels, caused enough disturbance to blow out the candles.
In addition to this, the melting candle wax had a tendency to move, seriously affecting the CoG .............
Yep, the Rooks also fly straight out to their desired feeding location after forming-up at their large roosts. However, smaller groups do gaggle about and on fine breezy days after the breeding/feeding is done, you do see large displays of thermaling, aerobatics and power-diving!
Eng
Eng
Thumpalumpacus
Major
Maybe that's why rooks in chess can slide the entire eight squares in a straight line ... hmm.
cherry blossom
Senior Airman
- 515
- Apr 23, 2007
Alas rook comes from Persian رخ rokh/rukh, meaning "chariot"
Thumpalumpacus
Major
That too makes sense, as a chariot may cross a battlefield quickly.
I remember there was a book called "Duels in the Sky" by Capt. Eric "Winkle" Brown, and they mentioned the SB2U Vindicator. With the British calling it the Chesapeake, and me kind of scanning through it, I initially misread it as "Cheesecake" (The RN interestingly did sometimes mockingly refer to the aircraft as the Cheesecake as well, probably because they either made the same reading error I did or thought the spelling looked very similar).
While a good cheesecake is a wonderful thing, it doesn't seem like it'd be a good name for a dive-bomber.
Zippythehog
Staff Sergeant
- 773
- Jan 7, 2017
Cheesecake can be heavy. Heavy objects fall. So….?
Zippythehog
I think it was just the fact that it looked like cheesecake if read quickly.
Unfortunately, I now can't stop thinking about cheesecake.
Barrett
Senior Airman
WOA! Never heard THAT one! VF6 CO Jim Gray neglected to mention it!
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
None of the SBDs at Midway had any fighter escort. Enterprise F4F's followed VT-8 by mistake, circled over the IJN fleet while VT-8 attacked, never heard a radio call for help, and then left for home when they hit bingo fuel. Hornet F4F's followed their SBD's, did not find the IJN, and all ditched on the way home. Yorktown F4F's were with their TBD's, not the dive bombers, and found themselves outnumbered by Zeros at least 6 to one.
I wonder if anyone has ever tried to figure out how many Zeros the Yorktown F4F's splashed that day.
I wonder if anyone has ever tried to figure out how many Zeros the Yorktown F4F's splashed that day.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
yosimitesam
Airman 1st Class
This thread is dedicated to debunking apocryphal stories. These, of course, are stories that are told and re-told as truth even though the relevant authorities assert it to be untrue, or else the story is so nebulous that no one can ever find any evidence of its truth. 'Apocryphal' is an adjective. Interestingly, the corresponding noun, 'apocrypha', is plural and usually refers to religious books or stories of doubtful authenticity, or even just downright fakes. Now, what is the singular noun corresponding to 'apocryphal'? The only ones that exist in common English are unrelated to the word's origin, re: 'bullsh*t', 'malarkey', 'hokum', 'bunk', 'lie', 'falsehood', etc. (Note how 'debunking' is itself ambiguous in that it could mean the act of affirming it to be true, even though we actually mean it to be the removal of 'bunk.') I think it's time we come up with our own, precise word for this, just for our use on this site. Here are my candidates: aeromyth, aerobunk, aerodung, aerotwaddle. If Shakespeare can invent words, so can we, and we all can help to stop the spread of this scourge on history and humanity. No, I'm not drunk. Not yet.Not from this site, but on the topic of debunking, a couple of people dug into the story of the RAF dropping a wooden bomb on a fake German airfield which
was occupied by fake wooden aircraft as decoys - to make fun of them.
Seems the root of the story was pretty much a paragraph in a book which amounted to "some guy I once knew said that a thing happened", (a bit like the P-38 story)
Did the British Drop a Wooden Bomb on a Decoy German Airfield?
Did the British Drop a Wooden Bomb on a Decoy German Airfield?www.snopes.com
The "wooden bomb" which is on display, was pointed out not to be a fake bomb either >
View attachment 688973
Most people agreed that although it was immensely unlikely to be true, they would carry on
sort of believing it because it was "a nice story".
Greg Boeser
2nd Lieutenant
In my field it was called BOGINT.
Reluctant Poster
Tech Sergeant
- 1,667
- Dec 6, 2006
According to Lundstrom Yorktown F4Fs claimed 11 Zeros, Hornet claimed 3 and Enterprise claimed 1. His analysis indicates altogether they actually got 11. He does not give a split of the 11 amongst the 3. Worst case VF-3shot down 7, best case 11.
GregP
Major
Some chariots are sweet, swing low, and come to carry you home.
buffnut453
Captain
And some don't have any lyrics at all:
Buffnut,
I flew over that beach in the Eagle enroute to RAF Leuchars for a gas stop (flew back to Keflavik from there). Scottish Mil (ATC) gave us a tour (pointing out the beach and the Old Course at St. Andrews) then asked us to do a practice airfield attack (code for put on a show). What the hell do a bunch of Eagle Drivers know about "airfield attack".
Cheers,
Biff
- Thread starter
- #840
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I just saw a video from "Cockpit Interviews"(?) interviewing a Tornado F3 pilot. He discussed simulated combat against various U.S. types. Of the F-15, he said something like
"Tactics? They just came straight on through. The only way to beat them was to cheat." They flew back and forth in a ravine hiding from radar, popping up to look around. They didn't know the ravine was off limits.
"Tactics? They just came straight on through. The only way to beat them was to cheat." They flew back and forth in a ravine hiding from radar, popping up to look around. They didn't know the ravine was off limits.
