GregP
Major
OK, and ... ? The item under discussion is a piece of steel that supposedly got launched vertically upward by and explosion at 25,000 mph (escape velocity).
Not too sure why orbital velocity is relevant.
More proof that the P-39 rules! 😂
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OK, and ... ? The item under discussion is a piece of steel that supposedly got launched vertically upward by and explosion at 25,000 mph (escape velocity).
Not too sure why orbital velocity is relevant.
GregP
Major
Or why it should affect a P-39 ...
Well, it depends on how long it took a P39 to get to orbital escape velocity. Which brings in the age old question. Should the nose armour
be taken off to increase climb rate or should it be left on to negate possible aero heating problems ?
GregP
Major
I say use carbon fiber for the nose armor, and then fill the airframe with Helium to make it lighter.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I have to go with GregP on that.
GregP
Major
A thousand thanks, SparotRob.
May you live long enough to be a problem to your children while simultaneously being deliriously happy.
33k in the air
Staff Sergeant
- 1,219
- Jan 31, 2021
Because the P-39 was also the first space vehicle, that's why!
I thought everybody knew that!
GregP
Major
Well it DID have a lot of empty SPACE where the pilots were afraid to be, if they had any fear of tumbling.
glennasher
Senior Airman
I thought a tumbler was something from which you drank?
GregP
Major
That's only ONE definition:
1) A circus acrobat.
2) A clumsy girl who trips over her long dress in high heels.
3) Part of a padlock.
4) A P-39 with empty ammunition boxes and a ham-fisted pilot who is short on survival instincts.
1) A circus acrobat.
2) A clumsy girl who trips over her long dress in high heels.
3) Part of a padlock.
4) A P-39 with empty ammunition boxes and a ham-fisted pilot who is short on survival instincts.
wuzak
Captain
Were those the ones that had the 2 stage V-1710 in place of the regular engine?
As a film fanatic, let's not forget this...
The idea...
The idea...
GregP
Major
Since I can't seem to edit my post here is a link to the Firestone 500 recall
Ever hear of the Firestone 500 tire recall? In 1978, Firestone announced the recall of 14.5 million steel belted radials produced by the company, the largest tire recall to date.
Firestone’s problems arose from the company trying to switch to a new tire building technology without first perfecting the methods to d...justacarguy.blogspot.com
When I was in college, I had Firestone 500s on a Chevy Vega (mine was definitely NOT a bad car at all) and, after going through the mill of Firestone dealers, I've never bought another Firestone tire or anything else since then.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The really bad Firestone tires were the 721 series, that had the steel belting seperate from the casing.
My Texaco stopped selling Firestine and switched to Uniroyal and General.
My Texaco stopped selling Firestine and switched to Uniroyal and General.
Interesting. We didn't have Firestone in my part of Australia when steel belted radials first started to sell but we did have Uniroyal
and there were a lot of instances of belt separation with them early on. Some was due to the usual chinese whispers though and
they soon became standard.
GregP
Major
My Firestone 500s had a tendency for the steel belts to cross over one another inside the tire, at least one per tire. It made the ride squirmy. Firestone gave me 3 ne sets and I then switched to other brands. There is a story behind that, but suffice to say the local Firestone store was NOT a well-run outfit. Could be just that store, but the experience with the 500s suggests otherwise.
Firestone (and that particu.ar store) may be a well-run outfit now, I can't say.
A word to the wise. When you have things done at a tore store, always check to see the lug nuts have been installed before driving away, even if you have to remove any hubcaps to do it.
Firestone (and that particu.ar store) may be a well-run outfit now, I can't say.
A word to the wise. When you have things done at a tore store, always check to see the lug nuts have been installed before driving away, even if you have to remove any hubcaps to do it.
cammerjeff
Staff Sergeant
Funny you should mention Firestone tire recalls from the 1970's. I bought a set of the 500's replacement the 721 Steel Belted radials for a very stock 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix, and had one of the belts separate after about 1000 miles. Took it back to the dealer I bought it from only to have the manager refuse to warranty it (2 year warranty at the time of purchase) because the 19 year old me had obviously "abused" the tire! After having my father's lawyer call to Firestone's corp office suddenly got me a replacement set of a different style tire.
I also have never bought a set of Firestone's again, and once when buying a new truck had the dealer swap the wheels & tires so I didn't have to have a set on my new truck!
About the Vega, if you owned a 75-77 Vega, most of the issues had been worked out by then, and if you lived in sunny California, the terminal Rust issues they still had would not be a large problem. I actually like driving my 77 Astre Formula, but the tired 2.5 Iron Duke has long been replaced by a Buick 215 Aluminum V8.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
One of the problems with the early steel belted radials, was improper tire rotation.
The steel cord would become "programmed" when first installed and had to be rotated to a position that turned in the same direction, unlike bias-ply or polyester radials.
As a result, the tire rotating in the oposite direction would cause the steel belting to "crawl" and ultimately seperate from the casing either in one location (causing a bulge in the tread) or fail completely, causing the tread to come off in a spectacular failure while driving.
That issue has long since been fixed with better belting technology, but what a time to be alive during the Bias to Radial transition!
The steel cord would become "programmed" when first installed and had to be rotated to a position that turned in the same direction, unlike bias-ply or polyester radials.
As a result, the tire rotating in the oposite direction would cause the steel belting to "crawl" and ultimately seperate from the casing either in one location (causing a bulge in the tread) or fail completely, causing the tread to come off in a spectacular failure while driving.
That issue has long since been fixed with better belting technology, but what a time to be alive during the Bias to Radial transition!
