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Read it here:
Last Dogfight of WWII in Europe Was Between Two Spotter Planes,Firing Pistols at Each Other. The German Aircraft Was Destroyed
Quite a tale. And Lt. Francis had to wait 22 years for his DFC! Ordinary guys doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times. Never see another generation like that! Amazing that the Grasshopper did the same job as the Storch at half the weight, a third the power, and a quarter the cost.
Cheers,
Wes
Does dreaming and drooling count? They're above my pay grade, but I've ridden 'em, driven 'em, and wrenched on 'em, and in my dream world would own and fly a Fokker D-7 with the BMW version of the OHC six-banger.Wes,
Have you ever owned a BMW?
Cheers,
Biff
And I'm guessing that given the L4's advantage of surprise and approach angle, even if the Storch was armed, it probably couldn't have gotten its gun to bear before its wingtip collided with the ground. Besides in those desperate days of last stand of the Reich, the gun had probably been stripped off and given to the troops who needed it more.I'm guessing the Fi156 that the Piper encountered was an earlier type, as the later Fieslers were armed with an MG15.
in my dream world would own and fly a Fokker D-7 with the BMW version of the OHC six-banger.
Yeah, but the stall is about 10-20 mph lower with the Storch.Read it here:
Last Dogfight of WWII in Europe Was Between Two Spotter Planes,Firing Pistols at Each Other. The German Aircraft Was Destroyed
Quite a tale. And Lt. Francis had to wait 22 years for his DFC! Ordinary guys doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times. Never see another generation like that! Amazing that the Grasshopper did the same job as the Storch at half the weight, a third the power, and a quarter the cost.
Cheers,
Wes
But the L-4, being lighter, decelerates and accelerates in only slightly more distance than the Storch. Not enough to make an operational difference.Yeah, but the stall is about 10-20 mph lower with the Storch.
A local air cargo company restored several DC-3s in invasion colors and flew them for awhile on UPS feeder contracts. They had gunports in the windows. I rode in one once. It was originally a civilianized C-53, but they reconfigured it to resemble a C-47, except they retained the uprated "civilian" 1830s rather than reverting to the original 1820s.Not sure about a "dog fight" but at least one C-47 flying the hump into China may have had passengers firing BARs or Thompsons out the side Windows at attacking planes.
I beleive some C-47s had gun ports in the windows?
Yes some did. When I was about 10 after building a model I asked my grandfather,who worked at Douglas and helped build them, why C47s didn't have defensive armament like bombers did. He informed me that some did indeed have gun ports.Not sure about a "dog fight" but at least one C-47 flying the hump into China may have had passengers firing BARs or Thompsons out the side Windows at attacking planes.
I beleive some C-47s had gun ports in the windows?
True, you can do some surprisingly aerobatic moves in an L-4...But the L-4, being lighter, decelerates and accelerates in only slightly more distance than the Storch. Not enough to make an operational difference.
Some cowboy (who shall remain nameless) made a takeoff across the terminal ramp BETWEEN PARKED AIRCRAFT in a 65 horse J3 as part of a "Flying Farmer" act at a local airshow forty years ago here. Knocked everybody's socks off, and the FAA rep was indoors standing in line for the rest room and none the wiser. I didn't believe my eyes, having at the time never flown one, but later discovered I could takeoff in equivalent distance, though in less irresponsible circumstances.
Cheers,
Wes
TILT! FOUL! OFF TOPIC! By the time you start talking PA-18s it's a whole 'nother ball of wax! Heavier, more powerful, faster, and those primitive Piper zap flaps don't really compensate for the extra speed and weight.granted, the beginning portion of that video was slowed down on purpose, but notice the similarity between the modded wings on that Backcountry Super Cub Rev 2 and the wings on
Yeah, you could add full span Junkers style slotted trailing edge flaps and flaperons and a leading edge slat to your L-4, but that rumble you'd feel underfoot would be Bill Piper and John Taylor rolling over in their graves as you desecrate their sweet, light, and simple little airplane. Heresy risks excommunication.the Storch's prowess really lies in its wing and that a Cub (or rather, "Cub") could do the same or better with a similar wing
Have you seen a J3/L4 with its fabric off? I've helped disassemble, strip, re cover, and reassemble them. The wings are so light one guy can pick one up easily if he can get a good grip on it near the CG (damn awkward sumbitch)....fair enough. I was thinking more; flip-up leading edge slats and fowler flaps, but there's nothing wrong with the basic design, either.
I gotta wonder though, if they were designing that plane today (assuming nothing similar would be in existence), if they wouldn't offer those, at least as options, to the basic package.
Elvis
SLOTS are a much more complicated shape with more skinned surface and more internal shaping ribs, so yes it will add significant weight, but not as much as retractable slats would. Also wouldn't give as much performance gain.Would a non movable leading edge slat add much weight? Sorry, forget the proper word.