Picture of the day. (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter syscom3
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Elvis
Chief Master Sergeant
My dad had a Rikuo when he was stationed in Japan. He likened it to a '36 Indian. 1000 cc's (he'd call it a "61"). He wasn't all that impressed with it and eventually swapped it for a vvvv 73 (cu.in.) Harley. vvvv
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Nice shots!
Elvis
Chief Master Sergeant
Aren't those Bolingbrokes? Pretty sure Blenheim's have a different nose.Europe's biggest aircraft factory pours out Blenheim bombers in England on December 9th 1939.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
The model 149 Blenheim Mk IV was a cross between the earlier 142 and the Bolingbroke. Bolingbrokes were only made in Canada. Mk IVs were made in the UK as were the Mk V, Model 160, with a different nose again. This three view is of the Mk IF which has the gun pod under the belly as well as the Mk IV and V..
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Elvis
Chief Master Sergeant
Just found this on Wiki's Blenheim page...MiTasol said:
"Consequently, Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) of Quebec started production of the Blenheim Mk IV as the Bolingbroke (the originally intended name for the Blenheim IV)."
Apologies for the mis-ID on my part. Seems the Mk.IV and the Bolingbroke were the same plane, though. Just built in different places. Makes Sense.
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MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
The same plane with a LOT of differences. For example the Bolingbroke had wing and tail de-icing boots - the Blenheim did not.
The Bolingbroke could be (and was) fitted with skis and floats. The Blenheim could not and was not.
I learned the hard way - trying to work on Bolingbrokes using a easy to get Blenheim manual when Bolingbroke manuals were thought to be extinct.
The Bolingbroke could be (and was) fitted with skis and floats. The Blenheim could not and was not.
I learned the hard way - trying to work on Bolingbrokes using a easy to get Blenheim manual when Bolingbroke manuals were thought to be extinct.
Elvis
Chief Master Sergeant
Why couldn't the Mk.IV be fitted with floats/skis?
Greg Boeser
2nd Lieutenant
Structure wasn't designed for it.
Zippythehog
Staff Sergeant
- 761
- Jan 7, 2017
Good question. I thought the Finns put some Mk IVs on skis. Although, that was probably northern ingenuity and had little to do with the factory.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
Exactly
Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,821
- Feb 27, 2020
IIRC it was the Mk. I only.
A quick net search only bring out some Mk. I with skis
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
That is a very nice installation and obviously depends on aerodynamics to keep the ski at the correct angle of attack which means a LOT of time was spent on those aerodynamics.
Compare that with the Canadian version with a complex mickey motion hydraulic trim system to achieve the same results or even the DC-3/C47 with its wing that was a pure bitch to set up and the cables to limit the angles that the ski could move when the gear was extended. And if you think that is a lot of stray cables then you are correct but all are needed.
The upside is that the Dakota skis could be retracted in flight to reduce drag and also had a raise/lower mechanism so that you could operate off both snow and gravel/tarmac/concrete on the same flight. When you land on snow you MUST lift the ski off the snow when you park (to the position shown on the near side in the photo) or the hot ski can melt the ice - and that is when your problems really start if the ice freezes again. Note the far side ski has drooped and would probably stick on ice/snow. Often the oil cooler is moved up the side of the cowling on the inboard side and and I never saw one with that box thing attached. Each Dak ski weighed over 200kg from memory and installing them was not fun. Removal was easy though.
Compare that with the Canadian version with a complex mickey motion hydraulic trim system to achieve the same results or even the DC-3/C47 with its wing that was a pure bitch to set up and the cables to limit the angles that the ski could move when the gear was extended. And if you think that is a lot of stray cables then you are correct but all are needed.
The upside is that the Dakota skis could be retracted in flight to reduce drag and also had a raise/lower mechanism so that you could operate off both snow and gravel/tarmac/concrete on the same flight. When you land on snow you MUST lift the ski off the snow when you park (to the position shown on the near side in the photo) or the hot ski can melt the ice - and that is when your problems really start if the ice freezes again. Note the far side ski has drooped and would probably stick on ice/snow. Often the oil cooler is moved up the side of the cowling on the inboard side and and I never saw one with that box thing attached. Each Dak ski weighed over 200kg from memory and installing them was not fun. Removal was easy though.
Reluctant Poster
Tech Sergeant
- 1,638
- Dec 6, 2006
All I know is that when a ski equipped C-47 appears in a movie very bad things happen
View: https://archive.org/details/TheThingFromAnotherWorldHorrorSciFi1951JamesArnessKennethTobeyMargaretSheridan
Great movie but also worth watching the first 10 minutes for the flying scenes alone.
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 42,964
- Mar 26, 2007
Viking1066
Chief Master Sergeant
When Col. tells Scotty about his hair 
reporter was a great character!
reporter was a great character!
Zippythehog
Staff Sergeant
- 761
- Jan 7, 2017
Ya know, if someone was REALY ambitious, they could kitbash this particular kludge….
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
And yes they also put the Dak on floats and made it amphibious with the standard main gear inside the floats. Nose gear was new parts from memory (never worked on one thank goodness but I did have the floats manual at one stage). You had to jack the whole aircraft to service or change a main wheel or brake.
