Aircraft trivia

Richard

Richard

Final Approach
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Ack...city life
1) This famous air racer was bought for $1,200 surplus after WWII. What was the orgin of it's name?

yippee.jpg




2) What was the F-5 (prop driven)

3) What WWII US fighter was, at various times, used for photo recon, mounted on floats, a night fighter, and served as an aerial refueler?

4) How many fingers am I holding up?
 
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1, 2 and 3 are the same basic aircraft - the P-38. F-5 was the photo recon version.

You must be holding up 1 finger. Didn't know about the float mounting or aerial refueling uses.
 
Richard said:
But it doesn't answer question one.
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On May 17, 1946, Lear Sr. gave his son $1,250 (plus $75 for two 165-gallon drop-tanks), which paid for his son's "love of his life," P-38L from Kingman Army Air Field, Kingman, Ariz.

Lear also owned an AT-6, which he said meant "absolutely nothing to him" after he got his P-38. He had plans to fly his twin-engine P-38 in the 1946 Bendix cross-country race from Van Nuys, Calif., to Cleveland, Ohio. He named his plane "The Martha J," honoring his wife-to-be, Martha Joy (McKee) Crawford, whom he married on Sept. 14, 1947. He was 19 and she was 18.
 
The plane, bought by former test pilot Tony Devier, was named, YIPPEE. What is the orgin of that name?
 
TO CELEBRATE THE PRODUCTION OF 5,000 P-38 LIGHTNINGS, Lockheed painted the 5,000th P-38J fire-engine red. This plane also had "Yippee" painted on the undersides of its wings in big white letters.

Richard said:
The plane, bought by former test pilot Tony Devier, was named, YIPPEE. What is the orgin of that name?
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cherokeeflyboy said:
TO CELEBRATE THE PRODUCTION OF 5,000 P-38 LIGHTNINGS, Lockheed painted the 5,000th P-38J fire-engine red. This plane also had "Yippee" painted on the undersides of its wings in big white letters.
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That may or may not be true but it is not the correct answer.
 
What former U.S. WWII fighter (prop driven) climbed to 31,000 feet over California with both (that's a hint) propellers feathered?
 
P-38. It soared the Sierra Nevada wave to that altitude. Famous photo was taken. Does anyone know where to find it?
 
MauleSkinner said:
What former U.S. WWII fighter (prop driven) climbed to 31,000 feet over California with both (that's a hint) propellers feathered?
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P38

John
 
Tony DeVier was a Lockheed test pilot assigned in 1938 to Selfridge Field near Detroit. He was selected to try out the YP-38 for the Army. The experimental designation in those days was the letter 'Y' and the military and civilian builders and pilots came to call the aircraft 'Yippies', which coincidently was an apt description of what the pilots thought of flying it.

After the war DeVier bought his -38 to be used as a racer. He named it as such in memory of those earlier days and also to convey his joy in piloting the Lightning.
 
Richard said:
The experimental designation in those days was the letter 'Y'
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They didn't gain the Y status until the contract to deliver evaluation units was signed. Under design developement contract, they were X models.
 
Henning said:
They didn't gain the Y status until the contract to deliver evaluation units was signed. Under design developement contract, they were X models.
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You are correct. In the case of the YP-38, the aircraft had already been delivered to the Army. Intensive flight evals would have to be completed before the 'Y' was deleted.
 
Richard said:
You are correct. In the case of the YP-38, the aircraft had already been delivered to the Army. Intensive flight evals would have to be completed before the 'Y' was deleted.
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The Y gets dropped on the units built on the production orders. The funny thing is there were some planes built on production orders (without the Y) before all the Ys are built. Such is war production.
 
Henning said:
The Y gets dropped on the units built on the production orders. The funny thing is there were some planes built on production orders (without the Y) before all the Ys are built. Such is war production.
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Isn't that saying the same thing? Are they going to push into production before the evals are completed? Wait....don't answer that. The P-400 is a good example.
 
What famous pilot flew a few missions in a P38, even though he was not in the military? It was in the Pacific. He was an employee of the Ford Motor Co.
 
Bob Bement said:
What famous pilot flew a few missions in a P38, even though he was not in the military? It was in the Pacific. He was an employee of the Ford Motor Co.
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Charles Lindberg, he also flew with Chenaults group and taught them how to manage power for fuel economy by using the highest manifold pressure combined with the lowest rpm possible. The Lindberg Doctrine was the basis for long range ops in Europe and the Pacific. This is why I always laugh when I do a BFR and my instructor tells me to never "Over square" an engine. I try to explain that many engines will never run at anything but and it's better on the engine as long as it doesn't get into detonation, but the OWT continues to be taught.
 
Henning said:
I always laugh when I do a BFR and my instructor tells me to never "Over square" an engine.
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What would that CFI do if MP were measured in metric units?! Better not let him see a recommended power setting chart for almost any modern engine -- it might send him over the edge. If you want to play with his mind, ask him what are the MP/RPM values for a stock Cessna 172 in a full-throttle climb at Vy at sea level. :hairraise:

-- Pilawt
 
Since Lindbergh has been brought up.......

There is still some debate over whether or not Charles Lindbergh actually shot at enemy aircraft. He flew on combat missions to engage the enemy at their airstrips or other targets. He flew P-38s and F4Us on strike missions, some of those missions did in fact engage enemy aircraft in the Solomon Islands and PNG.

Remember, he was a civilian brought to the South Pacific for the express purpose to instruct pilots on how to better utilize their aircraft.
 
Richard said:
Since Lindbergh has been brought up.......

There is still some debate over whether or not Charles Lindbergh actually shot at enemy aircraft. He flew on combat missions to engage the enemy at their airstrips or other targets. He flew P-38s and F4Us on strike missions, some of those missions did in fact engage enemy aircraft in the Solomon Islands and PNG.

Remember, he was a civilian brought to the South Pacific for the express purpose to instruct pilots on how to better utilize their aircraft.
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Dang !
An answer I knew & instead we were out flying over freezing, broken fog and Christmas lights twinkling through calm night air under Orion, his dogs, and Ursa Major between PWT & BFI so I couldn't answer it !
Life's a Beech sometimes.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
Dang !
An answer I knew & instead we were out flying over freezing, broken fog and Christmas lights twinkling through calm night air under Orion, his dogs, and Ursa Major between PWT & BFI so I couldn't answer it !
Life's a Beech sometimes.
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Oh boo hoo. You had to go fly in still, pristine air under the stars which made you miss out on posting. Some folks got it bad I guess.
 
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