rk911
Cleared for Takeoff
I never knew the 52 had rotatable landing gear. Something new? This one takes out a bunch of runway lights.
Who's Gonna Pay For That?
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Sierra_Hotel
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Sierra_Hotel
Something new in 1952 
Initial Fix
Line Up and Wait
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Initial Fix
The rotating gear allows for higher xwind takeoff and landing limits
rk911
Cleared for Takeoff
So was I!Something new in 1952
Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
I donno if I would complain to an airplane that can put 70,000 pounds of bombs on the airport...
MauleSkinner
Touchdown! Greaser!
Technically it’s called “crosswind landing gear”.
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Skip Miller
Final Approach
… and with wings that long, the 52’s can’t land with much bank angle without dragging one on the runway. -Skip
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LOL, not hardly. Triple that.edge lights are only $250-$400 each. Pocket change for the US Gov't.
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Bob Noel
used ones cost that much?
Only costs more if it needs a new base can, too. They're frangible and break off at the bottom, so the cans are probably ok.
Don’t know about used, but most of the LED variants run about $650-$800 plus the mounting hardware. By the time it’s all said and done, it’s close to a grand a piece.
hindsight2020
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*TLDR warning, snowflake warning, ancestor-worship-free zone warning*
Uncle 2020 story time. So there I was.... lol
At any rate, I knew I recognized that tail flash. Same donkey-clowns as they were when I finally reached escape velocity from that place.
This stupidity isn't too uncommon for Buff ops. It's the (one of many) reason airfield managements all across the DoD refuse to entertain that pos. In fairness, I shared their disdain for the thing as an operator, for the same reasons. Hickam hates the thing, they rather these chuckos start an international incident by diverting a nuclear capable bomber to the Japanese mainland (boy was that story a doozy), than deal with ground handling the thing at civilized, "airliner-winged" airports like PHIK. That thing was all the boredom of flying a tanker, with none of the perks that come after landing one. Curaçao is spelled m.i.n.o.t. in buff parlance.
For the record, RAF Fairford is just your normie usaf/raf runway width (200), so it's not impossible, but it's tight. In practice, the arthriticfortress generally needs to operate in 300 wide runways for middle of the road bell curve pilots to avoid these outcomes. I've commanded one on the airshow circuit internationally, in min width runways like this one. Difference being I didn't elect to do the stupid crabbed taxi stunt, with thousands of 4K HD equipped spectators ready to record my folly for eternal posterity on the internet. Serves them right.
In fairness to this crew, I've seen worse antics from the cohort if you can believe that. Like that time two clowns ('DFC decorated vets' of the AFG turkey shoot campaign, they'll remind you of, without prompt) wholesale sank one of said outriggers 6 feet deep into the North Texas prairie soil, on our way to an airshow. I'll never forget sitting on the jumpseat locking eyes out the window with this USNR legacy Hornet pilot getting out of his pit, running full steam waving arms towards our aircraft. You see, one of the cOmBat vEts took me out of the copilot seat because they wanted the real senior guys at the helm when handling this apparently Apollo moonshot mission level operation. Well, both war heroes proceed to bone up the fuel transfer (alas, the only dedicated job one had when occupying the right seat of that snoozewagon) like it was his job description, sinks a wing and all hell breaks loose. I think archeologists are still finding outrigger strut components at KAFW, 13 years later. I was eventually put back in the seat, in order to fix the fuels and coordinate with the enlisted crewchiefs the rate of defueling so the wing wouldn't leaf-spring out of the ground and actually kill someone. You know, the boring adulting stuff that is left for the 1LT to do while they went to the show booth. Damn, the schadenfreude is still delicious.
The crosswind crab feature is as advertised. A necessity given the aircraft span is wider than its fuse length. Cannot be wing-low landed, nor can it be airline rudder-kicked end game, as it is a bicycle aircraft, not a trike like modern airliners. Will spare the rest of the gear inside baseball for the sake of brevity.
For the record that wasn't a gear malfunction (and those do happen with some regularity). That was them shining their rear to the crowd and proving the spectators correct. They've always put the buff in buffoon, ask any Red Flag attendee. By the look of the wings very little transfer would have been necessary to lift the wings up and taxi to their static show spot without fanfare. klowns gonna klown.
Uncle 2020 story time. So there I was.... lol
At any rate, I knew I recognized that tail flash. Same donkey-clowns as they were when I finally reached escape velocity from that place.
This stupidity isn't too uncommon for Buff ops. It's the (one of many) reason airfield managements all across the DoD refuse to entertain that pos. In fairness, I shared their disdain for the thing as an operator, for the same reasons. Hickam hates the thing, they rather these chuckos start an international incident by diverting a nuclear capable bomber to the Japanese mainland (boy was that story a doozy), than deal with ground handling the thing at civilized, "airliner-winged" airports like PHIK. That thing was all the boredom of flying a tanker, with none of the perks that come after landing one. Curaçao is spelled m.i.n.o.t. in buff parlance.
For the record, RAF Fairford is just your normie usaf/raf runway width (200), so it's not impossible, but it's tight. In practice, the arthriticfortress generally needs to operate in 300 wide runways for middle of the road bell curve pilots to avoid these outcomes. I've commanded one on the airshow circuit internationally, in min width runways like this one. Difference being I didn't elect to do the stupid crabbed taxi stunt, with thousands of 4K HD equipped spectators ready to record my folly for eternal posterity on the internet. Serves them right.
In fairness to this crew, I've seen worse antics from the cohort if you can believe that. Like that time two clowns ('DFC decorated vets' of the AFG turkey shoot campaign, they'll remind you of, without prompt
) wholesale sank one of said outriggers 6 feet deep into the North Texas prairie soil, on our way to an airshow. I'll never forget sitting on the jumpseat locking eyes out the window with this USNR legacy Hornet pilot getting out of his pit, running full steam waving arms towards our aircraft. You see, one of the cOmBat vEts took me out of the copilot seat because they wanted the real senior guys at the helm when handling this apparently Apollo moonshot mission level operation. Well, both war heroes proceed to bone up the fuel transfer (alas, the only dedicated job one had when occupying the right seat of that snoozewagon) like it was his job description, sinks a wing and all hell breaks loose. I think archeologists are still finding outrigger strut components at KAFW, 13 years later. I was eventually put back in the seat, in order to fix the fuels and coordinate with the enlisted crewchiefs the rate of defueling so the wing wouldn't leaf-spring out of the ground and actually kill someone. You know, the boring adulting stuff that is left for the 1LT to do while they went to the show booth. Damn, the schadenfreude is still delicious. The crosswind crab feature is as advertised. A necessity given the aircraft span is wider than its fuse length. Cannot be wing-low landed, nor can it be airline rudder-kicked end game, as it is a bicycle aircraft, not a trike like modern airliners. Will spare the rest of the gear inside baseball for the sake of brevity.
For the record that wasn't a gear malfunction (and those do happen with some regularity). That was them shining their rear to the crowd and proving the spectators correct. They've always put the buff in buffoon, ask any Red Flag attendee. By the look of the wings very little transfer would have been necessary to lift the wings up and taxi to their static show spot without fanfare. klowns gonna klown.
That's not the prices we're seeing on recent bids. Fully installed with new bolts, transformer, and L-861(L) fixture is running $800. Just the fixture is around $250-$400 (depending on manufacturer), and the transformer is another $100-200. They really aren't very expensive, and maintenance electricians can replace them easily so you aren't paying a contractor.
I’ve been putting LED AV-70’s out to chip away at replacing the old incandescent lighting and they’re running about $650 for the fixture and another $100-$150 for the mounting hardware, plus taxes and freight.
Curious, where are you getting bids from?
Open bids for construction projects. My company designs airfields. I have bids on our design projects from all over the US.
We don't use AV-70s; those little suckers are expensive!
I haven't used this brand specifically, but they're showing price of $180.15 for a L-861, white globe:
Medium Intensity Elevated Lights "MIEL" | FAA L-861, L-861T, L-861E - Flight Light Inc.
Medium Intensity Elevated Lights "MIEL" | FAA L-861, L-861T, L-861E - FL861, L861, L861T, L861E, L 861, L 861T, L 861E, 861, L861, 861T, 861, L861, 861T, 861, L861, 861T, 861, L861, 861T, L861, L861, L861, L861, L861, L861, L861, L861, L861
flightlight.com
donjohnston
Pattern Altitude
The L-861(L)s are LED. I'd be happy to talk offline on what system you have and what might be another way of upgrading over time. Never know.
hindsight2020
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hindsight2020
I mean, I did put the warning up top. Mods can direct you to the complaint/refunds page. Thank you for shopping at POA.I had no idea that Abe Simpson was on POA.
Plano Pilot
Line Up and Wait
When I took care of a private airport, with runway lights, mowers would usually hit one or two a year. This is all we usually had to replace. $14.50 ea.
genesislamp.com
L862Q 1 1/2" Frangible Metal Coupling
Genesis Lamp is a family owned and operated business with 30 years experience in the light bulb business.
genesislamp.com
hindsight2020
Final Approach
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hindsight2020
yeah, to stay in the clear wrt OPSEC, your info is waaaay outdated gramps. BTW, I'm closer to AARP membership than my UPT graduation class, so I'm old and should be put out to pasture too, according to the tik tokers that keep getting in trouble for livestreaming on social media while in flight lol