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I visited the air force museum in Dayton,OH back in August. In the last hangar they had some prototypes that never made it to production. There were only a few(or even 1) version of these planes ever built.
I would love to see that museum sometime. The Pima Air & Space museum in Arizona is fascinating also. That first picture is the P-75, built by the Fisher Body division of General Motors in 1942. It gave new meaning to the word "bastardized", using the wings of a Curtiss P-40, landing gear of a Vought F4U Corsair, the tail of a Douglas SBD Dauntless, powered by an Allison V-3420, which was essentially two V-1710s mated together in a "W" configuration. Not surprisingly, it didn't do anything well.
It sits in stark contrast to the incredible airplane just behind it, the B-70. Then there's the XF-85 "Goblin" which makes one wonder what the air force was thinking, expecting a pilot to hook up to a "trapeze" under a lumbering B-36 fighting it's prop and jet wash, assuming it survived the Soviet fighters it was supposed to fend off.
Then there's the XF-85 "Goblin" which makes one wonder what the air force was thinking, expecting a pilot to hook up to a "trapeze" under a lumbering B-36 fighting it's prop and jet wash, assuming it survived the Soviet fighters it was supposed to fend off.
Image of F-84 Thunderjet
The first parasite aircraft flew in 1916 and were used until the 1950s when aerial refueling developed as a much safer solution to extend the range of fighters.
I did some research involving reports written in the 1940's when volunteers would work under near suicidal conditions. I remember some work with British underwater construction divers who wanted to know what were countermeasures from concussive shocks of underwater explosives The volunteers would find a range at which they were knocked out and then try out mitigation like trying to get their head close to the surface at the same range. If you got your head close enough to the water surface the natural pressure release would keep you conscious.
Then there's the XF-85 "Goblin" which makes one wonder what the air force was thinking, expecting a pilot to hook up to a "trapeze" under a lumbering B-36 fighting it's prop and jet wash, assuming it survived the Soviet fighters it was supposed to fend off.
Thanks for the great pictures.
the goblin was actually an interesting idea for the B36 since at the time no fighter had the range to stay with the bomber, and no inflight refueling either at the time.
the goblin did have a few issues though, the biggest being it didnt carry enough ammunition to begin with, and while it was able to launch from the parent aircraft, reconnecting was nearly fatal for the very reasons you indicated.
so the concept, while promising, was too difficult to put into practice.
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Wow! They've really enlarged the indoor facilities! I was there about 40 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it but at the the time the XB-70 and other planes were outside on a very cold January ramp. Brrrrrrrr.
May be time for a road trip! I've always wanted to visit the Henry Ford Museum and the addition of the USAF museum would make it a very worthwhile trip.
Wow! They've really enlarged the indoor facilities! I was there about 40 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it but at the the time the XB-70 and other planes were outside on a very cold January ramp. Brrrrrrrr.
May be time for a road trip! I've always wanted to visit the Henry Ford Museum and the addition of the USAF museum would make it a very worthwhile trip.
If it has been 40 years they have more than doubled the size of the Museum
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Originally Posted by MidValleyDad
If it has been 40 years they have more than doubled the size of the Museum
It definitely has been, and I thoroughly enjoyed it then. I'm thinking from my home in NC a nice trip might be to the National Air & Space Museum's annex near Dulles and then on to the USAF museum.
It definitely has been, and I thoroughly enjoyed it then. I'm thinking from my home in NC a nice trip might be to the National Air & Space Museum's annex near Dulles and then on to the USAF museum.
Don't neglect the Air and Space Museum downtown. It has some very nice exhibits also!
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Originally Posted by MidValleyDad
Don't neglect the Air and Space Museum downtown. It has some very nice exhibits also!
Oh, I agree! Been to that one a coupla times as well as the restoration facility in Silver Spring. I was there when they had the Enola Gay's fuselage cut into 3 sections. Their restoration work is amazing, they said each instrument is disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled with preservatives and everything else is done to that level. Their restorations are meant to last at least 100 years.
I went to Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in DC they have everything but the most incredible display I think I saw was the original Wright Flyer.
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