What did you fly today?

[davegee]

Will do! My model does not have the scale tilt on the gear when extended. All of the trucks are sprung to sit 90 deg to the strut until touchdown. Interesting background though, might be a cool mod to consider.

Very cool that a few of you guys flew for Northwest! Used to love seeing the NW 747s out at MSP as a kid. My secondary plan for the HSD bird (if I didn't think it had enough power to carry a Shuttle) was to paint it in the Northwest scheme.

That's very cool, F106DeltaDart! I liked most of the NWA paint schemes prior to the merger and repaint with Delta Air Lines. There was one paint scheme that they kept under wraps in the mid-90s and they flew the airplane in for a surprise showing at the MSP 747 hangars for all the employees. We brimmed with anticipation as to what the new paint scheme would look like. When it came into view on a short final for touchdown, we all got to see the new paint scheme for a short while as it flew past. I remember a collective "groan" from the crowd as it probably didn't sit very well with all of us at the time. We later started calling it "the bowling shoe" paint scheme, in an ode to the tacky colored and striped bowling shoes that you rent when you go bowling. We got used to it, I guess.

Regarding the gear tilt, The Freewing B-2 that I have has a gear tilt system on the main gear set up with springs so that in the air it is in a tilt like the 747 has, and then when it lands it overcomes spring resistance to flatten out so all four wheels on each bogie are on the runway. (Actually, on the B-2 they have it backwards. On the real plane, the gear tilt down rather than up, but I've seen modelers do some mods to make it look accurate to the real thing.)

In any event, you have a beautiful model 747 and it brings back good memories from all those years I used to fly them. I'm sure it "wows" the crowds at shows where you fly it, too!

Best,

Davegee

[F106DeltaDart]

Great! Thanks for the explanation. I figured it was definitely a mod linked to performance of the combined space shuttle/747 in flight. Maybe they found this out in wind tunnel tests of a model prior to making a decision to add them for the operational unit.

I was wondering about the main gear on your 747 RC model. I couldn't really tell from the pictures, but do the main gear "tilt" when in flight? I recall the outboard wing gear tilted up about 56 degrees, and the inboard body gear were about 12 degrees, if memory serves. This was important for a couple of reasons: first, it allowed the main gear to fit into the wheel wells in a much more compact manner, and secondly, it was a "cushion" for the initial impact of the main gear touching down on the runway, before the weight of the airplane pushed the gear to a normal all-wheels on the ground. Worked like a champ! It's not important if your model gear don't tilt, it's a marvelous flying model just as it is. I was just curious, that's all.

Please keep us apprised of any new flying you do with your 747!

Will do! My model does not have the scale tilt on the gear when extended. All of the trucks are sprung to sit 90 deg to the strut until touchdown. Interesting background though, might be a cool mod to consider.

Very cool that a few of you guys flew for Northwest! Used to love seeing the NW 747s out at MSP as a kid. My secondary plan for the HSD bird (if I didn't think it had enough power to carry a Shuttle) was to paint it in the Northwest scheme.

[davegee]

I started with Northwest in 1969 shortly after went in the Air Force came back to Northwest and stayed in the Air.Guard at O'Hare until 1999 and retired when the base closed. I stayed with Northwest until 2009 and retired when Delta took over.

Cool. Was your Air Guard unit at O'Hare the one that had the KC-135s that you were a boomer on? I think I had some pilot friends at NWA who flew with the Air Guard there, but can't remember which ones they were at the moment. But I would bet there were several that were friends of mine and also coworkers at NWA back then.

Cheers

Davegee

[boomer108]

Cool. I flew with NWA starting in 1981 until merger with DAL, retired from DAL 1/1/15

My good friend the late Lt. Col.Gary Turnipseed flew for UAL for about 10 years after retiring from the USAF before a freak accident eventually made him medically retire in 2016.

I started with Northwest in 1969 shortly after went in the Air Force came back to Northwest and stayed in the Air.Guard at O'Hare until 1999 and retired when the base closed. I stayed with Northwest until 2009 and retired when Delta took over.

[davegee]

I worked at O'Hare ground crew, fueler and instructor.

Cool. I flew with NWA starting in 1981 until merger with DAL, retired from DAL 1/1/15

My good friend the late Lt. Col.Gary Turnipseed flew for UAL for about 10 years after retiring from the USAF before a freak accident eventually made him medically retire in 2016.

[boomer108]

Wow! Where did you work? What did you do?
Small world!

d

I worked at O'Hare ground crew, fueler and instructor.

[f4u ausie]

Hugh hows the 90 avanti.. ...? i dont have a sports jet.. have been thinking 80mm fw till this release it looks the part..?.sounds good on the vids

[Hugh Wiedman]

Got out today after last weeks hurricane winds finally subsided. Got a bunch if flights in on my Eurofighter, F18 Canadian, 90mm Avanti with TV and my Modified SU-27. All have the Spektrum "Plus" upgrades and flew/landed incredibly well. That upgrade has made the biggest difference in my entire fleet. None more than on the F18. Believe it or not, it is now the best flying military jet in my fleet and the easiest to land. It's tied for that honor with the Mig with TV and and the A10, even ahead of the F4 (which benefited greatly with plus) and the 90mm F16, no . I'll give more details in the F18 thread for anyone interested.

[davegee]

I worked for Northwest retired in 2009.

Wow! Where did you work? What did you do?
Small world!

d

[boomer108]

I retired almost 10 years ago from Delta.

I worked for Northwest retired in 2009.

[davegee]

Thanks Dave, and very cool!! The extra vertical fins were added to compensate for the large portion of the vertical tail that was blocked by the space shuttle when attached. In flight, there isn't much of a noticeable difference with or without them. It may have a bit less roll oscillation in turns with them installed, but its hard to say since I haven't done a back-to-back comparison.

Great! Thanks for the explanation. I figured it was definitely a mod linked to performance of the combined space shuttle/747 in flight. Maybe they found this out in wind tunnel tests of a model prior to making a decision to add them for the operational unit.

I was wondering about the main gear on your 747 RC model. I couldn't really tell from the pictures, but do the main gear "tilt" when in flight? I recall the outboard wing gear tilted up about 56 degrees, and the inboard body gear were about 12 degrees, if memory serves. This was important for a couple of reasons: first, it allowed the main gear to fit into the wheel wells in a much more compact manner, and secondly, it was a "cushion" for the initial impact of the main gear touching down on the runway, before the weight of the airplane pushed the gear to a normal all-wheels on the ground. Worked like a champ! It's not important if your model gear don't tilt, it's a marvelous flying model just as it is. I was just curious, that's all.

Please keep us apprised of any new flying you do with your 747!

Cheers

Dave

[F106DeltaDart]

Outstanding, F106Delta Dart!! Your plane would be hard to distinguish from the real thing in your photos! I was wondering, do those side pieces that are placed perpendicular to the horizontal stabilizers, can you tell if they affect the performance over the airplane at all? I'm not totally sure why they were installed on the real plane, except I would guess they improved stability when hauling the space shuttle on top. Maybe you have a definitive knowledge in your research of why they added these parts.

PS: I remember being in the lineup a few times for takeoff at JFK, and seeing one of these AA airplanes in line ahead of us before they were removed from American's fleet and sold to NASA. That was around 1979-80, as I remember.

Keep up the great work! The 747 is one of my favorite airplanes, especially since I spent a majority of my airline career flying them!

Thanks Dave, and very cool!! The extra vertical fins were added to compensate for the large portion of the vertical tail that was blocked by the space shuttle when attached. In flight, there isn't much of a noticeable difference with or without them. It may have a bit less roll oscillation in turns with them installed, but its hard to say since I haven't done a back-to-back comparison.

[davegee]

Who did you fly for?

I retired almost 10 years ago from Delta.

[boomer108]

Who did you fly for?

[davegee]

B-25 looks great Dave!

Took my 747 Shuttle Carrier and Spitfire out to St George, UT last weekend for the John Morgan Electric Festival. Was a fantastic time and got to meet a lot of amazing pilots and builders! It was also a beautiful field to fly at with some stunning landscapes.

Outstanding, F106Delta Dart!! Your plane would be hard to distinguish from the real thing in your photos! I was wondering, do those side pieces that are placed perpendicular to the horizontal stabilizers, can you tell if they affect the performance over the airplane at all? I'm not totally sure why they were installed on the real plane, except I would guess they improved stability when hauling the space shuttle on top. Maybe you have a definitive knowledge in your research of why they added these parts.

PS: I remember being in the lineup a few times for takeoff at JFK, and seeing one of these AA airplanes in line ahead of us before they were removed from American's fleet and sold to NASA. That was around 1979-80, as I remember.

Keep up the great work! The 747 is one of my favorite airplanes, especially since I spent a majority of my airline career flying them!



Cheers

Davegee

[F106DeltaDart]

B-25 looks great Dave!

Took my 747 Shuttle Carrier and Spitfire out to St George, UT last weekend for the John Morgan Electric Festival. Was a fantastic time and got to meet a lot of amazing pilots and builders! It was also a beautiful field to fly at with some stunning landscapes.

[davegee]

Got the maiden completed on my Flightline B-25J this morning. What a great flying airplane, and easy to put together! I think this will be one of my favorites to take out to the field when I want to fly a prop airplane!

A pic today at the field after the 5 flights I put on her. Callie's markings for this airplane, "Cactus Kitten" are in the mail today and should be able to be put on next week sometime.Also attached is a model of this aircraft how mine will look when completed.

Part of my interest in this airplane is to honor the crew of this aircraft lost in action near Saigon, Indochina (Viet Nam) on a bombing run on Japanese shipping targets in 1945. All five crewmembers were lost, unfortunately. They were part of the famous 345th Bomb Group "Air Apaches" that saw much action in the Pacific Theatre in WWII.

Davegee

[davegee]

I wonder if I might have had him on the end of my boom at one time or another during my 23 years as a boom operator. Sorry about your friend may God speed.

I wouldn't be surprised if you did, Boomer.108. He served overseas in Europe during some of the wars over there in Kosovo and other places like that, among many other deployments in his 20 years on the F-15. If he were here today with you, I bet you guys could have found out pretty quick if you had "passed gas" on one of these sorties!

Thanks to you and Evan for your service.

Best,

Davegee

[davegee]

May ur good friend rip dave

Thanks so much f4u aussie. He was a good man. You would have liked him if you had ever met.

[boomer108]

I wonder if I might have had him on the end of my boom at one time or another during my 23 years as a boom operator. Sorry about your friend may God speed.