#warbirdsoverdallas2016

[sentinelchicken]

The Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone that powers the Boeing B-29 Superfortress is one of the most powerful piston radial engines to reach production status. Despite four engines each developing 2200 horsepower, a B-29 at maximum combat weight had a climb rate of just over 500 feet per minute and it could easily take an hour to reach its operational altitude. While the R-3350 was powerful, it was heavy not to mention maintenance intensive. By contrast, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet that first flew in 1947 had a combat weight 100,000 lbs more than the B-29 but had a climb rate of over 4000 feet per minute- the six J47 engines were more reliable with less maintenance demands and each J47 weighed about 150 lbs less than the 2600 lb weight of each R-3350 radial. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B29 #Superfortress #FIFI #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress “Texas Raiders” of the Commemorative Air Force taxies back to its parking spot at Warbirds Over Dallas last year after a demo flight. I’ve always wondered what the slots on the top of the wing of the B-17 were and finally found my answer after some digging- they’re the exhaust slots from the intercooler of the Flying Fortress’s turbosupercharger. The turbosupercharger is driven by exhaust gases from the radial engines- the turbine of the turbosupercharger compresses incoming air and delivers it to the engine, improving the engine’s power output at high altitude as it’s being fed compressed air as if it were operating at a lower altitude. However, one of the thermodynamic consequences of compressing the air is that it heats up and this can decrease the air density, offsetting the very compression you’re trying to accomplish. Intercoolers are used in turbosuperchargers reduce the air temperature and can also increase the pressure of compression by virtue of the flow restriction by the internal fins in the intercooler. If you look at the leading edges of the B-17’s wing, there are rectangular openings which are the intakes for incoming air that’s compressed by the turbosuperchargers and another intake that’s for the cooling air that flows through the intercooler. The exhaust air from the intercoolers is vented out through those slots on the top of the B-17’s wing. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #TexasRaiders #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

The Commemorative Air Force’s Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Fifi" on a photo pass! One of the most fascinating engineering aspects of the B-29 Superfortress was its remote controlled gun turret fire control system. At a time when computers were in their primitive infancy, General Electric’s “Central Fire Control System” coordinated five gun turrets (two dorsal, two ventral, tail) with five sighting stations (three plexiglass blisters on the fuselage, one nose position, tail). Each gunner position had its own computer that compensated for airspeed, gravity, temperature, humidity and lead, tremendously increasing the accuracy of the 50-caliber M2 machine guns in each turret. The Central Fire Control System would allow a single gunner to control more than one turret if needed. The nose station acted as the fire control officer and could distribute the gun turrets as needed to the gunners. Each gun turret had a gunner who had the first call. Only the nose station gunner had first call on the forward dorsal and ventral turrets to fight off frontal attacks which could kill the flight crew. Compared to manned turrets, the B-29 turret fire control system was effective. In 1945, a Superfortress returning from a bombing mission managed to fight off 79 Japanese fighters, downing nine of them and damaging two. Another B-29 on a lone reconnaissance flight managed to fend off 90 fighters over Japan. With the B-29’s speed and operating altitude, this also put it at the edge of the operating envelope for many Japanese fighters which complicated their attack efforts. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B29 #Superfortress #FIFI #CommemorativeAir Force #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #aviationnation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge

[sentinelchicken]

Only 12 days had elapsed from the attack on Pearl Harbor to when the 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” went into action over China against Japan. While 1941 was a dark year for the Allies especially in the Pacific, the exploits of the Flying Tigers against a numerically superior Japanese force boosted American morale. The leader of the 1st AVG, General Claire Chennault, rigorously trained his men to capitalize on the strengths of the P-40 Warhawk against the more maneuverable Japanese fighters. The Flying Tigers avoided a turning fight and used the Warhawk’s speed and sturdiness in slashing attacks at high speed. Flown in the right way, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk could effectively battle the vaunted Mitsubishi A6M Zero. The Flying Tigers in China astutely realized the P-40 had a climb and speed advantage and used their P-40s in slashing attacks, avoiding the turning fight with the more nimble Zero. Later in the Pacific campaign, USAAF pilots would use a low yo-yo, trading altitude for an increased rate of turn which dropped the nose into a turn and done right, the P-40 could cut inside a Zero’s turn. The bigger ailerons of the Zero that gave it outstanding roll maneuverability were also a liability as Warhawk pilots would keep their speed up during dogfights- the higher speeds put higher dynamic loads on the Zero’s ailerons, making the aircraft sluggish and less maneuverable. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Jaws” | Day 15 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Curtiss #P40 #Warhawk #FlyingTigers #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

Despite the four Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone radial engines each developing 2200 horsepower, a B-29 at maximum combat weight had a climb rate of just over 500 feet per minute and it could easily take an hour to reach its operational altitude. While the R-3350 was powerful, it was heavy not to mention maintenance intensive. By contrast, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet that first flew in 1947 had a combat weight 100,000 lbs more than the B-29 but had a climb rate of over 4000 feet per minute- the six J47 engines were more reliable with less maintenance demands and each J47 weighed about 150 lbs less than the 2600 lb weight of each R-3350 radial. Each of Fifi’s four engine nacelles has a name on it and they’re actresses during the B-29’s heyday- Ingrid, Rita, Mitzi, and Betty. These aren’t the original Superfortress engines- in 2005 Fifi was grounded due to engine reliability issues with the older Weight R-3350-57AM radials. With the cost of new engines paid for by Jim Cavanaugh of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, hybrid R-3350s were built using the -95W and -26WD variants that ran cooler, were better made as they were late variants used on the C-119 Flying Boxcar and A-1 Skyraider. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “The Fantastic Four” | Day 26 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B29 #Superfortress #FIFI #CommemorativeAir Force #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

“Texas Raiders”, a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, taxis in from its flying display at Dallas Executive Airport (the former Redbird Airport). This particular B-17G was built in 1944 by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach. That’s right- Douglas. The pressing need for B-17 Flying Fortresses for the strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany led to two other companies assisting the war effort to build B-17s- besides Boeing, there was Lockheed’s Vega Division in Burbank and Douglas’s Long Beach Division. The first variant built by all three companies was the B-17F with Douglas building 605 and Lockheed building 500. The improved B-17G was introduced on the production line in July 1943. Douglas would build 2395 G models and Lockheed built 2250. “Texas Raiders” was one of the last 20 B-17Gs built at Long Beach. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Beauty and the Beast” | Day 6 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #TexasRaiders #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

The B-17G “Texas Raiders” participates in the Tora Tora Tora! air show demonstration routine at last year’s Warbirds Over Dallas event. Just prior to Pearl Harbor, there were only 150 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses in service, most of them being the early small tailed B-17C and D variants with a few B-17Es on hand. With growing tensions in the Pacific, some of the B-17s were deployed west. The 6th Bombardment Group in the Canal Zone had eight B-17Bs and eight B-17Es. The 7th Bombardment Group in Salt Lake City had 35 new B-17Es as it prepared to deploy to the Pacific. The 19th Bombardment Group in the Philippines had six B-17Cs and 29 B-17Ds. And the 5th Bombardment Group at Hickam Field in Hawaii had twelve B-17Ds. Most of the US Army Air Corps’ thirteen heavy bomber groups were far under strength and most had the obsolescent Douglas B-18 (which was based on the DC-2). The B-17’s first taste of combat was when four B-17Cs and two B-17Es arrived at Pearl Harbor’s Hickam Field in the midst of the Japanese attack- radar operators mistook the Japanese strike force for the arriving B-17s from California. One landed at a small fighter air strip, one landed at a golf course and the rest made it to Hickam Field while being strafed by the Japanese. Of the twelve B-17s based at Hickam already, five were destroyed and eight were damaged. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Heat” | Day 9 | #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #TexasRaiders #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

The 8th Bombardment Squadron converted to the A-26 Invader at the end of World War II in May 1945 from the A-20 Havoc, flying combat missions in some of the first production Invaders in the Philippines from Mindoro and over the Japanese Home Islands and Formosa from bases in Okinawa. Like many of the first Invader units, the 8th BS was a composite squadron that still had A-20 Havocs. It wasn’t until December 1945 while on occupation duty in Japan that the 8th BS finally phased out the Havocs. From occupation duty in Japan, the 8th BS was one of the first air units to respond to the North Korean invasion. The unit had deployed its Invaders (now redesigned B-26s with the Martin Marauders stricken from the USAF register) on 22 June 1950 to Ashiya, Japan, on a readiness test. Three days later while on exercise at Ashiya, the North Koreans smashed across the 38th Parallel, starting the Korean War. Two days later the 8th BS was in action over Korea and was the first USAF bomber unit to hit targets north of the 38th Parallel during the war. Painted black with yellow trim, their Invaders flew primarily night attack missions starting in August 1950 through the remainder of the Korean War and was the unit to drop the last bombs in that war just minutes before the armistice took effect. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #CAFWW2AirExpo #airport #texas #igtexas #Douglas #A26 #B26 #Invader #USAF #KoreanWar #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)

[sentinelchicken]

The P-51 Mustang “Gunfighter” heads out on its first flight of the morning at Warbirds Over Dallas 2016. With the P-51D variant with the cut back rear fuselage and bubble canopy was introduced, North American test pilots noted some lateral instability at some flight regimes. NASA’s predecessor, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) was consulted for assistance and the NACA aerodynamicists had determined that the cut back rear fuselage introduced by the P-51D reduced the side keel area of the Mustang which affected its stability. The fix was relatively simple- the addition of a dorsal fin leading edge root extension to increased the side keel area of the aircraft. The earlier “razorback” Mustangs up through the P-51C didn’t have the dorsal fin leading edge root extension as the larger rear fuselage provided enough keel area that the dorsal leading edge root extension of the P-51D provided. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #Texas #igTexas #NorthAmerican #P51#Mustang #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #Avgeekery #WarbirdsOverDallas2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport)