Golden Era Planes of Fame

[Dixon Cannon]

Yuu aar cerrekt ser!!!.....

Those are great aircraft! I think you're thinking of the S-38 and S-39, though. The S-37 was a biplane that could be fitted with floats.

And the ultimate exploration aircraft, as well! The S-38 was the twin engine version, while the S-39 was the single engine version:

One of each, in the form of Osa and Martin's Sikorskys, The Spirit of Africa (S-39) and Osa's Ark (S-38)

I swiped these from Holcomb's Aerodrome. Great pics and info!

That was a typo on my part. :eusa_doh: I shall correct it forthwith! I know my S's and that one I posted is certainly the S-38 (with two Wasp powerplants!). Thanks for noticing!

All of those S's were beutiful birds. It is a shame that so very few are remaining. The Johnson Wax people had a complete flying replica constructed of "Carnuba" which flies today. There is also an airworthy S-43 still being flown; ostensibly previously owned by Mr. HRH himself! (If I remember correctly he ditched one of those in Lake Mead once too!)

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Yep! there it is....

Another example of a beautiful Golden Era flying boat.

-dixon cannon

 

[Twitch]

I believe the "2-piece" greenhouse of the Hughes H-1 was simply the windscreen, which had a compound curve and the canopy hinged to open to the right in one more piece.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Actually, the windscreen slides forward, and the canopy drops into the sides of the cockpit on the H-1.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Another Electra: http://www.paulrichtertwalegend.com/page5.html

 

[The Reno Kid]

I can't believe nobody has posted this one...

1932 Gee Bee R-1

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The Gee Bee needed a careful touch to handle, it was one of the factors in Jimmy Doolittle quitting air racing. (Doolittle would try lobbying to ban air racing)

 

[The Reno Kid]

The Gee Bee needed a careful touch to handle, it was one of the factors in Jimmy Doolittle quitting air racing. (Doolittle would try lobbying to ban air racing)

I know. But you gotta admit the Gee Bees were some of the coolest looking aircraft to ever fly!

 

[Close Shave]

Another example of a beautiful Golden Era flying boat.

-dixon cannon

Isn't that a Catalina?

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I think I built half a hundred Hawk Gee Bee's as a kid.

I always liked the little menasco engined sportsters.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

There's just something about the Gee Bee. Take the biggest engine you can get your hands on, attach a wing, a tail, wheels, and a place for the pilot to sit, fair it all in, and bingo! Speed reduced to its pure essence.

 

[Robert Conway]

Look at the lousy armholes on that suit!!!


RC

with the S-38 in 'Aviator'.

This is the one that Hughes flew Kate around L.A. in then landed on the Golf Course and the Beverly Wilhire!

-dixon cannon

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Isn't that a Catalina?

It is a Sikorsky S-43 Amphibian, one of two left, (The other is in the NASM collection) and this is the only example still flying.
This S-43 was once owned by Howard Hughes, and stored for many years at Houston's Hobby Airport.

http://ships.bouwman.com/Planes/Sikorsky.html

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Supermarine S6B, the Schneider Trophy, behind it what appears to be a Napier Lion engine (used in a few previous Supermarine Schneider Trophy racers) and on the right I would assume is a Rolls-Royce "R" engine as used in the S6B and which was the progenitor of the Griffon engine used in later marks of the Spitfire.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Look at the lousy armholes on that suit!!!


RC

I was watching the flying scenes from the Aviator again the other day, when it suddenly struck me what I didn't like about it. How the heck were Hughes and Hepburn supposed to have that conversation like they were riding in a sailplane?! Although I've never flown in an S-38, with two Pratt & Whitney Wasps sitting about two feet from their heads, I can't believe they could hear each other shouting, let alone an intimate conversation across the plane! Oh, well, Hollywood, I guess.

Another Electra: http://www.paulrichtertwalegend.com/page5.html

I love the Electras, but I'm also a big fan of one of the main competitors, the Beach 18, and all the variants. I especially like the AT-11 Kansan (and the SNB-1). I'm not sure why, but something about that plane grabs me.

Another plane I've alwasy thought was cool is the Bellanca Airbus, the "Flying W."

 

[Lucky Strike]

Another vote for the De Havilland Comet:

(Bonus shot of the then Prince of Wales there)

 

[deanglen]

Had its origin in the Golden Era, stradled the line, you might say

The B-36 Peacemaker. Big. Bad. A war baby that came of age in the Cold war.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZSpqFPSK_c
Found it on line. My recent cap acquistion is simlar to what the crew is wearing.

dean

 

[staggerwing]

Gee Bees

Delmar Benjamin's R2 spent a couple of nights in my hangar a number of years ago. Given that I daydreamed away most of my jr. high and high school years mentally piloting that plane in race after race, it was a real treat. Of course, actually faced with the beast, I'd have been afraid to even taxi the thing, much less fly it. However, Delmar says it's not hard to fly at all, other than for being blind in the landing flare, not unlike alot of other aircraft from that period. It makes me wonder if the guys who originally flew them didn't understand the concept of torque rolls. As I recall, many of the accidents involved take off. Feed the throttle in gradually and no problem. Drop the hammer, and you've got a handful.

 

[The Wingnut]

I know it's a repost, and I don't care.

Macchi - Castoldi MC72, powered by a 3000 hp Fiat AS.6 V-24(essentially 2 AS.5 V-12s mounted back to back!). 440 mph and contra-rotating props in 1931, with huge drag-inducing floats!

 

[KilroyCD]

I know I posted a pic of this plane on another thread, but it applies here too...

A contemporary of the beautiful DH88 Comet, and one of my all-time favourites is the DH89 Dragon Rapide. This one flies with Classic Wings out of Duxford, offering pleasure flights of varying duration.

Here's another one that I believe is operated by Air Atlantique.