The Aviation Anorak is now called The Anoraks' Aerodrome and has now moved to Facebook : April 2011

Tuesday 26 April 2011

McDonnell 119/220

Photo: Boeing

This sexy looking late fifties jet in my eyes should of been in Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds Only one was ever built. it is still around today but sadly not flying L
See more about it:

http://achtungskyhawk.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/rare-aircraft-mcdonnell-119220/

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Cosmic Muffin

Mad but I love it!

Read all about it: http://www.planeboats.com/

Monday 18 April 2011

The Short Belfast was built by the British Aerospace Company Short Brothers in response to the Royal Air Force operational requirement for a heavy lift freighter able to carry a wide range of military hardware - more than 200 troops, artillery pieces, guided missiles and helicopters - over quite long distances. After starting to work on several large freighter designs in the late 1950´s, Short Brothers launched the Short Belfast project in February 1959 as the SC.5/10.
Five years later the project was achieved and the Short Belfast flew for the first time on 5 January 1964. With a maximum takeoff weight of over 100 tones (220,250 lb), the Short Belfast was the third largest turboprop powered ever built after the An-22 and the Douglas´C133 Cargomaster. The Short Belfast was featured with four RollsRoyce Tyne turboprops mounted on a high wing, a 64 ft long cargo deck, a fuselage of over 18 ft in diameter, an 18 wheel undercarriage (including two eight wheel main bogies and two nose wheels) and a beaver tail with rear loading doors and ramps.
The first Short Belfast entered into service with the Royal Air Force in January 1966. It was at that time the largest aircraft to be operated by that service. The initial order of the Royal Air Force was a fleet of 30 aircraft but the purchase of several Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft reduced the order of Short Belfast aircraft to 10.
All 10 aircraft had quite a short life time and were retired from the Royal Air Force in 1976. One year later the cargo airline TAC HeavyLift acquired five aircraft for commercial use. From 1980 the airline operated another three Short Belfast aircraft. One still remains in Australia for HeavyLift Cargo Airlines but is parked up for sale.

All 10 Belfasts were named:
Samson - RAF Serial XR362 (used registration G-ASKE for overseas test flight), sold as G-BEPE then scrapped
Goliath - RAF Serial XR363, sold as G-OHCA then scrapped
Pallas - RAF Serial XR364, sold as scrap to Rolls-Royce who recovered the Tyne engines
Hector - RAF Serial XR365, sold as G-HLFT then as 9L-LDQ operating with HeavyLift Cargo Airlines, now RP-C8020 (see images above)
Atlas - RAF Serial XR366, sold to RR for engines
Heracles - RAF Serial XR367 - sold as G-BFYU then scrapped
Theseus - RAF Serial XR368, sold as G-BEPS then in storage at Southend Airport - Began being broken up 22/Oct/2008
Spartacus - RAF Serial XR369, sold as G-BEPL then scrapped
Ajax - RAF Serial XR370, sold to RR for engines
Enceladus - RAF Serial XR371, preserved as an exhibit at RAF Museum Cosford

General characteristics:
Crew Basic aircrew 5 (two pilots, engineer, navigator and loadmaster)
Length 41.70 m (136 ft 5 in)
Wingspan 48.1 m (158 ft 10 in)
Height 14.33 m (47 ft)
Empty weight 59,020 kg (130,000 lb)
Max takeoff weight 104,300 kg (230,000 lb)
Powerplant 4× Rolls-Royce Tyne R.Ty.12, Mk. 101 turboprops, 4,270 kW (5,730 ehp) each
Maximum Speed 566 km/h (306 knots, 352 mph)
Range 8,368 km (5,200 miles) with capacity fuel load of 80,720 lb
Service ceiling 9,100 m (30,000 ft)

Some great pictures: http://www.grubby-fingers-aircraft-illustration.com/belfast_walkaround.html

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Belfast

The Beautiful Convair jetliners

CV-880

CV-990

http://www.convairjet.com/

Convair 990 restoration Palma:

http://www.ec-bzo.com/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&id=49&Itemid=53&lang=en

Kawasaki XP-1 The bonsai 707?

The Kawasaki XP-1 It is rare that anything new this size has 4 engines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_P-1

Saturday 16 April 2011

Savoia-Marchetti SM.95

The SM.95 was announced in 1937, when the future was seen in the 4-engined aircraft. Until that time Italy has mainly used 3-engined aircraft. The SM.95, designed by Alessandro Marchetti, first flew on 8 May 1943. Originally named SM.76 it was fitted with four 750 hp A.R. 126 RC.34. In 1939 the project was renamed SM.95C (C for Civil), with the more powerful Alfa Romeo RC.18 (860 hp) engine.
With the start of World War II, this project was stopped until December 1941, when L.A.T.I. called for a 4-engined useful for South American routes. It had, nevertheless, inferior performances compared to P.108C and Z.511A, both metallic and more powerful. But the new SM.95 had lower costs and a swifter development.
The aircraft was similar to other contemporary airliners, but the construction was mixed. Welded steel was used for the fuselage structure, with light alloy covering fitted to the nose, underside and rear fuselage, and fabric covering for the fuselage sides and roof. The three-spar wing was also of wooden construction, with plywood skinning. The engines drove three-bladed metal Constant speed propellers.
The two pilots sat side-by-side in an enclosed cockpit, while behind them sat the Flight engineer (on the left) and radio operator (on the right). Behind the cockpit, there was normally seating for 20-30 passengers, with up to 38 being able to be carried over short ranges.
There was an initial need for a bomber version, SM.95B, with enhanced engines and a weapon set. Nevertheless, the first to fly was the SM.95C, on 3 August 1943, at (Vergiate), with Guglielmo Algarotti flying.
The Armistice stopped the program, and the only two aircraft built at the time were requested by Germans and sent to Germany, then they flew with Luftwaffe and were subsequently lost.
On 28 July 1945, a third example flew, used with a fourth (still unfinished at the end of the war) with the Aeronautica Militare. One was taken by RAF? The service with A.M. started after April 1946. Alitalia bought six examples, in service since 1947. LATI bought 3 examples in 1949. Lastly, four SM.95s were bought by SAIDE. They were used in a Cairo-Rome-Paris route. The only military costumer was AMI, that had five of them.
SM.95C was a development model. The first were produced with AR.128 RC.18, the third with A.R. 131 RC.14/50, the next examples had Bristol Pegasus 48 (1,005 hp), and LATI used even more powerful Twin Wasp R-1830 (1,217 hp). A final development, the SM.95S with a metal structure was planned but not built.
The last SM.95 was completed on 18 November 1949, the last of 20 officially built. They had not exceptional performance, even with PW engines, and had no pressurization at all, therefore they could not fly very high. The mixed construction did not last too long: the last flight was on 28 September 1954 (1950 with Alitalia).

Operation "S"
The interest for a military use was confirmed with a very daring mission: the bombing of New York. In the pre-war years, the S.M.75 obtained a record of 12,935 km (July 1939), there were several long-range missions both with S.M.82 and the S.M.75, while for S operation it was considered the enormous 4-engined Z.511, an all metallic floatplane. It had, however, some shortcomings: basically it needed to be refuelled by a submarine in the middle of the ocean. Although it was able to operate in adverse sea conditions (up to 5-force gales), this was not a very good idea, especially in the last year of war. It was proposed that a long-range version of this aircraft, the SM.95 GA (with a range of over 11,000 km/6,840 mi) could be used to mount a bombing raid on New York City launched from Western France, but the presence of many Italian-Americans in the city meant that Benito Mussolini would only authorize the dropping of propaganda pamphlets. It was reported that the fuel load was raised to 23,800 kg, for a total of 39,3 tons[. The mission, with a 500 kg (1,100 lb) load, was still in preparation when Italy signed the Armistice in September 1943.
Wikipedia

I.Ae. 30 Ñancú

The I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú" was an Argentine twin piston engined fighter designed by the Instituto Aerotécnico (AeroTechnical Institute) in the late 1940s, similar to the de Havilland Hornet ,but made of metal rather than wood. Only one prototype was completed; the project was abandoned in favour of a jet aircraft.
Named after an indigenous eagle of Patagonia, and was designed by Italian engineer Cesare Pallavecino, who had come to Argentina in 1946. Pallavecino led a team of Argentine technicians and engineers in developing the concept of a high-speed escort fighter, intended to be operated in conjunction with the Avro Lincoln bombers used in the Argentine Air Force.
The I.Ae. 30 had a metal structure, its powerplants consisted of two Rolls-Royce Merlin 604 engines, each developing 1,800 hp at 3,000 RPM, and four-bladed propellers. The armament would consist of six 20 mm Oerlikon automatic cannons mounted in the nose, although later plans called for 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons as well as a 250 kg bomb under the fuselage and two batteries of five 83 mm rockets fitted underneath the wings. Nevertheless, the prototypes were unarmed.
By the end of 1947, a contract was received for the first of three projected prototypes. On 9 June 1948 the first prototype was ready for ground tests and on 17 July 1948, the I.Ae. 30 took to the air for the first time, piloted by Captain Edmundo Osvaldo Weiss
The test results proved that the aircraft possessed good flying characteristics as well as meeting performance specifications. During a cross country flight, from Córdoba to Buenos Aires, the Ñancú reached a level speed of 780 km/h, setting a new piston engined speed record in South America, an achievement that has not been surpassed. Although the prototype was achieving design goals, the Fuerza Aérea Argentina was already considering the jet I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I as their future fighter program.
With official interest diminishing, in early 1949, the sole flying prototype was badly damaged in a landing accident when test pilot Carlos Fermín Bergaglio misjudged a landing and crashed. Although the pilot was uninjured and the aircraft could have been repaired, the Fabrica Militar de Aviones made a decision to abandon the project with the wrecked prototype, as well as the two unfinished prototypes still at the factory, being scrapped.
Wikipedia

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.Ae._30_%25C3%2591anc%25C3%25BA&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DI.Ae.%2B30%2B%2522%25C3%2591anc%25C3%25BA%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26ie%3DUTF-8

Friday 15 April 2011

Blohm und Voss Bv 222 Wiking & Bv 238

he Bv222 "Wiking" (Viking) was an aircraft of truly impressive size, and equally impressive characteristics. It also happened to be the largest flying boat to achieve operation status, and the second largest flying boat of the war. (Surpassed only by it's cousin, the Bv238.)

The Bv222 was designed by Herr R. Schubert and Dr. Ing. Richard Vogt, and was tailored to meet a requirement issued in 1937 for the Lufthansa. The requirement was for a long-range passenger transport to operate from Berlin to New York. Furthermore, the aircraft would have to make the trip in 20 hours with at least 16 passengers (24 passengers were to be carried on shorter routes.)

A total of three aircraft were ordered in September of 1937. They were powered by six BMW Bramo Fafnir 323R radials, and work on the first of these prototypes began in January of 1938. The Bv222 had an extensive, unobstructed floor area, thanks to an impressive beam of ten feet (3.05m) with no above-floor, intermediate bulkheads. The wing had a tubular main spar, used to store fuel and oil, which was considered a hallmark of Vogt's designs.

The first flight took place on September 7th, 1940. The first Bv222 was piloted by Flugkapitän Helmut Rodig. The military use of such a giant was readily apparent, and larger doors for military transport were quickly added.

The Bv222's first sortie for the Luftwaffe was on the 10th of July, 1941. Initial service was in Norway, but the plane was soon transferred to shipping supplies to German and Italian forces in North Africa from across the Mediterranean. When the next two Bv222s arrived, they came with newly installed armament, a feature lacking from the first Wiking.

Ultimately, the Bv222s were transferred again to maritime reconnaisance with Aufklärungsstaffel (See) 222, and then again to 1.(Fern/See) Auflkäarungsgruppe 129 based in France. In such a role the aircraft were given revised armament and fitted with FuG 200 "Hohentwiel" search radar.

In an odd postscript, a lone Bv222 entered service with the R.A.F.! After the war, a captured Bv222 was evaluated by the R.A.F., and was eventually passed on the No.201 Squadron. The plane had been captured at Trondheim, Norway, and was first flown to R.A.F Calshot, and was transferred to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment before being handed over to No.201 for evaluation. For a captured enemy plane, a very active post-war service life!

The Bv222 was the biggest production aircraft in Blohm Und Voss's distinguished line of flying boats. It combined staggering dimensions with amazing capabilities to become one of the most interesting designs to reach the frontlines during WWII.

Charles Bain http://simviation.com/fsdcbain.htm

Blohm und Voss Bv 238 Originally designed as a passenger flying boat for the postwar Lufthansa, the BV 238 design was adapted in 1941 for military use as a maritime patrol and transport aircraft. When completed in 1944 it was the largest aircraft since the Maxim Gorkii and the heaviest built to that time. A quarter-scale testbed called the FGP 227 was deemed necessary to test the aerodynamics and water handling, but it completely failed to take off when tested on wheels and was then damaged by saboteurs. All the engines seized on its first flight from water — months after the first full-scale BV 238 flew. The sole complete BV 238 was caught on a lake by Mustangs and sunk by machine-gun fire in September 1944. Although three further BV 238s and three BV 250 landplane bombers were under construction, the loss of the only flying example caused the Luftwaffe to give up on the idea.
Jim Winchester "The World's Worst Aircraft", 2005

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_BV_238

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Vickers 432

The Vickers Type 432 was a British high-altitude fighter aircraft developed by the Vickers group during the Second World War. It was intended to enable the Royal Air Force to engage the enemy’s high-altitude bomber aircraft. It was to be armed with six cannon.
The origins of the Type 432 lay with a requirements set out in 1939 for twin engined fighters with 20 or possibly 40 mm cannon. Vickers had set out a proposal for a Griffon engined aircraft, equipped with a 40 mm cannon in a flexible mounting. .
In appearance it resembled a larger version of the de Havilland Mosquito. The pilot had a pressurised cockpit in the nose, with a bubble dome, similar to an enlarged astrodome. The pressurised cockpit took up the nose section so the cannon would have been fitted in a fairing below the fuselage, to the rear of the aircraft.
The first prototype Type 432 was flown on 24 December 1942 initial trials revealing serious handling difficulties on the ground, the aircraft snaking while taxiing, necessitating aft movement of the mainwheels to correct the bad tracking. In flight tests, the Type 432 was unable to be landed in a standard "three-point" stance resulting in the replacement of the Irving-type ailerons with new Westland types along with an alteration of tail settings. The estimated maximum speed of 435 mph (700 km/h) at 28,000 ft (8,535 m) was never attained as the Merlin 61 engines did not run satisfactorily above 23,000 ft (7,010 m).
When the competing Westland Welkin was ordered into production, the second prototype of the Vickers fighter, the Type 446, was cancelled before completion on 1 May 1943. The first prototype was retained by Vickers for test purposes until the end of 1944, when the aircraft was scrapped after completing only 30 flights.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/vickers_432.php

CASA C-201 Alcotán. C-202 Halcón. C-207 Azor.

CASA C-201 Alcotán

The C-201 was the result of an agreement between the Spanish government and manufacturer CASA to develop a transport aircraft for the military capable of carrying a payload of one tonne over a range of 1,000 km (620 miles). The design was a twin-engine low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration. The main units of the tailwheel undercarriage retracted into the engine nacelles, the aircraft looking somewhat like a scaled-down DC-3.
Two prototypes were constructed, the first of these taking to the air on 11 February 1949. An order for twelve pre-production aircraft and one hundred series aircraft was soon forthcoming. The pre-production machines were to demonstrate a range of different equipment fits for the airframe, enabling it for a variety of roles including personnel transport, training for bombing and photo-reconnaissance work, and instrument flying training. A number of engines were also to be evaluated, including the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah that had powered the prototypes, the Pratt & Whitney R-1340, and the locally-produced ENMASA Sirio.
Eventually, it was the supply of powerplants and propellers that doomed the Alcotán. Spain's domestic engine industry was simply incapable of producing powerplants in sufficient quantity for the project, and Spain was unable to afford to import foreign engines. While the entire production run had been scheduled to be completed before 1955, the shortage of engines meant that by 1956, only eleven complete aircraft had been delivered, all that would ever be finished. In 1962, the project was finally cancelled without the engine problem ever having been resolved. By now, CASA had 96 complete airframes in storage awaiting powerplants. These were scrapped, the Spanish government compensating the manufacturer for the debacle.

C-202 Halcón

The C-202 was designed for use on Spain's international air routes. It has a tricycle landing gear and had a heated/air-conditioned cabin which could accommodate 14 passengers. Twenty aircraft were initially ordered, and delivered to the Spanish Air Force with the designation T.6.

C-207 Azor

The C-207 was a scaled-up version of the CASA C-202 Halcón and was designed for the domestic civil market. The C-207 received no civil orders, but the Spanish Air Force ordered 10. The first model, designated T.7A entered service in 1960. Ten more aircraft were ordered and configured for paratroop or cargo transport, designated CASA 207C(T.7B).
The two prototypes and 20 production aircraft served in the military until the 1980s.
Wikipedia

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraftsearch=CASA%20C-207C%20Azor&distinct_entry=true