On the Ramp Right Now!

fit90 wrote:I thought Beech bought back all the Star Ships.  It would be cool if there are still some out there.

The most beautiful business aircraft ever designed.  I still don't know how the design was never recognized for the brilliance it was...  I once knew a husband-wife team who were both rated as Captains on the Beech Starship.  I always thought that was possibly the best response you could have to someone asking you what you did for a living.  "I'm a Starship Captain!"

The Bewildered Mark

batjac wrote:

fit90 wrote:I thought Beech bought back all the Star Ships.  It would be cool if there are still some out there.

The most beautiful business aircraft ever designed.  I still don't know how the design was never recognized for the brilliance it was...  I once knew a husband-wife team who were both rated as Captains on the Beech Starship.  I always thought that was possibly the best response you could have to someone asking you what you did for a living.  "I'm a Starship Captain!"

The Bewildered Mark

It IS an elegant machine.

It is a beautiful plane; but its performance was not nearly what Beech was shooting for. Also, it was said to have several issues regarding airframe grounding and a fairly long list of other little issues. This is what I have been told by other mechanics that worked on them at the Beech facility in Tampa. I have never personally worked on one or flown one. I still think they are really cool. Perhaps they were just a few years ahead of themselves. That happens when marketing wins out over engineering.

Sometimes, I can get really put out with 'airport people'...or it could also be that I'm just wired on the weird side.  Right here among us, we've got a guy, steadily breaking world records, with just a few of us bothering to take note.  It's like having a Charles Lindbergh or Jimmy Doolittle based here, and just getting shrug.  I don't expect much from the goofy public, for obvious reasons, but you'd think that people 'involved in aviation' would be more impressed.

Paul Salmon IS Mr. Rotary Wing around here.  Starting with a Magni Gyrocopter, he built a bunch of time in it before purchasing a fairly old Brantley helicopter, then a Robinson R-22, and on to an R-44, establishing a Robinson training and maintenance center along the way.  The helicopters that are constantly buzzing around our airport are all his doing.  

A couple years ago, he showed up with an advanced Magni Gyro named 'Missing Link' for it's lineage shared with airplanes and helicopters.  He installed a removable fuel cell in it's rear seat, and broke several endurance records, some previously held by Amelia Earhart...with hardly a nod from our locals.

He's now broken another record:  Distance Non-Stop in a Closed Course for Gyroplanes.
Leaving Cape early in the morning on Thursday, he flew to Longview, Texas and returned, with a flight time of over twelve hours in the Magni's tiny cockpit.

Previous Record: 1029k/634m
Paul's Flight: 1426k/886

This is apparently prep for a much longer record attempt in a different category (sorry I don't have the details on that one yet).  Paul's having some stub wing/fuel tanks designed and fitted to the Magni for that one.

I've always had a strong attraction for little machines doing big things, so this stuff really gets to me, whether the wings are bolted down or spinning.



NAA Official records data from Paul's flight.



Denise gets to wait while the family dachshund welcomes Paul home.





Anyway, I'll post some more facts as I get them.

Weird Wired Kim

http://m.kfvs12.com/kfvs12/pm_130979/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=vrKizkYQ

It's been a while since we've had one of these wild machines visit our airport, and I had the good timing to be there when it arrived.  A guy I used to work with showed up and announced his son was a crew member on a V-22 Osprey that was making a diversion to allow him a visit, along with picking up some fuel.











After taking on over 1200 gallons of Jet A, the Osprey heads out.

Very impressive!! Can they take off and land "normally" as well?

OVERLORD wrote:Very impressive!! Can they take off and land "normally" as well?

Lieven, I think the props are too big to do that.

The Osprey is possibly the coolest kludge ever built. There are a very large number of parts that have very short service lives on the craft, yet it fills roles that cannot be filled by any one other aircraft. It would take several platforms to perform all the tasks the Osprey fills.

I suppose it is the argument of multi-task vs uni-task machines.

Very cool photos.

Phil

While at Fort Eustis Virginia in the late 80s I was a lead Quality Control and Tech Manual review NCO for two vastly different projects...the V22 and the A10.

On the A10 project we actually got three aircraft and were developing, writing, and implementing the pilot and mechanic programs as the Air Force was wanting out of the ground support role...The Gulf war and the A10 being such an important machine changed the AF mind and they stopped the program

I spent a lot of time at Pax river during the V22 development.. I was impressed with the potential of the aircraft. Unfortunatly the Army backed out of the procurement of that multi role airframe

I am proud that the Project Manager's developers took one of my suggestions and implemented it.

Coming from a maintenance back ground I always groused that the helicopters we had at the time required a tool box that was massive with over 150 tools for a General mechanic (GM). All special purpose tools (100s) in a tool crib. To work on a UH-1H Huey as example a mechanic needed over twenty three tools to remove and replace the engine
MY suggestion was to reduce the different fasteners to 4 to 7 common sizes and try to make them all the same head shape, hex, torx, cap screw etc....

I supported the recommendation with a long write up on the monthly cost of 10% and 100% tool inventory time NCos must do. The costs of 10 years of aircraft accidents where a forgotten tool was the ultimate cause. And 10 years of data on the cost to procure and replace tools in the GM tool box

MY suggestion would save lives, damaged aircraft, NCO inventory time, paper work, and tool costs. I did not get a cash award but they did change the acquisition requirements demanding the makers of future aircraft reduce the dissimilar fastener count

Good work, Fred, that's a pretty impressive accomplishment.

Thanks Rusty

As I recall you did similar types of recommendations where you worked, or you developed better ways to fix something and taught the method to others

Don't know much about the culture in your profession but in the Army they were pretty open to recommendations to change, under what was called the "incentive awards program". However the bean counters and bureaucrats got in the way because many times it meant them actually doing some work and writing the change into the manual or procurement documentation

I, very late in my career, finally figured out the problem and started doing 90% of their job for them, with the cost avoidance slant pre written...cost me a small fortune in cash awards...in this case the guy who did the final change to the procurement doc did a better job of the proposal and got near $250K as a cash award.... I know the butt head, and to this day a little [bleep] he did not give me credit (possible under the "incentive award program" to split cash awards)

V22 Osprey and A10 programs both nearly cost my my marriage as they ran concurrent and I was doing 12~16 hrs 7 days a week for about a year (over 5000 hours).... (I was forced to carry forward my 30 day leave that year) E-7 Sergeants First Class at the time and the Army got a very cheap expert per hr....someone else can do the annualized pay per hour math....My total pay with housing and food allowances in 1987 was $24,986

It's a small world. I was directing Wayne to this thread since he reads CEF fairly often. I had to send him a link because the title has changed to the V-22 Osprey. As it turns out he has been to the St. G airport on several occasions to calibrate the ILS. I think he said he was on the crew that installed the localizers... I'll have to ask again. His job in the USAF was the same job Ron Cribbs does. When he visits CEF, he looks for posts by either me or Ron. In civilian life he was an FAA investigator.
Rusty

The B-17 'Sentimental Journey' is visiting our airport for the week, selling static tours and rides, AND making some nice low trips around the area.

I believe our member Travis has some history with this particular aircraft.

Find Waldo Peppers plane in all this eye candy......grin

http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=656700&mid=5523936#M552

Thanks Fred , didn't know we had such bad A$$ planes in service ! Good stuff

I'm not really a boat or train guy, but my gender DOES require that I take note of any real cool machines that I come across.

This LST was in Cape the same week as the B-17, and is said to have participated in the D-Day landings. It's based out of Evansville, Indiana.



















From a Lindberg Line Plastic model box:

The LST, or Landing Ship Tank, was originally developed in World War II as a way of transporting tanks and trucks. LSTs first saw action in the Pacific theatre, and were extensively used in the 1944 D-Day landings by both British and American forces. By the end of the war the LST would find its way into every theater of the war serving as troop and vehicle transports, repair and supply ships, and even launching aircraft! Known to its crews as the “Large Slow Target”, the LSTs were 328 feet long and sailed at only 9 knots! LST’s were built by shipyards across the US, including many that were sailed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the sea! The defensive armament of LSTs varied but was usually a mix of 40mm and 20mm AA guns sometimes with a 3″ gun at the stern. The LST was designed to run up onto the beach and then pull itself off by winching in an anchor dropped off the stern. It could hold tanks and trucks both inside and up on deck. Originally the ships used an electric elevator to access the deck but later ships used a ramp. There was also a cargo hatch in the deck forward of the aft superstructure for additional access below. LST’s were equipped with two or more LCVP’s hung from davits on deck to aid in landing troops. They were designed to carry a 114′ LCT on deck, which was slipped off by tipping the LST to one side! Today the USS LST Memorial, located in Mobile, Alabama, has a fully restored LST and museum.

Last week, this steam locomotive made a run through Illinois and Southeast Missouri...







I was on the LST for an hour or so, but only had about 15 seconds to photograph the steam engine...the reason for the imbalanced number of photos !!!

Awesome train Kim, it was one of ten and the last one made. During the end of the line of the steam train era, these were essentially giant oil burners as they were using oil vs coal.

Kim!

You are so lucky to see that rare sight. My boy would have fell over if that sream engine we passed by. Awesome stuff man, life is sometimes just dandy!

Ron

Thanks again for sharing. Great pictures and great history all in one.

June 1944



OMAHA. From right to left: USS LST-312,  LST-320 et LST-321; USS LST-72,  US Navy LST (LST-51_ - last number ?), LST-324 , USS LST-311; USS LST-49; USS LST-373; USS LST-47 and two LST not identified



...and LST 325

Good stuff , Thanks for sharing i love the sound and ride of an ole steam powered train and the ships are amazing ! You to Overlord !! Eric