Aircraft Trivia Quiz

The Beech 18 is the most modified U.S.-certified aircraft design, with over 200 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) on record for the aircraft.

It had wing spar cororsion problems resulting in an AD.

Or you could go with the Beech 99, their first entry into the expanding commuter airline market.  It combined the wings of a Queenair and the engines and nacelles of the King Air.  Don't think it failed but maybe you are looking for it was unpressurized?

simpilot34 wrote:

What was Beechcraft's first try at an airliner called, and what was unique about it? Part two, the program failed because of what?

That would be the Model 34 Twin-Quad.  Two unique design features were the V-tail and the fact that it had four engines buried in the wing, with two coupled to each propeller.  First flown in 1947, it was a good flying design, but it was designed for the feeder-airline marker, and at that time licensing for the feeder airlines was mery much delayed.  Also, it is always hard for a brand new design to compete with a market that is flooded with ex-military types that can be had for lower cost and converted for airline service.  Beech cancelled the plane in 1949, having built only three of them.  The first one crashed and killed the co-pilot, the other two I believe never flew.

simpilot34 wrote:

Well done mate!!! Floor is yours!!

I think that is over a week now, so the floor is up for takers;

Can anyone identify what A/C this is;

If you do know, do you also happen to know the purpose of the "anti skid" type coating?

Nail on the head, over to you.

I assumed it was ther to disrupt airflow for some reason - possibly to reduce the flow down the boom?

sorry guys for not getting back with a question this week....been fighting one nasty bug

Anyhoo, Captian Morgan was the pilot of the Memphis Belle, the B-17 that completed 25 missions first.  He did a second tour in WWII, this time in the Pacific, and he flew a B-29 that he had named Dauntless Dotty--after his third wife.

OK, this happened only once that I am aware of.....

There was a fly-off competition held between two different aircraft designs.  Plane #1 flew pretty well.  Plane #2, though, flew higher than plane 1, quite a bit faster, had longer range, could outmaneuver #1 basically at will, was cheaper to buy, cheaper to fly, and cheaper to maintain.  #2 out-flew #1 in basically every way possible.  Both planes were planned to carry a similar sized mission load for the intended role.  And yet, despite all of this, plane #1 was selected as the competition's winner.  It should also be mentioned that aircraft #1, the winner, also had one serious design flaw as well as another feature that would prove to be a very serious flaw, though it wasnt a fault of the plane's design itself.

 Name the planes involved and the reasons for the choice made.  Bonus points if you can also state what took place the next time that these two aircraft met again.....

satch_ip wrote:

I would guess the GD F-16 vs the Northrop F-20.  They chose the 16 because it was built in Sen Sam Nunn's  and Sen Phil Grahm's states.

nope, the F-20 was about 80% the plane that the -16 was.  F-16 won for several reasons, not just because of where it was built.  A further hint--this was a Navy competition. 

It's all in the name is it?

Is plane 1 is the F-4.

& is plane 2 is the XF8U-3 (Crusader 3).

The F-4 won as it was more adaptable than the hot Crusader in terms of what missions it could carry out. Its most serious flaw was it lack of cannon fitment, however this was solved on latter models along with its lack of manouverability. These were two problems the XF8U-3 did not have.

When these two A/C did meet again, NASA pilots were flying the Crusader 3 against Navy pilots in the F-4 in mock dogfights & yes the ultimate gunfighter toasted the F-4's ***.

Has to be said it wasn't the prettiest A/C to fly?

Milairjunkie wrote:

It's all in the name is it? Is plane 1 is the F-4. & is plane 2 is the XF8U-3 (Crusader 3). The F-4 won as it was more adaptable than the hot Crusader in terms of what missions it could carry out. Its most serious flaw was it lack of cannon fitment, however this was solved on latter models along with its lack of manouverability. These were two problems the XF8U-3 did not have. When these two A/C did meet again, NASA pilots were flying the Crusader 3 against Navy pilots in the F-4 in mock dogfights & yes the ultimate gunfighter toasted the F-4's ***.   Has to be said it wasn't the prettiest A/C to fly?

Youre on the money....

Although, I believe that the Phantom was selected due to two engines and two crew, not because of adaptability.  The contest was for a mach 2+ fleet defense interceptor, and in 1955 when the contest was initiated, there were no thoughts of multi-role anything.  In fact, this is shown by the original Crusader's development--the first F-8E prototype flew in June 1961, and that version went into production still without the underwing pylons for A2G weapons.  The change to give the F-8E a strike capability took place after the first examples had already left the production line.  By comparison, the F8U-3/F-4 flyoff took place a few years prior.  Interesting note--the bomb racks that we know the Phantom to carry were not even mocked-up until after Block 3 production had begun.  Those bomb racks were not carried operationally until the F-4C USAF version was built.  even by the time they stopped the -A and began with the -B their were still only 5 hardpoints being put on these planes. 

 The F8U-3 whipped anything in the air.  Nothing could turn with it, and not even the F-104 Starfighter could keep up with its speed and acceleration.  Combat load was to be four sidewinders, three AIM-7s, and 4 20 millimeter cannon, while the Phantom's combat load was 4 sidewinders and 4 sparrows.  The two major flaws I mentioned earlier were the lack of internal cannon and the fact that the J-79 engines smoked so badly that an F-4 in enemy territory was embarassingly easy for the enemy to spot visually.

hand off to you!

Cheers.

This A/C has been described by some as the epitome of the subsonic fighter, mainly due to it being an exhilarating fly, vice free & attractive to the eye.

It was flown by more than 20 different countries, saw action in several conflicts, it is still in service today & is also flown by several civilian operators. It also acquired some world records to its name.

For the "bonus", what was this A/Cs most controversial moment?

Trust someone from the UK to come in on this one, yes indeed it is the glorious Hunter, which is still flying with the Lebanese Air Force - over to you.

The Black Arrows 22 bird barrel roll - a record still standing today & Alan Pollock of the "Tower Bridge Incident";