[Closed] When wars were colder, planes were cooler!

From some pages back:

Mattoutandabout. That's not a Sea King, it's a Sea commando

They're called "Junglies".

Also someone mentioned "Blue Circle", that happened on the Tornado ADV's they had problems developing the foxhunter radar. The first 18 aircraft flew with concrete ballast in place of the radar initially, so were called blue circle.

Great seeing the footage of the Sukhoi doing the Cobra. The creakiest one was IIRC an SU32 (?), which has vectoring jet exhausts, doing a complete 360 degree somersault in forward flight. Honestly couldn't believe my eyes. The leaking SR71 is true, I've stood next to one on display at Fairford, and there was a huge puddle of fuel under the plane. Seeing a B2 Stealth for the first time was a pretty amazing sight; the damn thing has no right to stay in the air!

Without doubt, the "coolest" cold war plane (in fact coolest plane ever, even including Concorde IMO) is the Lockheed Martin Blackbird SR71.
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[img] http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acimages/sr71a_mikevallentin.jp g" target="_blank">http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acimages/sr71a_mikevallentin.jp g"/> [/img]

Coolest always equals quickest or best looking in any young boys eyes, and the Blackbird was undoubtedly both. Quite simply a ridiculous plane, but that's what makes it so special in my view. Yes, it's not the fastest "manned vehicle" the world has seen (the X-15 was a rocket with wings though, and Saturn V is a rocket!), but even to this day it's still the fastest plane. The fact it was borne out of sheer worry and paranoia by the Americans over what the Russians were doing, and whether WW3 was about to start, was probably the primary reason for it being such a remarkable plane. These days, much as the engineering on anything is highly admirable, EVERY modern war plane has been designed with the complacency of knowledge that they don't really matter when the world could end at the touch of a button. Nothing promotes creativity better than sheer panic after all!

With the Blackbird, the designers knew that knowledge was power. And that knowledge came from reconnaissance. So whatever had to be done to get that knowledge was done. It didn't matter that the thing had to allow for growth of 1ft in flight (that's how much it extended), nor that it leaked fuel everywhere when stationary, nor that it had to take off half empty of fuel (and be refuelled mid air once it had warmed up and stretched!). None of this mattered. What mattered was sheer speed and distance. Mach 3.2 FFS! The plane was designed with more than half a nod to being a stealth plane, but the engines that were required for the speed needed, produced bigger exhaust plumes than just about any other aircraft out there! So they just made the thing fast enough to outrun ANY missile or strike fighter out there. And all it ever did was take photos!

[url= http://www.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=271066 ]Some good facts and stories about the SR71 here...[/url]

Over 4000 missile launches recorded against the SR71's FFS, yet not one hit! The SR71 simply outran everything.

Also, just like any thoroughbred it was totally unreliable, and totally impractical at anything except its designed purpose, which in my eyes made it even more special. Because of the hybrid design of the engine (turbojet/ramjet, turbojet required to get the plane up to "normal" speeds, Ramjet required to hit mach 3+) the plane had to essentially be put into a dive from around Mach 0.9 in order to "start" the Ramjet.

Because of the speed the plane flew at, external temperatures reached ridiculous levels. Up to 1800 degrees centigrade in parts, which of course meant it had to be made out of a pretty special material. Which of course leads to the funniest fact about the plane... Of it's 30 tonne unladen weight, 85% of the plane by mass was made of Titanium. And in this cold war period, where did the Yanks buy their Titanium from? Yup, that's right, the Russians!!!

Anyway, enough banging on about it, it's the sublime, the ridiculous and the beautiful all rolled into one. Even more so than Concorde, it was so far ahead of its time that it took decades to really appreciate its capabilities, and due to changing circumstances it is something that will never again be repeated, let alone bettered! I was barely a kid (9 years old) when it was taken out of commission the first time, but in school yard top trumps, it was the one plane that totally grabbed my attention. It was so good, and nothing else came close to its abilities, that it got recommissioned briefly (though too late to be of any use in battle) because of the Gulf War. I can only think that if we were on the eve of WW3 again tomorrow, all the SR71's would quickly make their way out of museums and back into active service, cos no matter how good the stealth planes might be, there's always the possibility of getting discovered, whereas with the SR71 it doesn't matter cos it's so damned quick!

FWIW, also really admire a couple of other "cold war era" planes. Primarily the F-15 Eagle, simply cos whilst it's the jack of all trades, it is compromised at none.
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Designed to be usable all round as a dogfighter (even though it's on the large side for one, it's still highly successful as one), a bomber or as a reconnaissance plane etc. So good at everything, there has NEVER been one lost in battle! And it was introduced in 1976, so it's had plenty of time in service so far. In fact, despite the introduction of newer planes suitable for use (primarily the F-22 Raptor), the US Air Force still doesn't plan to retire the F-15 until it reaches its 50th Birthday!

And then the A-10 Thunderbolt has to be admired, because despite being about the slowest and ugliest of planes, it is without doubt the most effective way of taking out enemy tanks ever. Little more than a flying gatling gun (which fires 3900 30mm depleted uranium shells per minute!), it makes mincemeat of anything in its way. That and it's been designed with the ability to shrug off enemy fire, and still be able to fly even severely battle damaged, it's worthy of note.

Oh, and for anyone that's interested, even though you may not like the author, read Jeremy Clarkson's "I Know You Got Soul"... SR71 Blackbird gets a chapter, as does Concorde, the B-52, the Space Shuttle and the Aircraft Carrier (to name a few Cold War creations). The book is very much more about the admiration of the specific machines than it is Clarkson himself, and it reads very much differently to his usual musings so is actually a good read even for those that normally don't like him.

Another nice little aircraft, definitely with a Cold War twist - F5e Tiger 2

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plus it's road legal.

Ditto for the blackbird and A10 (another donna nook childhood watcher). I will also raise you the P38 Lightning

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And for the Mirage fans, there's a series of videos on youtube of retarded French pilots doing [url=

(but impossibly cool) stuff.[/url]

[img]www.flickr.com/photos/contrailsnw/3334052701/page2/[/img]After 10 years of working on these beauties the rough as rats functional C130 when I was in the RAF

I had the cold pleasuure of looking out of the back "hose hole" when in flight refueling Phantoms, MRCA 😆 tornados, nimrods and hercs unpressurised and freezing high above the atlantic

ah those were the days as opposed to being a mundane electrician that I am now

As helicopters are allowed:

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Still going? WOW!

Mmm, Ka-50 Hokum?

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Surely this wins. They even made a documentary series about it

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As my fav has already been on (the SR71) I think of all modern planes this is advanced and pushing the boundries.
[img] [/img] I watched a program on the development of this and watching it take of vertically then go over mach1 was impresive.

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A dish on a plane? Always thought they looked odd:
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Yup, that's a KA-50 Hokum! Classic single seat Russian attack helicopter. Interestingly, it was designed to fly in a "wolfpack" of about 8 helicopters, with one of these:

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The KA-52 Alligator has, apparently, many interchangeable parts and custoemrs can choose one, the other, or a combination/hybrid of both.

I Always like the Kamov bureau's way of solving the problem of torque in a helicopter. No need for a gearbox or tail rotor of any sort, just cancel out the main rotor with _another_ rotor.

If you're going to post a picture of a plane with a dish, at least post a picture of one of our planes with a dish!

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Not sure how 'Cold War, but how about:

PA48 Enforcer (Turbo-prop Mustang):
[url] http://www.military-aircraft.org.uk/bombers/piper-pa-48-enforcer.htm [/url]

and Twin Mustang:
[url] http://www.strategic-air-command.com/aircraft/fighter/f82_twin_mustang.htm [/url]

and you can get a radio controlled model!
[url] http://www.nitroplanes.com/ptwmu4070nig1.html [/url]

Another great workhorse (my wife's uncle flew these in WWII, and we have a friend whose uncle flew them too): Catalina:
[url] http://www.flickr.com/photos/67307569@N00/1469304580/ [/url]

Oh, yes: loved the F5, too! Beautiful thing. Had an Airfix model of one of those.

Anyone remember the Dinky aircraft: I have a Harrier and a Jaguar, still boxed, somewhere. <Goes to look for them>

Not to mention the highly collectable Matchbox aircraft: little silver things with red props. Anyone got a complete Mayo Composite? Look after it: it's rare as anything!

there really is some loooooverly hardware in this thread.

Nom nom nom

I think just about everyone that had Airfix model planes as a kid made an F5 (or an F20) at some point. You know, I think I have some of my old airfix models in a box somewhere in my garage. I think a search is in order.

Oh yes, for all those A-10 fans, the Tamiya 1:48 scale kit is apparently _the_ best kit you can get for the marque. They even do decals for the 81st TFW (based at RAF Ben****ers/Woodbridge).

I would highly recommend this link ([url= http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=TA61028 ]http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=TA61028[/url]) as a place to get it from (it's where I got my kit from) and [url= http://www.hannants.co.uk ]http://www.hannants.co.uk[/url] as a place to spend some time browsing.

Somerset (saw lots of radars and comms equipment),

Willard - That'll be RAF Locking (RIP) then, my first posting on joining the RAF.

Speaking of Locking, they used to have one of these on the gate.

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Still my favorites though,
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[img] http://a3.vox.com/6a00e398d65b90000500e398d9523b0004-pi [/img]

Yup. That would be the place. It's always a shame to hear of stations closing. The First plane would be a Gnat yes? Precursor to the Hawk (as far as the Red Arroms are concerned)?

Interestingly, I've stayed at Laarbruch as well (Easter 1990) and saw a lot of 15 & 16 Sqdns (GR1's) and 2 Sqdn (GR1.a's). There was a fourth squadron, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. As it happens, I found a picture of me and the rest of the cadets standing in front of a 16 Sqdn Tornado the other day. Happy days.

*ducks*

Originaly designed in the 70's, so it qualifys:

[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yxzopw&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]

[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yxzoog&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]

Taken by me flying over baghdad. Better than any rollercoaster.

Did you bash your head getting out TM?

The doors on the Blackhawk are quite low, as I found out in Bosnia many years back.

😳

No, but I did see a few people do the same. Always worth a giggle.

Don't think anyone's named these yet:

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A Rooivalk and an Agusta A129 Mangusta.

Rooivalk is based on Aerospatiale Super Puma dynamic components (MRB's, engines, tail rotor), a necessity based on its early development being during the days of the embargo.

This is the coolest thread. Despite being a paid-up pacifist, since reading this (all of it!) I have discovered I think warplanes are cool. Odd.

I've no pictures to add I'm afraid - I do have some photos at home somewhere of the Blackbird, taken a few years ago in California. Can't remember the name of the base (or museum, can't remember what the place actually is) its at, but its out in the desert near the Joshua Tree national park. The plane itself is kept right next to the fence, so you can have a good look at it without going in.

nice one sootyandjim

Not really, marks me as a bit of a rotary geek. 😳

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Like this?

Just had a thought: anyone found Davis-Monthan Airbase on Google Earth? Loads of aircraft sitting in the desert...

Not sure how to post a link to a spot on Google Earth here, but if anyone can tell me I'll be happy to give it a go...

Yay - RAF Locking!

I spent a couple of years trade training there - I met my wife whilst we were both drunk in Stars nightclub in Weston super Mare (oh the glamour of it all!).

But being a ground trade, we always took great pride in not knowing or caring which plane was which; which can be embarrasing even to this day when people ask: "you were in the RAF, what sort of plane is that?"... "Umm, a green one?". 🙁

Since Locking was closed, someone has bought the old water tower to convert to a fancy bachelor pad; unfortunately he hadn't bought access rights, and so he can potentially only go home in a helicopter...

No, not that sort.

(Ex) this sort,

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Tarka - Stars nightclub, classy. 😉

At least it wasn't The Sands or The Imperial though.

Did you buy some chicken and chips from the place next to Arc Taxis before joining the queue for the long wait in punch-up city?

I Always like the Kamov bureau's way of solving the problem of torque in a helicopter. No need for a gearbox or tail rotor of any sort, just cancel out the main rotor with _another_ rotor.

Had this no parked outside my office window last week but one.

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Bloody massiiiiivvvveeeee!!!!

No more than 100yrd away.

and i used to work with the guy who built and owned that Chitty chitty bang bang.

He went through loads of hassle with disney and MGM over copyright etc.

Has the XB-70 Valkyrie had a mention yet? Who cares - here's a pic. Awesome.

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Ha ha!

I'd forgotten about that god-awful takeaway next to Arc Taxis, it was always either there, or Food on Fire around the back of B's Nightclub.

I LOVED Sands, it's the only nightclub that I've ever visited that had a fully functioning tea shop next door that was open through the night - so at about 1 o'clock in the morning, when I'd had enough beer and dancing for a few minutes, I could go next door for a pot of tea and some scones!

So you were TSW? I was being posted to TCW, which is why I put my PVR in 1998 - I thought it might be good fun, but I didn't think the long stints away each year would do my married life much good 🙁

What have I created....? 😀

TCW eh? Two C*nts and a Wireless.

I never worked with TCW that much as they were predominately MOB based, we usually had 21 Sigs operating alongside us, far from the MCSU food tents and hot showers. The only time I worked alongside TCW was at Ali Al Salem whilst on Op Bolton.

(Grrrrr, I love sleeping in muddy holes). 😆

Already mentioned - SU-27 just struck me as the most stunning thing to take to the skies, I think it was the "tail" something I'd never seen or thought I would see between the 2 jet engines.

Then it's back to WW2 for me and the mosquito - love to have a ride in one (After that I always have a soft spot for the Anson Mk1 - because in the middle of my model plane building phase it was stuck in the shop for ~4 years before I bought it just to get rid of the bloody thing and the space it was taking up on the shelf).

CFH

a very good thread, that is what you have created

And some people think the apache is ugly:
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Mi-28