Community Forums

DriVer · 04-15-2011, 12:45 PM

If you found yourself travelling in your RV out to Superstition Mountain, you might have seen these aircraft. This video was shot in High Definition.

The photography is HD, the planes are gorgeous, and, most notably, it is shot as the B17 takes off from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ and then flies over the Superstition Mountains. to the east of Apache Junction and then on to Roosevelt & Canyon lakes on the east edge of the Phoenix valley. The backdrops are stunning. Music is from the mini seriers John Adams. Great combo.

It is suggested that you go full screen and turn up the volume!

HD Video

From Vimeo

H. Miller · 04-16-2011, 07:05 AM

The B-17 would be "Sentimental Journey" and the B-25 is "Maid in the Shade" a sistership of our "Yellow Rose" based in San Marcos, Tx. Both B-25s were owned by Dothan (Ala.) Aviation and used as "bug sprayers".
Looong ago and far away I was a radio/radar guy on last B-25s in the USAF based at James Connally AFB, Waco, Tx. and used for navigator training.

Mike Canter · 04-16-2011, 09:14 AM

That sure brings back memories. I flew for 26 years in the Navy. The most fun plane was the Lockheed P2V7 Neptune which was a lot like the B-17.

alageezer · 04-16-2011, 10:26 AM

I flew the SP2E in Nam for the Army. Being a huge fan of the big radial engines, it was a shame we couldn't hear them sing.

Mike Canter · 04-16-2011, 10:32 AM

Alageezer, so you are a Black Cat guy??? I have a great book that has all the SP2Hs listed by bureau numbers and a lot of pictures. Do you remember your buno of your plane and I will see if there is a picture?

1ciderdog · 04-16-2011, 10:49 AM

Very good one - I've sent it off to friends.
Semper Fi
Bob

DriVer · 04-16-2011, 11:05 AM

You haven't lived until you see a radial engine come to life!

YouTube - How to start a DC-3

YouTube - B-29 "FiFi" Engine Start Up

Mike Canter · 04-16-2011, 01:22 PM

Great video on that B-29 starting the engines. Those are R3350 engines and they are the same as used on the P2V7 Neptune I flew. If they don't smoke on startup then you forgot to fill the oil tank. They walked the prop on those engines to prime them with oil before they started them and so they smoked even worse. When we started our engines next to the road on the base at Norfolk all the traffic had to stop because they couldn't see through the smoke. We used to have to wipe all the oil off the wing and side of the fuselage after a flight. The B-29 had superchargers on their R3350s like the Super Constellation for high altitude flying. The P2V7 was not pressurized so we didn't go up over 10,000 ft so we didn't need a supercharger. most of out flying was between 200 and 1500 ft. I have seen wake on the water from our props on several occasions.

Here is s video of a Aussie P2V7 start. We had two props and two jets. We had two burning and two turning (lol). We used the jets on takeoffs and landings and low altitude. I used to love sitting up in the nose while flying. You can see them flying with the windows open in the back. We could throw oranges and tomatos at the Russian ships out of the windows when we flew over them. No politics back them. The Russians were our enemy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFmrcgDjubY

DriVer · 04-16-2011, 02:20 PM

This is great! I get to watch round engines!

dons2346 · 04-16-2011, 03:23 PM

If God had meant for aircraft engines to be horizontally opposed, Pratt & Whitney would have built them that way.

alageezer · 04-17-2011, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

Alageezer, so you are a Black Cat guy??? I have a great book that has all the SP2Hs listed by bureau numbers and a lot of pictures. Do you remember your buno of your plane and I will see if there is a picture?

We were called the Crazy Cats. There are several pictures of our aircraft all over the web, including a couple You Tube videos. Look for "The Crazy Cats- The Mission".

We had five mission birds, and one training bird. Their numbers were 131429, 131496, 131485, 131526, and 131531. The training bird was 131492. 485 is in the museum at Ft. Rucker, Al. All the rest went to Japan and scraped.

Amazing what you remember after 45 years, but don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

Edited to add: Our engines were the very latest, equipped with super chargers. Our typical operating altitude was 8500-10000 ft.

Mike Canter · 04-17-2011, 07:26 AM

Sorry, senior moment...yes Crazy Cats with crazy Army crews. I flew in some Project Trim P2's in Pax River Maryland that were being tested. Had fiberglass props and no radome. Really fast. I flew a couple of flights in a Japanese P2 with a 150000 series buno and it had two turboprops and airconditioning. They had lowered the deck of the forward area so you could actually stand up. Nope not a good memory, after flying in Lockheed P2's and P3's for 26 years and retired and went to work for Lockheed for another 20 years. So I just stayed in the business. When we stopped selling P-3's and then became a lead design engineer on a F-22 Raptor fighter system. That was a interesting and rewarding job. I had a lot of fun in the control room during the first flights and all the follow on test flights. What a fighter that F-22 is. Other than stealth, fast and can fly at Mach 1.5 without being in afterburner people would be amazed at its full capability. If you are the enemy then the first hint that you have an F-22 Raptor being in your area is either your wingman suddenly blows up or you do

.

I will find my book and look up those P-2's. So those P-2s were P2V5's. Those are old numbers. The one I flew in all the time was 147946. It is amazing how we can remember those numbers.

alageezer · 04-17-2011, 11:06 AM

I remember those Project Trim birds. They had a couple on our ramp at Cam Rahn Bay. Pretty nasty looking twin guns sticking out the tail section.

The five mission birds we had all come from the bone yard at Tuscon. They were completely rebuilt by Convair in San Diego. They sparred no expense in updating evereything, including 3700 hp motors.

DriVer · 04-18-2011, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

I will find my book and look up those P-2's. So those P-2s were P2V5's. Those are old numbers. The one I flew in all the time was 147946. It is amazing how we can remember those numbers.

Mike, It's easy for some like yourself to remember numbers, for example; I remember 6345789 (1994) by Wilson Picket.

Remembering tail numbers is like music to your ears.