Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Smithsonian Part Three

 Hi Kids, Here we are again at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Smithsonian.  A plane that's hard to miss, the Enola Gay B-29 Superfortress tends to dominate the room.  Not really sure these things were intended to be kept inside a building.
 A Curtiss Gulfhawk, a much more reasonably sized airplane.
 An old Iron Annie, the Ju-52 transport.  While not flying passengers around, they could carry all sorts of stuff, like paratroopers.
 Cute little plane. Anyone know what is might be?  While not an ultralight, I'd say here in America it would probably be an experimental homebuilt.
 I'm leaning toward Steerman, but it could be a Waco biplane.
 Leaning toward C-46.
 And don't forget the tilt-rotors!
 A Lockheed Constellation!  Another big heap o' plane!  We used them during the Vietnam era, and John Travolta had one as a personal transport for a while.  Now he has a Boeing 707.  I'm telling ya, everybody has gone to jets.
 Looks like a Beechcraft 18.  Maybe a Super 18.
 A cropduster!
 Bob Hoover's stunt plane, the Aero Commander!  Not your usual choice for aerobatics, but if you've got the skill....  Yeah, that's a Concorde looming in the background again.
Here's a neat little plane.  Not sure why it makes me think of Australia.

 A Sparrowhawk, one of the few planes to operate out of an airship.  The Acron and the Macon had room for these things, although hooking up to that trapeze must have been a little hairy.
 A Gruman Goose.  Spiffy!
 Ah yes, the world famous "Flying Potato," the Piper Aztec!  One of the first, if not The first, light twins for the civilian market.  If you loose an engine, don't worry, it'll still climb at 50 feet per minute on the remaining engine.  No, I'm not kidding.
 The Cessna 152!  I've flown these bad boys myself back when I was a student pilot.
 This looks like a Burt Rutan design, although I'm not sure what record he might have been trying to set with this one.
 Had to have a Steerman in here eventually!
 Under the wing of the Concorde, a Falcon.  When Fed-Ex first started up, they went this these little jets.  Because afterall, who's going to pay big money just to send a package someplace overnight?
 One of the unlimited racers, a heavily modified Bearcat.
 And two shots of another racer, a Turner 18.  This time there's a Boeing 707 looming in the background.

And I think this one was a Sukoi 26, but don't quote me.  Unlimited aerobatic planes, especially the Russian ones, tend to be very similar in appearance.

1 comment:

-Warren Zoell said...

I wish I could go there. Thanks for posting these!!