Cool airplane photo thread

Bob- Jasta 15 aircraft all had red noses and blue fuselages at some point. This is supposed to be Rudolph Berthold's Albatros D.III, I assume.

 

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
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Hopefully a staged photo. I hated it when boats would cruise along side when I was taxing in my floatplane.

 

Photographer is wife of pilot. They do do this a lot for peeps who want the pic. Very experienced.

 

You must have hated TO & landings in Lake Union.......

 

When I visited Ketchikan, AK, the floatplane "runway" was a lot busier than I ever saw on Lake Union!

 

Lk Union in the summer is an obstacle avoidance exercise with all the sailboats. The Kenmore guys were always fun to watch. Really no reason to go into Lake Union with a personal a/c as there is no dockage. Plus why go there when I could go to the mountains.
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Grumman F7F Tigercat

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It only feels like 70 years ago but it was 76 years ago that I saw the first F7F at Langley Field NACA test center there. Absolutely fabulous airplane.

 

While the R-2800 was a great engine, I somehow think the Tigercat would have been much faster with 100-series Merlins like the D.H.103 Hornet.

 

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... de Havilland Hornet - 2 RR Merlins, ..... 2,070 hp ea, Empty weight: 11,292 lb, Max spd 475 mph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Hornet
Grumman F7F Tigercat - 2 × P&W R-2800, 2,100 hp ea, Empty weight: 16,270 lb, Max spd 460 mph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_F7F_Tigercat

Sea Hornet (tail hook & folding wing)
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The R2800 could keep running with a jug shot up, too dumb to quit and didn't need a radiator that could dump coolant when hit.

 

Not many recips faster than those two in WW-II. If the Hornet was like the Mosquito and did not have counter-rotating props, it must have taken a stout leg on the rudder pedal on take-off.

 

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What I saw a lot of when I visited Ketchikan!

 

Thanks. I have another one, a painting of a take off in rough weather that I will try to dig up. Purchased by Ernie Gann.

 

Supermarine S-6. Progenitor of the Spitfire.