Photos - NAS Atlanta open house 4/30:

Thanks Jim,
Excellent photo's and a great write-up!

Did the holes in the flaps affect the extended chord line /lift /speed ability, as opposed to solid flaps?
And, were they extended together with the speed/dive brakes? Or were they activated separately?

Charlie

 

The flaps deployed simultaneously to slow the airplane in the dive. The holes prevented downstream turbulence over the horizontal tail and provided flow over the elevators instead of a stalled environment. Nice to have when you want to pull out of the dive.. I saw a P-47 dog fight with an SBD once and the SBD went into a vertical dive that put the tail actually past the vertical as it went down. The P-47 didn't follow. That SBD was very maneuverable and gave the P-47 fits.
Switches

 

Hey!!!
That's my old SNJ!!!!
It's still gorgeous!!

 

That must make you feel pretty good to see your old airplane in such high class company. It IS a beautiful restoration. You ought to get another one and make it into an NA50.
Switches

 

I got to thinking about that incident. It occurred in front of our cottage over the Gulf of Mexico one day and it appeared to be an impromptu meeting and they decided to mix it up. The sounds of those two airplanes was unforgettable and the ability of the navy pilot in his SBD was amazing. He used his dive flaps several times in his maneuvering I think because the SBD looked like it was turning on his own tail. The P-47, of course, was roaring and zooming all over the sky and didn't seem to gain much of an upper hand. A wonderful show for 30 minutes.

 

Wow! Wish I could have been there.

Stationed in Germany in ther early 60's I got my first taste of flight in small stuff,
and consequently joined up with a German Glider club.

The Instr's there were ex-Fighter guy's (losing side) and..... after all....
it was almost 20 years after the war.

I got a treat one day as we were doing some thermal work at about 3000 ft.
We were looking for more thermals, when another glider, came diving past us
about 1000' away, followed by second, both were instructors.
They were new high performance gliders, I had seen on the ground,
and had also heard stories about, flying in the Swiss Alps.
their glide ratios were near 35-40:1 (If I remember correctly) So.......

The first one pulls up and loops followed by the second.
It was seeing a mock aerial dogfight from the air!
They did a few more turns and loops, before we were below the
preset 800 ft, pattern safety alt., and had to come in.
There was no way we could have kept up there with them,
as we were in a Schweizer 2-33. ( a trainer... Glide ratio = 23:1)
like this one.

[Note] perforated "dive" brakes are engaged....
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0366060/M/

Cockpit
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0412179/M/
Red knob was for tow cable release, But I don't remember it being as shown.
Ours were on the left, under the altimeter, on a bracket.
I guess this one has been relocated
Black "Bicycle Grip" [on lower left] was to control spoilers.
Didn't have interior panels in Vinyl either

This one placarded to the nines.... too!
I think we had one placard about ballast, and airspeeds.
Stall? It was listed as 31 MPH solo, and another mile or two faster, for dual.
but different aircraft might stall 5 MPH faster. Max speed 98 MPH
Best glide was 50 MPH Dual. fun speed though... and forgiving to an extent...

Empty weight was 600 lbs. Max Gross 1040 lbs
Had to do a W/B before every flight,
as the cg was a narrow seven inch envelope.


It's been too long...ago, but I'll never forget the experience.

Thanks for the mental stimulation!
Charlie

 

YES ! There is nothing quite like searching for and finding a thermal and then feel that sensation in the seat of your pants when you start to lift. THAT is great flying . We have a cabin on an air strip in the North Cascades and one Labor Day weekend the Boeing glider club showed up to do some sailplaning in the Cascades. One elderly gentleman in his 60's got a tow to 3000 ft. at 1100 hrs. and didn't return until just before sunset. He had flown the ridge of the Cascades well up into Canada, turned and flew over to eastern Washington, back to the Columbia River and then back to Lost River. He took a bottle of water and some energy bars with him and had a day of it in his Libella. I went up with the tow plane every day that they were there and flew in a two place Il-26. Had an exhausting weekend.
A note of interest; the first morning every pilot took their planes up and did buzz jobs down the strip at 10 feet and infront of their fellow members so that they could listen to the air flow so that they could detect any whistling or other drag producing sounds. Tape and polish came next.Exciting flying.
Switches

 

I take it they were doing a landing..... when buzzing......

Kind of difficult to do a turn around from 10 feet, at the end of the strip....
with * NO * engine..............unless................

they were real good and did (maybe)..140 kts to a Hammerhead,
to a half roll to the opposite heading levelling out at pattern altitude ???

Hmmmm..... 140 knots @10 ft AGL in a glider? ? ? ?

NAH! They were landing....!

Charlie

 

Energy management. They were aloft to start with and flew down the field after a long and fast shallow dive. After their pass they pulled up into a chandelle, made a circuit and landed They were MOVING when they made their passes. The gentleman who cruised all over Canada and Washington did several loops and finally a spin to lose altitude when he returned.
The cumulus build ups in late summer and early fall are awsome here and lift is abundant by just X countrying from one cotton puff to another. The wheat fields generate huge columns of hot air as well. A friend of mine is a hang gliding enthusiast and he routinely reaches 11-12k altitude in his trips across Washington and back. He has a battery powered strobe that has saved his butt several times when Bonanzas come whizzing by. These guys do 70 -80 mile trips all the time. Incredible stuff.
When I was flying in the tow plane I asked the Libella pilot if he would form up after release so I could take some pictures. It never happened. We were never able to out-climb him TO CATCH HIM. We were in a 180HP Super Cub and after every turn , he was farther above us. We quit and went back. When he returned that evening he apologized for not being able to " deny the gift of lift" . He also was German.
The hot rocks of the mountains, the clouds forming above. and a steady breeze from the north make for soaring as good as anywhere.
Switches

 

Energy Management. Right.
Was Just joshin ya......

Never had any ridge experience, as I soared mostly, just outside of Giessen Germany,
which was flatlands for the most part.

Red line from "Weiseck' to "Rödgen", shows grass strip in red rectangle.
Blue outline was Army Depot where I was TDY for a while. Blue circle within: my barracks. Neat... a 10 min walk to the airstrip.

Depot, was a captured Luftwaffe fighter base, converted for warehousing.
One asphalt runway remained in use by AAF, and was the one I took off from for my first trip in a L-19.

Yup!! Those Hi Perf jobs, sure can climb alright....

Charlie
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