The General Airplane Thread
- Thread starter Crash
- 2,744 comments
- 193,257 views
- 2,692
- Knoxville, Tennessee
A ton more sightings from the past week or so:
BobK
Premium
- 7,020
- Massachusetts, USA
According to CNN, the Collings Foundation's B-17 the "Nine-oh-nine" has crashed in Connecticut at Bradley International Airport. At least two deaths and others hospitalized.
The Foundation's site seems to be down for maintenance at the moment.
The Foundation's site seems to be down for maintenance at the moment.
- 3,594
- Connecticut
- SPhilli
- SPhilli911
Up to 7 confirmed casualties and 6 survivors, it's all very scary and sad. I could see the cloud of smoke from work. Admittedly we feared it was a commercial plane, initially.
Looks to have been engine failure. Unsure what engines, but considering Bradley is in Pratt and Whitney's backyard, that's what people are talking about.
Dan
Premium
- 15,396
- United States
I’m heartbroken by this news because I work at an FBO that’s part of the foundation’s Wings of Freedom tour. I’ve fueled all of those planes and hung out with the crew members. It’s devastating to know that I will never get to see the pilots of this plane again.
- 5,076
- Panama City, FL
I saw the Wings of Freedom tour about a year and a half ago, and got to crawl through that airplane. I will say that getting through some of those compartments is not something someone of my size should do very much of... They also had a B-24 Liberator and a P-51 Mustang at the site where I saw them, just up the road in Destin.
Very sad news indeed about the crash and the loss of life.
Very sad news indeed about the crash and the loss of life.
BobK
Premium
- 7,020
- Massachusetts, USA
I've been through both Nine-oh-nine and Witchcraft (the B-24), I've seen them several times when the Wings of Freedom Tour swung through southeastern Massachusetts. Sadly I was unable to go to Worcester to see the tour (really wanted to see the P-38) two weeks ago.
I have three ballcaps from the Collings Foundation:
I have three ballcaps from the Collings Foundation:
- 5,076
- Panama City, FL
I've never seen a P-38 in person, although it's one of my favorite WWII aircraft! There was one here at an air show at Tyndall several years ago but I was traveling and did not see it. 
I saw photos of it formation with other aircraft over the local coastline later.
I saw photos of it formation with other aircraft over the local coastline later.
- 365
- Michigan
- Ze_Elephant
Last night was The Blackbird Affair, and I have to rank it as one of the top experiences I've been able to have.
They always say not to meet your heroes because you'll be disappointed, but the Blackbird does not disappoint in the slightest. Being able to sit where these pilots were so many years ago and listen to the history and first hand accounts from pilots, radio officers, and maintenance personnel was unbelievable. The museum was very open with the aircraft and allowed the crew to take us up close and personal with the whole underside of the airplane and to see, feel, and experience every piece of the aircraft. It was a short five and a half hours, but I could have experienced the aircraft and listened to these men for a week and never grown bored! I'll post some pictures as soon as the Air Zoo shares them with the rest of us. I devoted my time to experiencing the night, and left it to the professionals to record it.
They always say not to meet your heroes because you'll be disappointed, but the Blackbird does not disappoint in the slightest. Being able to sit where these pilots were so many years ago and listen to the history and first hand accounts from pilots, radio officers, and maintenance personnel was unbelievable. The museum was very open with the aircraft and allowed the crew to take us up close and personal with the whole underside of the airplane and to see, feel, and experience every piece of the aircraft. It was a short five and a half hours, but I could have experienced the aircraft and listened to these men for a week and never grown bored! I'll post some pictures as soon as the Air Zoo shares them with the rest of us. I devoted my time to experiencing the night, and left it to the professionals to record it.
- 4,265
- Anchorage, AK
- nomeite
meanwhile...in Alaska
- 5,076
- Panama City, FL
This past weekend was the Blue Angels Homecoming end-of-season air show at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Friday's weather was dark overcast, but with a high ceiling so we got everyone's full show. Very chilly and stiff north wind right in our faces, though, for which I was not prepared. I dumped a half day's pay (not really, but it sure felt like it!) to get a Top Gun hoodie sweatshirt at one of the vendor booths. Saturday's weather was absolutely clear and calm, and much warmer. I arrived both days about lunchtime.
First thing I saw on Friday was the F-16 demonstration. I actually haven't seen the F-16 for a while, so that was fun.
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He also started the twilight-night show late in the afternoon, not quite dark, but dark enough to emphasize the afterburner flame
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A surprise demonstration was the Navy's F-35C full demo, not listed on the show's website or in the printed programs
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.95 Mach
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...and pulling up from that!
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His "visor" is a VR headset, and when in use, his view of the world is as if suspend in space. He looks around and doesn't see the airplane's interior, but what's outside, in any direction. The announcer described it as 10K video.
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Friday's version...
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...and Saturday's
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#6 did not fly, so they only had the one solo. No reason was given, and I've learned that #6 also did not fly last week's demonstration. There is a point at the show where the solos do "sneak" passes, #5 very low and fast from the left, immediately followed by #6 from behind the crowd. In this show, #5 did #6's behind-the-crowd sneak at an earlier point in the show, so we still got to see it. A nice job by the team to rearrange and keep elements in the show.
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#5 did his regular low-and-fast pass at the normal part of the show:
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He also did another pass later on, low, fast, and in a turn, unannounced by the narrator, so I'll call it another sneak pass.
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On Friday there was the twilight/night show, with aircraft showing lights and pyrotechnics
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Of course, the jet truck!
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And its race, the two RV8s throwing sparklers and fireworks as they ran down the runway, the jet truck catching up to them right at the end.
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First thing I saw on Friday was the F-16 demonstration. I actually haven't seen the F-16 for a while, so that was fun.
1
2
He also started the twilight-night show late in the afternoon, not quite dark, but dark enough to emphasize the afterburner flame
3
A surprise demonstration was the Navy's F-35C full demo, not listed on the show's website or in the printed programs
4
.95 Mach
5
...and pulling up from that!
6
7
His "visor" is a VR headset, and when in use, his view of the world is as if suspend in space. He looks around and doesn't see the airplane's interior, but what's outside, in any direction. The announcer described it as 10K video.
8
Friday's version...
9
...and Saturday's
10
#6 did not fly, so they only had the one solo. No reason was given, and I've learned that #6 also did not fly last week's demonstration. There is a point at the show where the solos do "sneak" passes, #5 very low and fast from the left, immediately followed by #6 from behind the crowd. In this show, #5 did #6's behind-the-crowd sneak at an earlier point in the show, so we still got to see it. A nice job by the team to rearrange and keep elements in the show.
11
#5 did his regular low-and-fast pass at the normal part of the show:
12
He also did another pass later on, low, fast, and in a turn, unannounced by the narrator, so I'll call it another sneak pass.
13
14
On Friday there was the twilight/night show, with aircraft showing lights and pyrotechnics
15
16
Of course, the jet truck!
17
And its race, the two RV8s throwing sparklers and fireworks as they ran down the runway, the jet truck catching up to them right at the end.
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Last edited:
- 4,265
- Anchorage, AK
- nomeite
BobK
Premium
- 7,020
- Massachusetts, USA
So the plane suffered a failure with the landing gear retraction, yet they show a picture of a plane with fixed gear.
- 13,164
- Seattle-ish
Seattle Times reports
"Boeing doubled its projection of the cost of the 737 MAX crisis Wednesday, adding another $9.2 billion in losses, accounting write-offs and estimated higher future production costs. This brings the total to $18.4 billion.
The company reported a full-year net loss of $636 million, the largest in Boeing’s history."
They continue
"But new CEO Dave Calhoun said he’s confident about the MAX and Boeing’s eventual recovery. “We will get through this moment,” he said. “I believe we’ll deliver the safest airplane in the sky.”
It's already been in the sky, and it got grounded because of 346 deaths in two crashes. So it's a bit late know. All Boeing can do is compensate for the baked-in flaws.
The focus on cost-cutting and adherence to schedule was made during the last few years of record earnings, in fact was a significant contributor to those earnings. And now the shoddy design and construction has resulted in a grounded fleet, dwindling sales and record losses. Once again, the chase for short-term profits comes at the expense of long-term financial health.
"Boeing doubled its projection of the cost of the 737 MAX crisis Wednesday, adding another $9.2 billion in losses, accounting write-offs and estimated higher future production costs. This brings the total to $18.4 billion.
The company reported a full-year net loss of $636 million, the largest in Boeing’s history."
They continue
"But new CEO Dave Calhoun said he’s confident about the MAX and Boeing’s eventual recovery. “We will get through this moment,” he said. “I believe we’ll deliver the safest airplane in the sky.”
It's already been in the sky, and it got grounded because of 346 deaths in two crashes. So it's a bit late know. All Boeing can do is compensate for the baked-in flaws.
The focus on cost-cutting and adherence to schedule was made during the last few years of record earnings, in fact was a significant contributor to those earnings. And now the shoddy design and construction has resulted in a grounded fleet, dwindling sales and record losses. Once again, the chase for short-term profits comes at the expense of long-term financial health.
- 5,076
- Panama City, FL
One year of loss, resulting from issues with one model of aircraft out of the many commercial, business, and military aircraft that they produce and support, is hardly grounds for discussing "long-term financial health." Especially when 8 of the 21 positive years in front of that are at least $4B. (That's the kind of thing you look at when you use the words "long term.")
The MAX had issues, Boeing is correcting them, and they expect to return the airplane to service sometime this year.
So yes, it's the worst year ever, but it's not a trend, nor is it an indicator of anything "long-term."
The MAX had issues, Boeing is correcting them, and they expect to return the airplane to service sometime this year.
So yes, it's the worst year ever, but it's not a trend, nor is it an indicator of anything "long-term."
- 6,425
- KCCO
Yep. When you're pretty much in a 2 contender fight for an entire market, you can't suddenly just disappear from one mistake. That's like saying Samsung should've shut down all operations back when their phones were blowing up. That was just one product from that company against their competitor who both dominate the market together. 20 years from now the average person flying won't remember what plane it was that killed 300+ people, just as most don't remember all of the other crashes that have gone down within the last 20 years too.
- 6,425
- KCCO
Got to pull the plugs out of this Beechcraft 18 over the last few days and try starting it up. I thought that plane was never going to move while I was a student here but we got to start it up and taxi it around, even though it had a collapsed strut.
GTV0819
(Banned)
- 6,084
- Papua New Guinea
So I guess people shouldn't be surprised anymore in case Boeing ever gets bankrupt one of these days just because of these turmoils they're currently having now.Seattle Times reports
"Boeing doubled its projection of the cost of the 737 MAX crisis Wednesday, adding another $9.2 billion in losses, accounting write-offs and estimated higher future production costs. This brings the total to $18.4 billion.
The company reported a full-year net loss of $636 million, the largest in Boeing’s history."
They continue
"But new CEO Dave Calhoun said he’s confident about the MAX and Boeing’s eventual recovery. “We will get through this moment,” he said. “I believe we’ll deliver the safest airplane in the sky.”
It's already been in the sky, and it got grounded because of 346 deaths in two crashes. So it's a bit late know. All Boeing can do is compensate for the baked-in flaws.
The focus on cost-cutting and adherence to schedule was made during the last few years of record earnings, in fact was a significant contributor to those earnings. And now the shoddy design and construction has resulted in a grounded fleet, dwindling sales and record losses. Once again, the chase for short-term profits comes at the expense of long-term financial health.
- 2,692
- Knoxville, Tennessee
The chance of Boeing going bankrupt from the Max ordeal and last year's losses is fairly slim, to be honest. People forget that Boeing isn't just the 737, and that they have a billion other money making products. From space launches to parts distribution to various domestic and international military contracts. Plus there is still the looming Boeing Brazil thing with Embraer, and the 747F, 767F, 777 and 787 lines that are still producing aircraft. Boeing also does freighter conversions of their older aircraft.So I guess people shouldn't be surprised anymore in case Boeing ever gets bankrupt one of these days just because of these turmoils they're currently having now.
GTV0819
(Banned)
- 6,084
- Papua New Guinea
Well, yes but who knows what may come next for them. The reason why I said only in case it happens. If they start to lose customers each year because of the events that are plaguing them, it will be inevitable.
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