I Learn Something New Every Day!

[Pioneer]

I thought I'd try starting a new topic which I've titled Learn Something New Every Day, where forum members can share something knew about military issues they never knew, which has enlightened them!

I'll begin with the following:

I'm in the process of listening to a YouTube program titled Interview with Arnulf Hartl on the F-104 Starfighter
In the interview, whilst talking Hartl stated that 'even the Spanish Air Force flew F-104's for a couple of years!'

I never knew that after 40-years of profound interest in military aviation that Spain operated Starfighter's - so I quickly looked this fact up, and found:

The Spanish Air Force received their F-104s under the Military Assistance Program: 18 Canadair-built F-104Gs and three Lockheed-built TF-104Gs were delivered under MAP to Spain's Ejército del Aire in 1965.[18] These aircraft were transferred to Greece and Turkey when they were replaced by F-4 Phantoms in 1972. It is notable that no aircraft were lost through accidents during 17,000 hours of operational use in Spain although the aircraft was used only in its intended role of an interceptor and mainly in very good flying weather.[19]

Ejército del Aire
Ala 6 based at Torrejon (later redesignated Ala 16
61 Escuadron (later redesignated 161 Escuadron and 104 Escuadron

(Source: Wikipedia)


Looking forward in sharing what you've learnt!!


Regards
Pioneer

 

[robunos]

Re: Learn Something New Every Day!

Here you go, from 'Profile' no. 131, 'The Lockheed F-104G/CF-104' published in 1966 . . .


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Antonio]

Re: Learn Something New Every Day!

A selection of big and beautiful pictures of the F-104 in Ejército del Aire

http://www.aviationcorner.net/show_photo_en.asp?id=24704

http://elsitiodejactres.blogspot.com.es/2011/01/pilotar-un-misil-lockheed-f-104g.html

http://www.aama.es/aama/historia-del-f-104-en-el-ejercito-del-aire/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-104G_Starfighter_(Museo_del_Aire_de_Madrid)_(3).jpg

 

[Pioneer]

Re: Learn Something New Every Day!

Thank you for your pics and links


Regards
Pioneer

 

[CJGibson]

I learned how big a Type 45 is.

Ex-HMS Battleaxe, Type 22, seen alongside HMS Dauntless, Type 45, in Key West, Florida in 2012 (Photo: US Navy).

Chris

 

[Antonio]

The big size of the windows in the bridge of the Type 45 make difficult to estimate the real size of the ship. Thanks for the photo.
I'm always curious about the "how big" topic. Examples B-1 vs Tu-160, B-36 vs B-29 vs B17 or P51 vs F15. Yamato vs Dreadnought. Ratte vs M1....

 

[CJGibson]

Small....far away

I only realised a couple of weeks ago just how big TSR.2 is.

Chris

 

[GTX]

I only realised a couple of weeks ago just how big TSR.2 is.

Yeah. The first time I saw the one at Duxford I was surprised by how big it is (being far more familiar with F-111s) and how 'small' the Vulcan was.

 

[Arjen]

The first time I saw a Vulcan was at Duxford, 1992. It was kept indoors, right next to the entrance of the hall where it stood. I didn't get a proper view of the thing until I got clear of it, that Vulcan just seemed to stretch on forever while I was walking underneath it. I thought it was bloody HUGE.
I then walked outside, seeing the TSR.2 sitting on the tarmac was another big surprise.

 

[Pioneer]

Small....far away

I only realised a couple of weeks ago just how big TSR.2 is.

Chris

Oh, wow CJGibson your right!
A while ago, I saw a picture of a of an F-111 and TSR.2 (mockup I presume) parked next to one another, which also emphasised that the TSR.2 was so big, something I never realised or appreciated! I'll attempt to find and post it.
Thanks for sharing.

Regards
Pioneer

 

[Pioneer]

I only realised a couple of weeks ago just how big TSR.2 is.

Yeah. The first time I saw the one at Duxford I was surprised by how big it is (being far more familiar with F-111s) and how 'small' the Vulcan was.

Greg, unfortunately I've never had the privilege of being up close to either the Vulcan or TSR.2, hence why I'm surprised at your analogy of "how 'small' the Vulcan was"
I wounder if it's amazing pronounced landing gear arrangement which gives the Vulcan it notion of size then?

Regardless, I'm very envious


Regards
Pioneer

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Vulcan is pretty impressive in size due to the giant wing area, IMHO.

 

[Silencer1]

Vulcan is pretty impressive in size due to the giant wing area, IMHO.

The relation of Vulcan's wing area to the it's overall planview area (lenght * wingspan) is quite impressive.
In certain measure, it's a real "flying wing"

 

[Archibald]

I'm quite fond of the Ejercito del Aire as they used a lot of different supersonic jets. F-104 and F-5 and F-4 and Mirage III and Mirage F1, before the F-18. Quite an impressive roster - I can't think of any other Air Force in the world that used ALL these jets. Makes for a nice Air Force Museum (Cuatro Vientos, near Madrid).

Hell, the EdA was the only country in the world outside the United States that got KC-97 air tankers

http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/images/museums/museodelaire/boeing_kc-97l_spanishaf_tk1-3_08_museodelaire2014.jpg

 

[Ifor]

Just going back to the Type 22 and 45. Was the Type 22 there to tow the 45 back when it broke down?

 

[GTX]

A while ago, I saw a picture of a of an F-111 and TSR.2 (mockup I presume) parked next to one another, which also emphasised that the TSR.2 was so big, something I never realised or appreciated! I'll attempt to find and post it.

This one?

 

[sferrin]

Nice! That thing is tall like an F-105.

 

[GTX]

I'm surprised at your analogy of "how 'small' the Vulcan was"

In my case (also shared by a colleague who was with me), I think my perception was that the Vulcan was a lot bigger but when seen in real life it wasn't as big as we were led to expect. I had the same effect with the SR-71. The TSR.2 was seemingly a lot larger (especially when you stood right next to it) than we had expected. Again, both of us were coming from a background of working with F-111s and we probably expected them to be very similar in size. To give you an impression of what I mean, by my estimation the TSR.2 is some 20% larger than the F-111. Now I know that might not be exactly true, but that is how it felt.

 

[Pioneer]

A while ago, I saw a picture of a of an F-111 and TSR.2 (mockup I presume) parked next to one another, which also emphasised that the TSR.2 was so big, something I never realised or appreciated! I'll attempt to find and post it.

This one?

That's the one

Thanks Greg!!

Regards
Pioneer

 

[Hood]

I think its the impressive wing area of the Vulcan that hides its length well. Once your underneath those wings seem to go on forever.
In the Cold War hangar at the RAF Museum Cosford you can walk around all three V-bombers and get a sense of the size of all three. For me the Valiant struck me as being a big aircraft, the two large external fuel tanks just seem to make the Valiant look bigger.

The comparison between the TSR.2 and F-111 is interesting, you can't help thinking looking at the compact F-111 with its low undercarriage and side-be-side seating and the TSR.2 with its spindlely undercarriage and long fuselage you can't help thinking that someone got it wrong. For a supposed rough field type (originally) it just seems too fragile and big. But it does have more aesthetic lines than the F-111.

Taking of size impressions, I must admit I find that sardine can-sized cabin of Concorde is surprisingly smaller than you imagine, it just feels so claustrophobic.

 

[TomcatViP]

Have Apollo at the radome. The nose come of the TSr2is small in comparison to that of the 111 (I know SLR etc...).

 

[GTX]

Have Apollo at the radome. The nose come of the TSr2is small in comparison to that of the 111 (I know SLR etc...).

Are you saying that the F-111 has a big nose? ;D