April 2, 2013 · 5:35 am

Congratulations to Frank Van Haste


McDonnell 119 / McDonnell 220

McDonnell 119 / McDonnell 220

Yesterday I ran an aircraft identification contest with pictures I took of the one-of-a-kind McDonnell 119/McDonnell 220 business jet.  The prize for correctly identifying this relatively obscure example of aviation history consisted of Kindle or Nook versions of my two mystery novels:  Decisions and The Globe.

And the winner is (may I have the envelope, please) . . . Pilot, Aircraft Enthusiast, and Fellow Blogger Frank Van Haste.  You can visit Frank’s wonderful aviation (and occasional book review) blog at N631S.blogspot.com.

Frank recognized the McDonnell 220 because of his long-time interest in the Air Force contract that in the 1950s pretty much created the modern business jet.  That was the once famous but now mostly forgotten UTX/UCX (Utility-Trainer Experimental/Utility-Cargo Experimental) contract.  The eventual winner of that contract was the Lockheed Jetstar (L-329/C-140), an aircraft that sent shivers down my spine whenever it showed up at RAF Lakenheath because that was the aircraft used to evaluate air traffic control services at Air Force installations throughout Europe back in the 1970s.  If you’re a movie buff, you can see the Jetstar in action in the classic James Bond film Goldfinger.

Another winning entry for the UTX contract was the North American Sabreliner (N-265/T-39), which went on to become quite successful in the civilian market.  Indeed, over 800 examples of the Sabreliner were eventually built compared to just over 200 Jetstars.

Now for a bit of self-congratulatory housekeeping.  Yesterday’s post was the 400th for this blog.  That’s over three a week since this blog’s inauguration in January of 2011.  Looking forward to bringing you many more in the future.

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April 1, 2013 · 5:35 am

Interesting Aircraft — The ???


Last Friday I showed you an interesting aircraft that calls El Paso ‘home.”    That was the Super Guppy.

Here’s another.  Let’s see just how good your aircraft recognition is.

And the first person to correctly identify this aircraft will receive for their Kindle, Nook, or device using the free Kindle or Nook reading App, copies of my two murder mysteries Decisions and The Globe.

The Catch:  Exempted from this contest are current or former air traffic controllers (or other FAA employees) from either El Paso or Albuquerque (for obvious reasons, guys and gals).  Persons who already own these books are asked to pass on the prize (should they guess correctly) so that the second correct guesser may have the chance to enjoy them.  Persons too young to attend unaccompanied an R Rated motion picture will be ineligible to receive either book.  The winner is requested (but by no means required) to post reviews of both books on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Clues:  This is the only example ever made of this particular aircraft.  It was originally designed for the military, but later offered to the civilian market as a business jet.  Lockheed won the contract for which this aircraft was originally designed.  This prototype originally flew when Dwight Eisenhower was president.

Here you go (the registration number has been digitally removed to prevent cheating):

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March 29, 2013 · 5:35 am

Interesting Aircraft — The Super Guppy


Straight-On View

Straight-On View

The Desert Southwest is home to many intriguing aircraft.  The primary reason is corrosion.  Things don’t rust in dry climates.  El Paso, for instance, receives on average a little over eight inches of precipitation a year.  Tucson, home of the Pima Air & Space Museum, get just over twelve inches.  Not coincidentally,  Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson (where I worked as an air traffic controller in the late ’70s and early ’80s) hosts the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly referred to by all branches of the military as “The Boneyard.”

At El Paso International Airport you’ll an interesting aircraft or two hanging about.  Indeed, up until just a very few years ago, El Paso had sitting on the ramp the world’s last remaining flyable Convair 990 (which, unfortunately, was cut up and sold for scrap).  Another aircraft — the sole one-of-a-kind example — will be featured here next week in a rather unique aircraft identification contest.  You’ll also find at El Paso International a flying F-100 Super Sabre (the world’s first production aircraft capable of reaching supersonic speeds in level flight) and, currently undergoing restoration to flying status, an F-106 Delta Dart.

You’ll find one other very unique aerial vehicle residing in El Paso’s dry climate — NASA’s last remaining operational Super Guppy.  NASA’s Super Guppy fleet were critical to the Apollo program and the race to the Moon.  No other aircraft in the world was at that time capable of flying the oversize rocket modules and other hardware to the Kennedy Space Center.  Indeed, the Super Guppy still to this day carries payloads far too bulky for even the C-5 or the newer C-17 giant cargo aircraft.

Guppy in Dawn's Early LIght

Guppy in Dawn’s Early LIght

The Super Guppy was based upon the Boeing C-97 (military version of the civilian Boeing 377), which in turn was based upon the airframe used by the Boeing B-29 and B-50 series of aircraft.

I managed to finagle entry into this unique piece of aviation history.  Today, you get the benefit.  Here is a visual tour of for you to enjoy:

Four Allison 501-D22C Turboprops

Four Allison 501-D22C Turboprops

Cockpit Closeup

Cockpit Closeup

The cockpit remains much the same from the KC-97 days

The cockpit remains much the same from the KC-97 days

Soccer, anyone?

Soccer, anyone?

 

 

 

 

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