Special Doolittle Raiders Reenactment B-25 For Sale

Fantasy Hanger Time: B-25 for sale if you have a spare $1.4 million

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May 26, 2018 Jack

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One of the most well-known B-25 aircraft in the world is for sale by Courtesy Aircraft . Panchito has been the lead aircraft at many events celebrating the Doolittle Raiders in the past 10 years, Superbowl XXXIX, Indy 500, Preakness Race and NASCAR races.

NORTH AMERICAN TB-25N N9079Z S/N 44-30734 “PANCHITO”

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$1,400,000 for aircraft and extensive spares package. The FAA has recognized the historical value of many former American military aircraft and has granted approval for many aircraft that do not hold a Standard certificate to operate for historic flights and training under a special program called Living History Flight Experience.

The LHFE program sets specific requirements and approval for operators of these aircraft to receive compensation for the use of the aircraft. (The current owner can assist a buyer with many options available for continuing a LHFE program with Panchito).

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Airframe:
2950 TT Since Total Restoration

Engine(s):
Wright R-2600-35
LH 400 hrs SMOH by JRS
RH 400 hrs SMOH by Cascade Engine Service

Avionics:
Dual Wulfsberg WT-200 Comm Transceivers
Dual King KNR-630 Nav Receivers
King KDF-805 ADF
Appareo Stratus ESG Transponder with ADS-B out
RMI
King KA-25A Audio Amp
King KXP-750 Transponder
King Glideslope Receiver
D120-P2-T Encoder
Dorne and Margolin ELT
Avionics Master Switch

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Equipment:
Recent brakes
Norden Bomb Sight
Martin Top Turret
3) 50 Cal Nose Guns
(4) Fuselage Pack Guns with rare original metal enclosures
(2) 50 Cal Waist Guns
(2) 50 Cal Tail Guns
Bombs
Removable tail gunners enclosure for photography

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Propeller(s):
Propellers: Hamilton Standard 23E50-473/6359A-18
LH 480 hrs SMOH
RH 400 hrs SMOH
AD 81-13-06 inspection completed April 2015/2017

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Spares and Support Equipment Package included-(approximate list- not complete for reference only)
5 engines including one removed in operational condition
Jacks
Towbar with Bombay rack
Midtime complete propeller assembly
Tires, wheels and brakes
Engine accessories including mags, carbs, pumps, spark plugs, stacks
Main Landing gear and many landing gear parts
Engine mount
Airframe spares- fuel senders, relays, switches, Avionics, instruments and much more
Manuals and Special Tools
Fly Away Tools and parts kits
The spares and support equipment would fill a large trailer and would be invaluable to keep this historic aircraft in the air

Miscellaneous:
Aircraft has an FAA Approved Inspection and has just completed the current phase
New glass installed 2006
All controls recently recovered with Poly Fiber
Wing and Tail Angles have been inspected and changed as needed in 2013
Landing gear upper casting SB inspection done
All control cables replaced
Aircraft was restored by Tom Reilly and first flight was in 1986

Exterior:
Polished Aluminum with Stars and Bars-good condition, lower wing surfaces painted silver

Interior:
Redone in green primer-good condition.

©courtesyaircraft.com

Courtesy Aircraft is located on the Greater Rockford Airport (RFD) in Rockford, IL.

Our facility is easily accessible by air or by road. Stop in or call (800) 426-8783 to schedule a visit. Courtesy is in the Northeast corner of the airport just east of the taxiway to runway 19. RFD Ground control 121.9 will be happy to direct you.

B-25s took the Fight to Japan

On December 21, 1941, two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the American chiefs of staff he wanted Japan bombed as soon as possible. Following the shock of Pearl Harbor, American morale needed a boost. It would also be good to shake the Japanese faith in their leaders’ ability to protect them.

In January, Captain Francis Low came up with the concept for what would become the Doolittle Raid. Having observed Army bombers, he believed they could be launched from aircraft carriers. It would enable a bomb load to reach Japan from a long distance away from the American fleet.

The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle. A pioneering aviator, Doolittle had made tremendous contributions to instrument-based flying. He instigated moving away from the limitations imposed by using human senses in high-speed aerial combat.

The B-25B Mitchell medium bomber was chosen for the mission. The best aircraft for the job, the B-25B needed to be fitted with extra fuel tanks for the unusual long-range mission. Other modifications included removing a gun turret, adding de-icers for the long high-altitude flight, and adding extra blast plates.

On April 1, the 16 modified bombers, each with a five-man crew, and their support staff were loaded on board the USS Hornet. The next day, the Hornet and its accompanying task-force set out. On the 17^th, the ships received the last load of fuel from slow tankers, then raced west at 20 knots toward their launch point in enemy-controlled waters.

On the morning of the 18^th, a Japanese picket boat spotted the American task force and radioed an attack warning. The American ships quickly destroyed the vessel.

Rather than let the Japanese make use of their warning, Doolittle decided to launch the raid ten hours early. It meant flying an extra 170 nautical miles.

Collage Course for Drone Pilots

Top Thumbs: drone pilots learn to fly at Aurora College Unmanned aircraft have proven invaluable for mapping inaccessible landscapes in Canada’s North. How one college is working hard to meet the demand for pilots. Jennifer Goldberg February 2, 2018 Maclean’s Education Hub » Students and teachers in the Aurora College Drone Program. (Photo by Jiri Raska) A motorcycle races along the ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, a black speck against a white landscape. As the bike speeds toward the horizon, the camera swings up and out to reveal a breathtaking aerial shot of the famous road and the perfect, pillowy tundra that surrounds it. It’s just one of the stunning scenes Inuvik filmmaker David Stewart was able to capture for an upcoming documentary, thanks to drone technology. “We fly drones to capture wildlife and landscape [on film] to add an extra dimension to our stories,” he says. As a producer for the Inuvialuit Communications Society, a production company, Stewart employs a licensed drone operator to record his images. But as the demand for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) grows in the North—and in Inuvik in particular—he decided it was time to get his own training. When he heard about the three-day drone training course offered by Aurora College last September, he signed up. “It was a fascinating course,” Stewart says. “It was very technical. I didn’t realize there would be so much flight physics involved.” Many drone enthusiasts aren’t aware of airspace rules and regulations, or that Transport Canada requires most drone operators to apply for a certificate to legally fly UAVs. “They share the same airspace as every other air operator in the sky,” says Sterling Cripps, founder of Canadian Unmanned Incorporated, the company that teaches the course. “Drones are highly technical machines that are subject to mishandling and failure.” In each class, Cripps asks his students to look up drone fails on YouTube.

DRONE FAILS 

The seemingly endless supply of footage of UAVs crashing out of the sky and bursting into flames hammers home his message that drone flyers need to understand their machines and how to use them safely. The course covers topics like aerodynamics, reading aeronautical charts, and air laws and regulations. At the end, Cripps offers an optional hands-on component, where students can test what they’ve learned and get some pro feedback. There are a lot of experienced pilots up north, Cripps says, “and they have a lot of talent. There are people up there who are leaders in this field.” As developing drone technology makes it easier and more affordable to use UAVs for commercial and recreational purposes, Cripps has seen course enrolment skyrocket. He developed the curriculum in 2009 with just 20 students enrolled. This year he taught 600 people across Canada, from RCMP officers and land surveyors to commercial photographers and part-time hobbyists. Demand for UAVs is particularly high in remote northern communities like Inuvik, which is located two degrees above the Arctic Circle. “Transport Canada needed to map out airports in the area and, if we had had our operating licences in place, we would have scored this huge project.” says Stewart. “But instead, southerners came up to do the work.” Matthew Dares, manager of the technology development for the Aurora Research Institute, a division of the college that supports scientific work in the Northwest Territories, brought Cripps to the school in an attempt to satisfy the increasing need for local licensed operators. His team uses UAVs to capture images to help create 3D models of swamps, gravel pits and other inaccessible environments. “The areas are remote and hard to access, so having more trained people in the community allows us more flexibility,” he says. There are other challenges to flying in the region. Inuvik is in restricted airspace, which means even recreational drone operators need to know how to communicate with Transport Canada while flying. Then there’s the weather: rain, wind and extreme cold make it especially difficult to fly. Cripps instructs students on the right equipment to allow drones to fly in lower temperatures. Dares says the feedback from the course has been positive, and he plans on bringing Cripps back to Aurora in the near future. The college also plans to offer the course at their Yellowknife campus. “There’s a growing interest in the region in wanting to become freelance drone pilots,” Dare says. As for Stewart, he’s keen to put his new drone knowledge to work on an upcoming TV series collaboration with APTN. “On the darkest day of the year, the sun doesn’t come over the horizon here but the sky just glows pink and purple. It’s beautiful. I look forward to using a drone to capture that.”

ARCTIC DRONE FOOTAGE

RC Modeler's Yardstick

Yardstick

A model made completely of surplus yardsticks

 This model was so large that it makes the Quadra 40 engine on the nose resemble an 049.

RCModeler's Yardstick

Yardstick.

Plan 910.

Type Model RC Sport Trainer.
Wingspan 108in.Highwing.
Engine Glow Fox .60
Control 3 channels.
Designer George Thompson.
Magazine RCModeler Apr.1984.

The wing was made up of 2 - 6 foot panels joined at the center and supported by two struts made from tent poles. To watch it drone overhead you almost could image that it eclipsed the sun. Actually the model was designed to fly on a healthy sixty size glow engine. I flew this plane at first with an Eagle 61 Fox engine driving a Byron propeller speed reducing apparatus swinging an 18 X 6 inch propeller. This prop was much too small for this power setup; even at full speed the model would catch up to the engine and the thrust dropped off accordingly. The result was, after takeoff the planes altitude could not be increased to much more than a couple of wingspans above ground level.

I remember that first flight very well: how scared I was at the time frantically attempting to negotiate this big beast around the field. The flight ended when the engine power began to sag and the forced landing was made in the rough off the runway. The cause of the power loss was abundantly clear as soon as we approached the downed Yardstick. The high revolutions caused the screws holding the cylinder to the crankcase to loosen to the point that the members were on the verge of separating. The problem could have been solved with a bigger and higher pitch propeller but as I recall I couldn't bring myself to spend thirty dollars for a propeller that may have lasted no more than a flight or two.

One day while flying the model with the large Quadra 40 Gas Engine installed, it suffered a nasty accident when it was caught in a tail wind and hung vertically by the propeller. Foolishly I immediately reduced power, instead of trying to power out of the problem and it settled heavily onto its tail feathers. In the end this was the final straw for my old Yardstick, not worth repairing and too large to store in my limited hanger space.

Yardstick Plans

Get all the details by watching the video below.

The Night Witches

The Night Witches

Few people would connect broomsticks, witches, and crop-sprayers to a feared group of female Russian pilots. The women pilots were members of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of World War II. Even today not many people know about these female pilots who did so much to support their male comrades by the accurate bombing of German troops.

These women were usually aged 17 to 26 years of age used to fly on night-time bombing missions. When approaching their target, they would idle their engines and glide into their bombing points.

Soviet Air Force officers Rufina Gasheva and Nataly Meklin decorated as Heroes of the Soviet Union for their service with the famed Night Witches unit during World War II

This largely silent approach gave off a “whooshing” sound as they went by, causing the Germans to liken it to the sound of the broomsticks of witches and thus arose the name of “Nachthexen’ – Night Witches!

These girl-pilots harassed the Germans to such an extent that they were both hated and feared by them. It was said that any German pilot who managed to bring down one of the planes of a Night Witch would automatically be awarded the Iron Cross. It is no wonder that these intrepid girl-pilots bore the name ‘Night Witches’ with pride!

Simulation of a typical 588th Night Bombing Mission.

Night Fighters

The Rise Of The Night-Fighters – Devastating Aircraft in Two World Wars

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• WORLD WAR II

Jan 5, 2018 Andrew Knighton

415th Night Fighter Squadron Northrop P-61B-15-NO Black Widow 42-39684.

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Fighting between planes began in daylight which allowed pilots and gunners to see what was going on so they could target their prey and see enemies attacking. There were advantages to flying at night though, so work began on the techniques and technology of night fighting.

Night Fighting in WWI

The first serious night fighting took place over Britain during WWI.

German airships, sent to bomb British cities, made use of the darkness to provide cover. They were flying over enemy territory far from home and needed every advantage they could get.

The British responded as well as they could with the resources they had. Bristol Fighters and Sopwith Camels soared into the sky, just as they did during the day, to take on the aggressors. They had no specialist equipment to help them see in the darkness. They had to rely on their eyesight, hoping for a bright moon to illuminate the bombers. Their successes were small.

Camels being prepared for a sortie.

The Start of WWII

During WWII night fighting was much more significant. Huge waves of bombers used darkness to protect their lumbering and vulnerable frames from enemy fighters and anti-aircraft guns, as they pounded their enemy’s military and industrial facilities. First in the Battle of Britain, then in Allied strikes against Germany, and then in attacks on mainland Japan. Night-time bombers struck the heartland of all the combatants.

Technologically, things had changed a little. Bright searchlights scoured the skies above cities, trying to illuminate bombers as they came in on their attack runs. It was a hit or miss business.

Radar was a more important step forward. Ground-based radar stations identified incoming enemy aircraft and directed fighters to them.

Once the planes were in the sky, everything was much as it had been during WWI. Pilots rushed around in the darkness, flying the same planes they used in daylight, trying to shoot enemies illuminated by the moon and stars.

ATS officers-in-training crew a searchlight in Western Command, 1944.

Enter Airborne Radar

America, Britain, and Germany were all working on technology that would change the game entirely. It was airborne radar.

If a plane could be equipped with its own airborne radar, then it could target enemy aircraft without having to see them. The gun sights of planes had already moved away from basic physical ones. It was the logical next step.

The British, working in secret, were the first to achieve success with airborne radar.

They had already moved Bristol Blenheim fighters, outclassed in daylight by the German Bf109, into a night fighting role. They equipped some of those planes with radar.

In July 1940, a Blenheim destroyed a Dornier Do 17 in a night fight. It was the first successful intercept using airborne radar.

Night fighting was coming into its own.

The nose of a Lichtenstein radar-equipped Messerschmitt Bf 110G-4 night fighter.

The Bristol Beaufighter

Retro-fitting radar onto existing planes was a useful step, but what was really required was a purpose-built night fighter. Designed for the unique circumstances of fighting in the dark, with its radar equipment built in, it would give its pilots a huge edge.

The British, building on their success with the Blenheim, were the first to field a high-performance purpose-built night fighter. It was another Bristol model; this time named the Beaufighter.

The Beaufighter was fast and maneuverable if a little difficult to handle on takeoff. With four 20mm cannons and six 7.7mm machine-guns, it had the heaviest armament of any fighter in the air. Its radar had a range of four miles, allowing pilots to close in on their enemies for the kill.

Bristol Beaufighter Mk X, NE255/EE-H, of No. 404 Squadron RCAF at RAF Davidstow Moor.

American Efforts

Beaufighters were purpose built for night fighting, but it was not the role the aircraft had originally been designed for. Instead, they were a purpose-built variant on an existing model. The first purpose-designed night fighter was American.

The Northrop P/F-61 Black Widow was designed in response to the RAF’s night fighter success in 1940. It entered production late in 1943 and first saw action in July 1944. In its first European engagement, the Black Widow destroyed four German planes. Around the same time, it had its first successes against Japanese planes in the Pacific.

Interim measures were needed while the Black Widow was designed and produced. For the first few years of the war, American forces used the Douglas P-70 as an adapted night fighter. In Europe, they also used British Beaufighters.

The first YP-61 Black Widow night fighter to arrive at Orlando Army Air Base, November 1943 is met by a 349th Night Fighter Squadron Douglas P-70 “Black Magic”.

German Nightfighters

Although ahead of the Allies in many areas of military technology, the Germans were behind in the race to field airborne radar. They spent the first few years relying on day fighters, ground radar, and searchlights. It was not until the summer of 1942 that they started fielding fighters that carried their own radar.

Two German planes became particularly noteworthy night fighters.

The Messerschmitt Bf110 had served well during the early days of the war, escorting bombers on their missions. Enemy fighters outclassed it and, like the Bristol Blenheim, it was relegated to night-time defense duties. When the first German airborne radar became available, it was fitted to the latest model, the Bf110F-4. With its four machine-guns and two cannons, it became a hard hitting night-time interceptor.

Also noteworthy was the Junkers Ju 88. A versatile three-seater aircraft, it carried several guns that fired diagonally upward, allowing it to attack high-flying bombers from below. It was one of Germany’s most effective defensive measures.

Bf 110 G-4.

Countering the Nightfighters

The success of the night fighters led to counter-measures. Among them was “Window,” an RAF technique in which bundles of aluminum strips were dropped from bombers. They confused the radar, making it hard for the Germans to attack them.

Such simple measures could not change the fact that night fighting was here to stay. Purpose-built planes with purpose-built equipment could fight each other effectively at night. The war in the skies would never be the same.