Warplane

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Warplane; PBS
Topic Started: Jun 18 2009, 10:17 AM (85 Views)
Chandu	Jun 18 2009, 10:17 AM Post #1
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,276 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	I received this on DVD for my birthday and finally got the chance to sit down and begin watching it. It concerns the history of the airplane in it's warplane role. This theme has been done before in countless other documentaries, but I found this one worth mentioning because of it's attention to detail and the things I've learned so far that I'd never known about before or seen in any other documentaries, despite a 40 year career around fighter planes. Things such as the first air cooled aircraft engines actually revolving with the propellor to stay cool. That's right, the whole engine revolved and it was used on the famed Spad of WW I! There's also a more detailed segment on the Wrights than I've ever seen previously, detailing some of the secrets to flight they discovered and kept to themselves, which kept them ahead of the competition for several years. The progression that evolved into the British Spitfire is detailed as well as the WW II British radar and enemy aircraft detection systems. These were the highlights of the first two episodes for me. I haven't watched the last two yet, but have every reason to expect they'll be just as good as the first two.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


marlin lee	Jun 19 2009, 10:05 PM Post #2
Charter Member Posts: 5,076 Group: Members Member #6 Joined: September 2, 2005	Chandu Jun 18 2009, 10:17 AM Things such as the first air cooled aircraft engines actually revolving with the propellor to stay cool. That's right, the whole engine revolved and it was used on the famed Spad of WW I! Don't know if that is your mistake or a mistake in the program. But the Spad used a Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine. The rotary was used in planes such as the French Nieuport, Sopwith Camel, and Fokker Triplane.



Chandu	Jun 20 2009, 09:27 AM Post #3
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,276 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	Probably my mistake. I was so overcome to find the entire engine rotating with the prop, I probably didn't pay the attention I should have to the narration about the planes it was in. In any case, I watched the last two episodes last night and found them just as good as the first two. Episode three deals with the development of the jet engine and helocopters, while episode four covers stealth and the emerging technology of pilotless air vehicles.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


JazzGuyy	Jun 23 2009, 06:26 AM Post #4
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,181 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	I was just at the U.S. Air Force museum outside of Dayton, OH and they had one of those engines on display. It had some interesting affects on the airplanes that used it because, it made turning in the direction opposite the torque created by the spinning engine very difficult. This apparently was the first and last widely used rotary-positioned pistons that rotated. Later rotary engines didn't turn, just the propeller.



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Jun 23 2009, 06:35 AM Post #5
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,188 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	Welcome back JG ... I was hopin' you were on vacation.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


Chandu	Jun 23 2009, 10:01 AM Post #6
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,276 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	JazzGuyy Jun 23 2009, 06:26 AM I was just at the U.S. Air Force museum outside of Dayton, OH and they had one of those engines on display. It had some interesting affects on the airplanes that used it because, it made turning in the direction opposite the torque created by the spinning engine very difficult. This apparently was the first and last widely used rotary-positioned pistons that rotated. Later rotary engines didn't turn, just the propeller. I've spent two whole days at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, on separate trips to Wright-Patterson AFB, and missed the display you speak of, but there's an awful lot to see there. The Warplane episode this is in goes into quite a bit of detail about how the torque affected the flight characteristics of the airplanes these engines were installed in. They said the take offs and landings were oftentimes the most dangerous parts of the missions.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


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