Romania (via Industria Aeronautica Romana, or IAR) kept building aircraft (both fixed wing and rotary wing) through the Cold War, including licensed production, improvements of other manufacturers' aircraft designs, and some of their own indigenous designs as well.
Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Romania (via Industria Aeronautica Romana, or IAR) kept building aircraft (both fixed wing and rotary wing) through the Cold War, including licensed production, improvements of other manufacturers' aircraft designs, and some of their own indigenous designs as well.
That's true ,but only to an extend.Minor powers still design and produce excellent aircraft and one reason a lot of them don't make it into the air is reluctance of avionics manufactures to supply latest hard and software needed for fulfillment of design goals.On top of that there are embargo's,bureaucratic red tape,political influence and always present bribery within industry (remember F-104 bribe scandals?).
Some good examples of minor power designed aircraft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDC_F-CK-1_Ching-kuo from Taiwan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eagle from Korea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC/PAC_JF-17_Thunder from Pakistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_Tejas from India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_X-2_Shinshin from Japan
From the engine cowling shape I'm guessing those were RR Kestrel engines. The same as powered the Westland Whirlwind, a plane with no vices, faster than a Hurricane or a Spitfire, 4x20mm cannons in the nose, no competition and most importantly, no friends among the senior officers of the RAF.
Either it was a bloody-minded insistence that fighters had to be single engine or Westland Aircraft Co. couldn't dispense the favours that Supermarine, Hawker and the others could.
Just to make sure they didn't do too well during the Battle of Britain they were sent up to Scotland for the duration.
And by 1943 they were withdrawn from front line service to make sure they were good and forgotten, almost.
Why do my eyes see aME262 with propellers?
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Why would someone name a plane the " F-CK-1"??
Why would anyone design and build a fighter and not name it the F-CK-1???
The only possible improvement would be the "U" variant, imagine flying the F-CK-U into combat. Sign me up!
That's true ,but only to an extend.Minor powers still design and produce excellent aircraft and one reason a lot of them don't make it into the air is reluctance of avionics manufactures to supply latest hard and software needed for fulfillment of design goals.On top of that there are embargo's,bureaucratic red tape,political influence and always present bribery within industry (remember F-104 bribe scandals?).
Some good examples of minor power designed aircraft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDC_F-CK-1_Ching-kuo from Taiwan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eagle from Korea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC/PAC_JF-17_Thunder from Pakistan
Am I the only one who thinks these are basically F-16's with twin air intakes instead of one large one??
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Nope! I thought the same thing as well!
Maybe that's why the Taiwanese fighter was named the F-CK-1. As in FU, General Dynamics! We'll just steal your design!
Several of these were developed with a great deal of help from foreign designers/manufacturers. The Tejas, one of the more indigenous programs, has not been very successful. The Shinshin, btw, is a technology demonstrator and not a production combat aircraft.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Ack, as in "sitting duck" mission.
The B-26 Marauder and its companion, the B-25 Mitchell, were pretty elegant and versatile warbirds. I don't know if there are any B-26s still flying, but there are a number of B-25s in operation. The Commemorative Air Force just had its restored B-25, Maid in the Shade, here in Penticton, BC for a few days. I took a ride on it when it was here on tour 3 years ago and it was worth every penny.
Neat photo from Library and Archives Canada (PA-177091 if anyone wants to go looking for it) with the caption of "Gunners Elgin Buckland and F.J. Campbell of the 5th Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (R.C.A.), cleaning the barrels of their Lee-Enfield rifles, England, 17 July 1943."
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Seven remain alive, all non-flyable and in museums.
Here's an elaborate shark mouth paint job...
