The sky-high aircraft and aviation thread

Got this idea from Frog 753. You and I got what we wished for!

Okay.

Anyway, just to get us rolling, what do people think of the Cessna 162 Skycatcher and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) in general? Do you think they're a good thing or a bad thing?

edited 19th Apr '10 9:38:32 AM by Flanker66

I wish I knew what all these things were xD

Tasha is trying to teach me a bit about aviation. I must say some of the things she talks about sound damn interesting. I like spacecraft a bit more than aircraft though.

I'mma lurk this thread so I can learn a bit I think. xD Only plane I know about is the Zero-G plane, because I've been doing some studying up on it for Tasha (she's an engineer who is funding a project in her realm relating to Zero-G flights). I may go on the Vomit Comet when I'm a 40-year-old woman and have exhausted all other possibilities of testing my might.

Ah yeah, the good ol' vomit comit!

Feel free to lurk!

Light Sport Aircraft are kind of a "halfway house" between microlights and light aircraft proper: they're not as fast as light aircraft, and they certainly can't carry as much or go as far, but they are cheaper to operate, which makes them an attractive prospect.

Neat. I think I prefer heavier aircraft then.

I have just Googled them. They are...quite pretty? From the names I surmise they are a new kind of aircraft meant to be cheaper and appeal to leisure and nonprofessional pilots, which sounds like a good thing, albeit not terribly safe.

I have just Googled them. They are...quite pretty? From the names I surmise they are a new kind of aircraft meant to be cheaper and appeal to leisure and nonprofessional pilots, which sounds like a good thing, albeit not terribly safe.

You're right on the money in regards to the LSAs. They're mostly meant to attract weekend flyers who might not be able to stump up the cash for a light aircraft proper, but they don't like microlights.

Yeah, I guess LSAs are kind of nice looking compared to your common-or-garden Piper Warriors or Cessna 152's/172's.

edited 19th Apr '10 9:50:47 AM by Flanker66

LSA's seems like a generally great idea to take advantage of modern technology and how, well, light it can be! To be honest, they're not something I think much about, but increasing amounts turn up each year at the annual fly-in at my hometown's tiny airport.

I am still a bit ashamed to say I don't know how I feel about flying in a small plane. I have become increasingly paranoid about ordinary airline flying as is. Huh, well, that's something I might want to discuss later. But right now, I'm wondering about people's opinions on:

• The OV-10 Bronco

• The Su-34 (giant fighter with toilet and galley!)

• NOTAR helicopters

Ok, well, there's so much possibility with this thread that I don't even know what to do with it. But those above items are a start...

OV-10 Bronco

I like it! It's a rather quirky looking aircraft, and the views must be magnificent (since it was designed for recce in 'Nam).

The Su-34 (giant fighter with toilet and galley!)

The Fullback is a ground attack/bomber aircraft (It's also my current avatar). I always dig the blue camouflage.

NOTAR helicopters

I think NOTAR is probably a good thing; it should help to prevent or reduce... accidents on the ground.

Wikipedia links: OV-10 Bronco Su-34 NOTAR

Interesting to note that they're considering putting the OV-10 back into production.

edited 19th Apr '10 12:32:50 PM by Morven

Huh, didn't know that.

Very courteous of you to provide the links.

I guess LSAs like the Cessna 162 are sort of nice, but... well, a bit small. Generally, I don't really like most smaller aircraft so I am sort of biased here.

OV-10 Bronco however is sort of cool. I've seen one at an airshow a while ago and it was quite impressive. That Su-34 is awesome. I mean galley in a fighter? Wow.

But my favourites are still the DC-3 and Beech Staggerwing.

edited 19th Apr '10 12:41:18 PM by catfish42

I guess LSAs like the Cessna 162 are sort of nice, but... well, a bit small.

But my favourites are still the DC-3 and Beech Staggerwing.

...Are you me?

Psst... the Su-34 is a ground attack/bomber aircraft...

edited 19th Apr '10 12:45:16 PM by Flanker66

Kids! DON'T DO DRUGS

^Is that a pun on my thread title?

I was trying to make it seem more laidback .

Certainly not something I would have thought of!

Yes, it's a pun.

I have a fascination for the bizarre, rare and unsuccessful, when it comes to planes (and trains, etc).

Russian planes are fascinating, especially some of the odd stuff. Those ground-effect half-plane half-boat Ekranoplans of the Caspian Sea, for instance. See these You Tube videos:

edited 19th Apr '10 1:19:41 PM by Morven

I also love Ekranoplanes. Caspian Sea Monster for the win!

There's a good saying about design:

"If it's ugly, it's British. If it's weird, it's French. If it's ugly and weird, it's Russian."

I also have a fascination for the B-36, the final piston-engined American bomber. Those things were huge, with insane range and endurance. Flying them sounds like it was a bit of a nightmare in some ways, but so impressive.

Blinkin' 'eck, I also like the B-36 Peacemaker.

I quite like aircraft with contra-rotating props (like the Tu-95 Bear).

Caspian Sea Monster! What a conveniently apt name. I still don't quite understand the Wing-In-Ground effect. And I see that is in fact the Fullback in your avatar. In something I wrote for Nationstates, one is used as an emergency escape aircraft for a nation's Vice President, though it's really more of a throwaway mention than anything else.

The OV-10 figures heavily in my own work Roland's War (see my signature), in which fossil fuels have run out for good but prop planes and helicopters can still be fitted with electric motors powered by something based on the Iron Man arc reactor. It is widely produced for attack and observation purposes, what with the great visibility, good loitering capabilities, and extensive weapons variety.

Also, do we have any love here for the four-rear-engine airliners, namely the Il-62 and VC10? I find something about them inherently cool, even if they weren't the most practical or whatever in the long run.

And then there's the Saab 35 Draken, which has that peculiar double delta and is generally a nice aircraft that no one seems to remember.

edited 19th Apr '10 2:23:09 PM by frog753

The Caspian Sea Monster was one especially large Ekranoplane; it was dubbed that by NATO (I think).

The Il-62 and VC 10 are kind of cool.

Not so sure I like the Draken. I think it's because I like my aircraft to be sleek, slender and high-tech looking... which the Draken isn't. Of course, it may grow on me in time, as I also like some fairly hefty looking ones (such as the Polikarpov I-16, which I'd dig up a link for if it wasn't so late over here).

Contra-rotating propellers are fascinating too, I agree. The British and the Russians were most into them, it seems; British examples include the Avro Shackleton anti-submarine and early warning aircraft, a descendant of the Lancaster of WW 2 fame, and the Fairey Gannett carrier-borne ASW plane.

Heh, those are probably two of my favourites (as well as the Bear).

How do you people get inside my skull?!

Brain Slugs most likely.