Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Old timey aeroplane films

I enjoy watching old aviation films, like this one about the first flight of the B-58 in 1956. They can be a bit campy, but it's fun to see these old aircraft as they were back in the day, not displayed as museum pieces or (god forbid) gate guards.


A few things struck me on watching this particular movie that I thought I'd share for shites and grins.

  • How far aviation had come in just the 11 years following the end of World War Two.
  • How frustrating it must have been for the pilot to not take off during the first run on the runway, knowing the airplane wants to fly and wanting to fly himself!
  • How odd to use a prototype aircraft (the YF-102) as a chase plane for the B-58. I wonder why they didn't use two F-94s.
  • I never realized until now how much the fuselage of the B-1 resembles that of the B-58.

Now where's my Italeri kit?

Enjoy!

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