Still impressive after all these years

[TobyV]

Theres a definite "that" missing from the above sentence Its been a long week. In fact it was PoLts day today for me :sad: (not PoEts days).

Garry you've reminded me of anepisode of Blackadder:

Percy: ...we came across a turnip that was exactly the same shape...as a thingy!

Edmund: ...a "thingy."

Baldrick: ...a great big thingy! It was terrific.

Edmund: Size is no guarantee of quality, Baldrick. Most horses are very well endowed, but that does not necessarily make them sensitive lovers.

Baldrick: I found it particularly ironic, my lord, because I've got a thingy that's shaped like a turnip!

[Garry Russell]

Ah yes Toby

I remember that one well

Garry

[VC10]

I meant to post this when the thread first started, but my scanner had gone **** up.. Its a coincidence it was published the same day as the thread started

[Techy111]

Thanks for posting mate.....But she sure is ugly..... :think: ....bit like my ex.....

Tony

[Chris558]

I've always had a fascination for ungainly looking types, and while they are 'ugly' to many, they also, I think, have a sort of majesty about them. In my eyes they are not ugly, just full of character!

But at least that Breguet, and similarly the Beverley, are quite curvacious shapes, so not as ugly as some more angular types.

[Tomliner]

Very interesting John.I seem to recall that she was known as the Breguet Deux Ponts which translates literally to two bridges but which I think colloqually means 'Double Decker'.I suspect that I will soon be corrected! EricT

[Garry Russell]

That's right Eric

Pont.....means deck...I guess a bridge is a deck across a river rather than a floor being a bridge.

Also in it's part freight role known as the Univesal and the mil ones were Sahara's

Garry

[Tomliner]

Thanks Garry.Was she powered by P&W Twin Wasps?.If so I bet that her sound on take off would have been music to the ears.EricT

[Garry Russell]

I think they were :think: .

Air France was at first reluctant to take them with American engines but they were plentiful with spares easily obtainable anywhere they were likely to go.

Quite a beast

Garry

[Chris Trott]

The reason most of the post-war airplanes cruise nose level or slightly nose down is like legion said, mostly a function of aerodynamics. To achieve the slow-speed performance required to get off the shorter runways, a significant amount of incidence (usually around 3-5 degrees) had to be built into the wings. Because of this, when the airplane reached and accelerated to cruise conditions, the wing naturally moved to a low angle of attack as lift built and the fuselage rotated into its cruise position. As well, the designers felt that this orientation was more comfortable to passengers and stewardesses. With a piston wing, the lowest drag on the wing is at a 0 AoA, so that is why you got what you did. With a jet wing, a positive AoA is the lowest drag position.