Instrument flying is a common occurrence today but it wasn’t always so. In 1929 James Doolittle, most famous for the WWII “Doolittle Raid”, became the first pilot to takeoff, fly, and land an aircraft based solely by reference to flight instruments with no outside visual views. He also helped develop the artificial horizon and directional gyroscope. These accomplishments made all-weather airline and general aviation operations practical.
Typically any time the daytime weather that doesn’t meet VFR (visual flying rules) minimums of 3 statute miles flight visibility, cloud clearances of 500′ below, 1,000′ above, and 2,000′ feet horizontally requires a pilot to follow instrument flight rules (IFR). Many general aviation aircraft have all of the flight instruments required to fly in less than perfect weather but what instruments do they use?
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The illustration above shows the basic cockpit instruments used for instrument flying. Since 1953 they have been grouped in this “basic T” or “six pack” arrangement and are as follows:
(Starting with the top left and going from left to right)
Airpseed indicator- The airspeed indicator shows the aircraft’s speed. It measures ram air collected at the pitot tube compared to static pressure from a static port to give an airspeed indication.
Attitude Indicator- The attitude indicator (also known as an artificial horizon) shows the aircraft’s attitude in pitch and bank relative to the horizon. It is usually powered by vacuum from an engine driven vacuum pump but some can be electrically powered as well.
Altimeter- The altimeter shows the aircraft’s altitude above sea-level by measuring the difference between the pressure in a stack of aneroid capsules inside the altimeter and the atmospheric pressure obtained through the static system. It is adjustable for local barometric pressure which must be set correctly to obtain accurate altitude readings.
Turn/ Slip Indicator- The turn indicator displays direction of turn and rate of turn. Internally mounted inclinometer displays ‘quality’ of turn, i.e. whether the turn is correctly coordinated, as opposed to an uncoordinated turn, wherein the aircraft would be in either a slip or a skid. The original turn and bank indicator was replaced in the late 1960s and early ’70s by the newer turn coordinator, which is responsive to roll as well as rate of turn. Usually these are electrically powered.
Directional Gyro- The heading indicator (also known as the directional gyro, or DG; sometimes also called the gyrocompass, ) displays the aircraft’s heading with respect to geographical north. These are usually vacuum powered.
Vertical Speed Indicator- The VSI senses changing air pressure, and displays that information to the pilot as a rate of climb or descent in feet per minute.
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The illustration above is that of the “missing man formation” or sometimes known as the “missing man flyby”. The aircraft depicted are representatives from conflicts dating from World War II to Current. (An F4U Corsair from WWII, an F-86 Sabre from Korean War, an F4 Phantom from the Viet Nam war, and an F-15 which is still currently being used.)
The “missing man formation” is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event. Usually four aircraft fly over in a v-shaped, “finger four” combat formation and at the appropriate moment the element leader abruptly pulls up and out of the formation while the rest of the aircraft fly past in level flight until well out of sight.
The origin of the “missing man formation” is said to have occured during World War I as British pilots flew over the funeral of Baron Von Richthofen as a sign of respect but in any event the first official recording of the formation was for King George V in 1936. The formation definitely has its origin with British pilots.
The United States adopted the tradition in 1938 and it is said that the Air Force Thunderbirds were the first military aerobatic team to perform the formation in honor of missing POW’s during the Viet Nam war.
Typically a fallen pilot is being saluted but I want to pay tribute to all of our men and women serving our country and say “thank you”!
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| As you may or may not know, Aerotoons has 3 children’s ebooks available for download online.(Click here, or on one of the images above, to learn more about our ebooks.) “My First Flight” is a story where several young airplanes learn to fly for the very first time. It is a cute story, but did you know that each of the characters were based on an actual airplane type? Let’s take a look at the cast and find out what airplane was the inspiration for the character. |
| Boz- One of the main characters of the story is named “Boz”, which is short for Bonanza, the aircraft he was inspired from. |
| Cat- Another main character of the story. She was named “Cat” because Grumman named most of their aircraft after felines and she is based on a Grumman American Lynx. |
| Dash- “Dash” is based on a DeHavilland “Twin Otter”- DHC6. Because of the DHC nominclature most DeHavillands were called dash and the model number (ex. “Dash 6″) |
| Hilo- “Hilo” was based on the Bell 47 helicopter. |
| Zip- Cessna produces the fastest general aviation jet which is called a “Citation”. I based “Zip” on the Citation. |
| Sky- The Cessna “Skyhawk” is probably one of the most famous airplanes of the general aviation fleet. I based “Sky” after this airplane. |
| I hoped the brief behind the scenes look at the ebook characters was fun. If you would like to learn more about Aerotoons ebooks click here, or if you would like to see some of my other artwork click here. |
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I was looking at some old photos that my uncle had taken when he was in the Army Air Force during WWII. He was an armorer in the 84th Airdrome of the 5th AAF. I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to them when I first received them after he had passed away but as I was “rediscovering” them I began to realize there was something special about this photo. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed this P-38 before, perhaps because it was so faded, but this time the 26 victories on the side of the fuselage caught my attention!
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There is a simple notation by my uncle on the back of the picture: “One of our ace flyer’s plane” and an Army Examiner approval stamp, but who was this ace?
After some internet research I found out that this P-38, “Putt Putt Maru”, was flown by Colonel Charles H. MacDonald, the 3rd ranking ace of the Pacific during WWII. (He would eventually have a total of 27 victories by March 13, 1945.) I believe this picture was taken in 1944 and most likely on Dulag, Leyte, Philippine Islands because that is where the 84th Airdrome and the 475th Fighter Group could have been stationed together at the same time. (There isn’t much information on the airdrome squadrons so anyone having any info on the 84th Airdrome send me an email.) |
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The first thing I did was adjust the “levels” of the photo. This corrects the lightness and darkness of a photo to an optimum value. Then I applied a “sharpness” filter to help with the focus.
(As you can see, some of the details are beginning to show.) |
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Here I added a blue background for some color and replaced the dingy photo border with a “clean” white one. The sky background has been cleared up and the edges of the picture have been “squared up”.
If you look at the propellers and spinner they have been darkened and adjusted in value. |
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The top of the fuselage nose section has been darkened and the side of the fuselage where the air victories are has been adjusted with Col. MacDonald’s name and Japanese flags symbolizing air victories (five will qualify a pilot as ace). “Putt Putt Maru” has been adjusted as well. |
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The fuselage and engine nacelles are beginning to be “cleaned up”, the unit number 100 has been enhanced, and some details on the spinner and tail fin are added. |
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Here the tail fin has been cleaned up and some of the nacelle shading has been smoothed out. Additionally, the marston matting on which the aircraft is sitting on has been added (the original marston matting was faded too much to be usable so this sample from another photo was substituted). |
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Here you can see that the marston matting has been skewed to match the angle of the original picture. An aircraft shadow has been added, (it was hard to see in the original photo), and there has been work done to focus the nose gear door. The left main landing gear door has been “touched up” as well. |
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The tires and wheel hubs have been added from another P-38 for a better, sharper look. The nose gear strut and fork have been adjusted for brightness with the result of “crisper” lines. |
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In this photo the nosegear opening has been corrected, the engine intakes have been darkened, and the main landing gear strut has been refined. The landing gear door behind the main gear strut has been added. |
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Well, here is the final version. All of the details have been added and I applied a sepia photo filter and film grain to give the finished product an aged look. |
 Here is what the photo would have looked like when it was first taken, no sepia filter with this one. |
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I arrived at the Sebring, Florida airshow about 11 am. and although the weather was raining earlier it began to dry out and would become nice for the rest of the day.
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There were plenty of Light Sport Aircraft on display but I wanted to only show two aircraft that caught my attention.
The first was this great looking Ultralight (yes ultralight) XEL Mosquito helicopter which was brought to the event and displayed by the owner/ builder. It generated a lot of interest and had quite the crowd around it but eventually I was able to take a picture. The owner said that the entire kit, complete with engine and instruments, was $31k and the helicopter kit is manufactured in Trenton, Florida. The aircraft is powered by an Italian two-stroke engine but there were 4-stroke and turbine engine options available but that these options would disqualify the aircraft for the ultralight category. He also said that it was built in just 3 months and most of the time was spent on the “fine details” such as the design and paint layout. The actual airframe was built in a month! |
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The second aircraft that caught my attention, as well as quite a few others, was this Storch 75% replica. It is built in about 500-700 hours and is of tube and fabric construction. There are several engine options avialable and it is capable of short field takeoffs and landings. It really sits high off the ground but then so did the original Storch. The replica Storch features many of the “authentic” features of the original design. Including folding wings, telescoping suspension system, leading edge slats, adjustable flaps and ailerons, and overhead and rear lookout panels for aerial surveillance. This airplane seats two in a tandem configuration and is quite nice; I loved the desert camouflage paint job.
Kits start at around $30k. |
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It’s that time of year again the 2011 LSA event will be starting in Sebring, Florida (KSEF).
While there isn’t much happening in this photo starting January 20th to 23rd there will be a “beehive” of activity here because the 2011 Light Sport Airplane event will be going on.
Gates open at 8:00 AM, Exhibits open from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM (3:00 PM on Sunday). For more information go to the official website and check it out!
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Pearl Harbor- December 7, 1941, “…a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.
It’s been 69 years since that day and everyone has seen the familiar picture of the USS Arizona blowing up and heard the famous speech by F.D.Roosevelt but did you know that the U.S. managed to score some air victories of its own that day?
Haleiwa Airfield
On December 7th the Japanese heavily strafed Wheeler Field and few aircraft were able to get airborne in our defense. 
Haleiwa was an auxiliary airfield about 16 miles to the northwest of Wheeler and a temporary assignment of the 47th Pursuit Squadron (assigned the 3rd of December 1941). As you can see from the photo (below), Haleiwa could barely be called an airbase. It was little more than an open field with a wooden tower and eight Curtiss P-40B’s and 2 Curtiss P-36A’s transferred there as a dipersal precaution only 4 days before the 7th, but it is interesting to note that vary few airbases and units were able to put planes in the air during the attack. Three young Lieutenants from this field did manage to get airborne and down 7 Japanese aircraft that day.
The Action
 P-40 pilots 2nd Lts. Taylor and Welch |
 2nd Lts. Kenneth M Taylor and George S Welch raced in their car from the officer’s Club at Wheeler at 0800 to the airstrip at Haleiwa. Having phoned ahead for the crews to ready the aircraft they were quickly in the air to meet the enemy which outnumbered them six-to-one. |
| By the end of the day, 2nd Lt. Welch would have 4 “kills” to his credit and 2nd Lt. Taylor would have 2. Both were decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for their heroic action on Decenber 7, 1941. |
 P-36 pilot 2nd Lt. Harry W Brown |
 Meanwhile, 2nd Lt. Harry W. Brown was also able to takeoff from Haleiwa airfield and managed to shoot down a Japanese Zero.
A total of 10 Japanese aircraft are said to have been shot down by U.S. airplanes that day, (7 from Haleiwa) The remaining 3 were from Lt. Lewis M. Sanders, 2nd Lt. Philip M. Rasmussen, and 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling, Jr. |
 Today
Haleiwa Airfield was eventually paved during WWII but is barely noticeable now due to the overgrowth. It’s quiet today but for a brief moment in time it was where brave men defended freedom. |
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This is a Curtiss P-40 on take off from a strip in the Philippines.
This is a Douglas A-20 Havock that my Uncle wrote the caption “My Ship” and New Guinea 1944 on the back of the photo. He was an armorer so he probably serviced this aircraft.
This is a Douglas C-54 Skymaster R5D four-engined transport aircraft.
Here is another view of a Douglas C-54.
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