Airplane pictures

[AKcharger]

I was invited on a photo shoot today around Mt. Mckinley, unfortunately I only had my cell phone camera...anyway here's some pictures you don't see everyday.

[b5blue]

SWEET! 

[400/6/PAC]

Those pics are cool.

[BigBlackDodge]

Cool! Looks like you guys are in a bombing run formation from WWII.


BBD

[bakerhillpins]

Cool pics.

Testing different engine configurations?

[hemi68charger]

Very cool Chief......

I notice as well one with the wingtip stabilizers and one without. Also, as noted before, different engines........

Troy

[DodgeByDave]

737-100 through -400 models I do believe. The 100 might be a piece of history.... not many weren't converted from the old Pratt and Whitney/GE turbines in the 80's-90's

The winglets do the same job as the end fence on the racing wings (a discovery made by Dan Gurney btw), forcing air to continue over the top of the wing, instead of running down the leading edge and spilling over the end (path of least resistance).

[Brock Samson]

the russian MIG design bureau discovered that as well,..  all the Migs had multiple "fences"...
this was back in the early 50s too..

[AKcharger]

Cool pics.

Testing different engine configurations?

Nah, just a photo shoot of the older plane (737-200) along side the new plane (737-700) One thing that is interesting is if you look at the second  picture of teh -200 you'll see this lil' tube thing sticking out of the center bottom of the engine, that's designed to break up the vortice (little suction tornado) from the engine so it can operate on gravel fields up here in Alaska.

[hemi68charger]

.... that's designed to break up the vortice (little suction tornado) from the engine so it can operate on gravel fields up here in Alaska.

Can you say FOD !!!!!!    


i.e, Foreign Object Damage

[DodgeByDave]

the russian MIG design bureau discovered that as well,..  all the Migs had multiple "fences"...
this was back in the early 50s too..

Quite true, however, the reason the russians were doing it was that the early migs didn't have the leading edge slats, and as a result a faster landing/take off speed.

Also, the Mig didn't have the "flying tail", speed brakes, a decent gun. It did have what was loosely described as a GE turbine.

[Magnumcharger]

Funny...I just shot this picture of a 737 as it landed in Calgary, while I was waiting in another 737 to take off!

[TiMopar]

I'm going to sound like a total 'anorak' (do you have those in America?), but the first aeroplane I recall seeing those upturned wing-tips on, was the last version of the Focke-Wulf TA154, an all wood construction twin engine fighter designed by Kurt Tank during WW2. Something about improving lateral stability?...

[flyinlow]

We have winglets on B757,B767,B747,A320 and A330 aircraft where I work. They improve fuel burn by about 3%. A B757 gets about 1/3 MPG and burns 10,000+ galions a day in airline service. So 3% adds up.

[AKcharger]

I'm going to sound like a total 'anorak' (do you have those in America?), but the first aeroplane I recall seeing those upturned wing-tips on, was the last version of the Focke-Wulf TA154, an all wood construction twin engine fighter designed by Kurt Tank during WW2. Something about improving lateral stability?...

I think it's more a matter of preventing airflow from seperating off the top of the wing and "spilling" off the wingtip. Those Germans were smart, they had AWESOME equipment.

[68RRFlyer]

Winglets, as they are called, reduced drag resulting from the production of lift (called induced drag).  That in turn increases efficiency and results in a better fuel burn.  Air off the end of the wing spirals off the tip and they are known as wingtip vorticies.  When someone talks about "wake turbulence" from another aircraft, that's what they are referring to.  Think of it as the wake from the boat skimming across the lake.  Same sort of thing.  As this curl of air comes down, it interferes with the lateral flow off the wing and creates drag, for all intents and purposes.  The wingtip actually forces that spiralling air outwards further from the end so it doesn't interfere with the wing and thereby creates less drag.  That's sort of the basics of it on a non-technical scale.  Airplanes deal with a few different kinds of drag known as parasite and induced.  Induced deals with the byproduct of lift, and parasite is from all the crazy crap hung off these things (antennae, fairings, unruly passengers, DD flight attendants, cheap coach seats after row 192...etc).  Winglets are standard on some production aircraft and optional upgrades on others.  Many companys offer retrofit kits for older planes.  The most common are for the 737 and 727.  First plane to have it commercially was the Learjet 28/29 corporate jet.  Many airlines are retrofitting their planes with them to increase the fuel effeciency of their fleet.  It all comes down to wing design as to why some new planes have them and some don't.  

Cheers    

[flyinlow]

DD Flight attendants....  Thats just parasitic drag I will have to live with 

[68RRFlyer]

Yeah, but unfortunately they are a very scarce commodity due to hiring practices as of late, if you know what I'm trying to say to you.    We have some FAs here that have been with us longer than I've been on the planet!

Cheers and keep the blue side up! 

[flyinlow]

Roger that.   

[mopar73]

Yeah, but unfortunately they are a very scarce commodity due to hiring practices as of late, if you know what I'm trying to say to you.    We have some FAs here that have been with us longer than I've been on the planet!

Cheers and keep the blue side up! 

Your preaching to the choir here I used to fly for midwest and we had FA's that served coffee to Orville and Wilbur

[AKcharger]

Is this them?

[mopar73]

I could only have been that lucky

[AKcharger]

Just got the shots from the 737's, a little better quality, I'm in the rear window of the Astra jet if you look hard enough

[AKcharger]

Here's some bonus photo's. Had a professional photographer out last year to do some shots, put them on the same disk