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Sagebrush posted:If I were a tech billionaire I would buy an old Catalina, rebuild the interior into a beautiful classy yacht/living space (there were a few similar conversions made in the 1950s), have it re-engined with turboprops, and spend like six months a year flying from lake to lake around the world. Oh, George Clooney has a place on Lake Como? Well so will I, tomorrow, but today I'm on Lake Geneva. It has to be in the Qantas Empire Airways livery.
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Jul 29, 2019 18:49
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Sagebrush posted:If I were a tech billionaire I would buy an old Catalina, rebuild the interior into a beautiful classy yacht/living space (there were a few similar conversions made in the 1950s), have it re-engined with turboprops, and spend like six months a year flying from lake to lake around the world. Oh, George Clooney has a place on Lake Como? Well so will I, tomorrow, but today I'm on Lake Geneva.  I'd also try to break the biplane speed record (323 MPH) because that seems like something achievable by someone willing to pay Scaled Composites a few million
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Jul 29, 2019 19:00
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Sagebrush posted:That article is from 2017 so unless there's been some new news recently, I can summarize it here: It's a flying megayacht. Those Russian oligarchs parked up in Monaco probably couldn't even find the bridge on those things, they have people who have people who do the dirty work of actually operating the things.
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Jul 29, 2019 19:43
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FuturePastNow posted:
Yeah but if you let Scaled have their way it'll come out all 
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Jul 29, 2019 19:48
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Sagebrush posted:If I were a tech billionaire I would buy an old Catalina, rebuild the interior into a beautiful classy yacht/living space (there were a few similar conversions made in the 1950s), have it re-engined with turboprops, and spend like six months a year flying from lake to lake around the world. Oh, George Clooney has a place on Lake Como? Well so will I, tomorrow, but today I'm on Lake Geneva. I think I'd go the restomod approach and commission a new CL-415 - or a US-2. Now I assume the new airship is to be modern, but that "largest aircraft of all time" thing is...wow, he's going for it
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Jul 29, 2019 20:27
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Sagebrush posted:If I were a tech billionaire I would buy an old Catalina, rebuild the interior into a beautiful classy yacht/living space (there were a few similar conversions made in the 1950s), have it re-engined with turboprops, and spend like six months a year flying from lake to lake around the world. Just stay away from Saudi Arabia. https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/all-aboard-the-flying-yacht-circa-1950/
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Jul 29, 2019 21:13
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Nebakenezzer posted:I think I'd go the restomod approach and commission a new CL-415 - or a US-2.
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Jul 29, 2019 21:56
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Plus neither of those have the amazing observation blisters on the rear fuselage.     more here https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/all-aboard-the-flying-yacht-circa-1950/
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Jul 29, 2019 22:16
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Ardeem posted:If you want (and can afford a flying yacht) go for something classy that already is one. Quoting myself because 
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Jul 29, 2019 22:37
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The Cousteaus had a Catalina they used as a flying research base, too, until it killed one of them. I have dreams of using a Beriev Be-200 for similar purposes.
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Jul 29, 2019 23:02
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Nebakenezzer posted:I think I'd go the restomod approach and commission a new CL-415 - or a US-2. A US-2 is the correct answer. I’d order mine right after I secured a candidate airframe for my B-36 return-to-flight project.
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Jul 29, 2019 23:39
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MrYenko posted:A US-2 is the correct answer. I’d order mine right after I secured a candidate airframe for my B-36 return-to-flight project. I'd be very willing to bet the Japanese would be very willing to add waist blisters, for a reasonable fee. It won't sound like a pair of war era radials though. 
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Jul 29, 2019 23:49
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Timmy Age 6 posted:The Cousteaus had a Catalina they used as a flying research base, too, until it killed one of them. Killed by a detached propeller, I bet that made a mess.
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Jul 30, 2019 00:00
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How has nobody posted the re-engined Do.24?
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Jul 30, 2019 02:50
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Totally down with the Catalina idea. Has one ever been a turbine re-engined? Probably not. That Cousteau story could serve as a good reminder not to shift the engines forward, as that would put the propeller radius on an even better pilot-slicing path. Better preserve C of G by spending the saved weight on some well placed creature comforts. "Ah yes, the marble toilet in the nose, hand cut in Carrara that one."
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Jul 30, 2019 09:50
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:How has nobody posted the re-engined Do.24?
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Jul 30, 2019 10:22
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evil_bunnY posted:good looks but nazi pedigree It was actually designed for the Dutch (but later used by the Nazi's indeed, primarily for SAR).
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Jul 30, 2019 10:30
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Molentik posted:It was actually designed for the Dutch (but later used by the Nazi's indeed, primarily for SAR). Dornier does win for best reg ever put on an amphibian ever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Seastar#/media/File:Dornier_Seastar_Wolfgangsee.jpg
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Jul 30, 2019 11:30
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Sagebrush posted:Yes. Google X/Alphabet/whatever owns an Alpha Jet which they use for "research," which means it lives at Moffett and is leased to NASA 350 days a year because an advertising company, even one as scatterbrained as Google, can't actually come up with a business case for a fighter jet. The other two weeks of the year it is being flown around by a hired pilot with Sergey, Larry, or some other rich gently caress in the passenger seat. Moffett is the most desirable tarmac in the world because of the number of tech billionaires who live nearby, but there is absolutely no-way, no-how, not-ever-going-to-happen, never-ever get permission to lease space there from NASA for any reason whatsoever. NASA could probably double their budget with the amount of money offered to them to park G-VIs there, but they refuse to permit it at all. ...except if you lease NASA an aircraft... Google is the only company allowed to park their private jets there. I don't think they give a gently caress about the L-39, just so long as it qualifies them for the parking space for their gulfstreams. Having a parking space at Moffett is how billionaires compare penises. And by that metric, even Gates, Musk (and Jobs when he was alive) are pussies. Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Jul 30, 2019 |
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Jul 30, 2019 11:31
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It's never been said before but the Blackjack is...pretty big 
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Jul 30, 2019 14:04
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Ultimate rich guy flex would be a civvie B-52.
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Jul 30, 2019 14:07
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holocaust bloopers posted:Ultimate rich guy flex would be a civvie XB-70. Ftfy
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Jul 30, 2019 14:25
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Can anyone identify the aircraft in this picture? It looks like a Sabre D, but the nose, canopy, and gear are all wrong. The picture's from a Japanese car nostalgia board, but that's not the JASDF roundel. 
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Jul 30, 2019 15:24
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Fiat G.91, probably an Italian roundel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_G.91
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Jul 30, 2019 15:28
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ManifunkDestiny posted:Fiat G.91, probably an Italian roundel Grazie.
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Jul 30, 2019 15:32
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Nebakenezzer posted:It's never been said before I really wish the Il-76 had a bird nickname but I didn’t find one
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Jul 30, 2019 16:03
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Timmy Age 6 posted:
That's my dream jet right there. We built a couple BBQ pits for West Coast Customs, they could deck it out party-bus style.
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Jul 30, 2019 16:10
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holocaust bloopers posted:Ultimate rich guy flex would be a civvie B-52. I always thought a civilian C-17 would be cool, so roomy.
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Jul 30, 2019 17:10
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Nebakenezzer posted:It's never been said before   The B-1 is pretty big, too. I think the fighterish shape tricks our brains into thinking it's smaller. FuturePastNow fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Jul 30, 2019 |
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Jul 30, 2019 17:27
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Captain Postal posted:Moffett is the most desirable tarmac in the world because of the number of tech billionaires who live nearby, but there is absolutely no-way, no-how, not-ever-going-to-happen, never-ever get permission to lease space there from NASA for any reason whatsoever. NASA could probably double their budget with the amount of money offered to them to park G-VIs there, but they refuse to permit it at all. Moffett has has a fully equipped FBO with everything from start carts to cabin cleaning, there's a straightforward online process to request a landing permit, and they publish an extensive schedule of landing and ramp fees. It's true that only Googlers get to park their jet at NUQ, but anyone can land their Gulfstream there for a meeting in the Valley if they call ahead. Of course, just because of logistics, they can only support operations with corporate jets and larger aircraft. It's certainly not anything about trying to keep out the GA riffraff. It simply isn't possible for us to handle anything smaller than six seats or maintain an Avgas truck, so no, Mr. PPL, we will have to deny your request to do a touch-and-go in your C150. You understand.... excerpt from landing fee schedule: 
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Jul 30, 2019 17:36
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FuturePastNow posted:
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no photos I can find of the two aircraft side by side, but the Tu-160 is substantially larger, especially if you look at it from the top down. You're not kidding about the fighterish shape playing tricks. I didn't realize that the Tu-160 was actually longer than the B-52. The thing is enormous.  Source Side by side 1:72 scale models Source
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Jul 30, 2019 19:29
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Timmy Age 6 posted:Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no photos I can find of the two aircraft side by side, but the Tu-160 is substantially larger, especially if you look at it from the top down. You're not kidding about the fighterish shape playing tricks. I didn't realize that the Tu-160 was actually longer than the B-52. The thing is enormous. As shown in that picture theres also the backfire which is bone sized with a similar profile to the blackjack to confuse things further.
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Jul 30, 2019 19:32
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Timmy Age 6 posted:Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no photos I can find of the two aircraft side by side, but the Tu-160 is substantially larger, especially if you look at it from the top down. You're not kidding about the fighterish shape playing tricks. I didn't realize that the Tu-160 was actually longer than the B-52. The thing is enormous. Oh yeah. Also, on the subject of shapes creating deceptive sizes, the B-52 in photos looks bigger than it is because of its very narrow fuselage and relatively tiny engines. If you're just used to looking at airliners, at least.
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Jul 30, 2019 20:15
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Sagebrush posted:Moffett has has a fully equipped FBO with everything from start carts to cabin cleaning, there's a straightforward online process to request a landing permit, and they publish an extensive schedule of landing and ramp fees. It's true that only Googlers get to park their jet at NUQ, but anyone can land their Gulfstream there for a meeting in the Valley if they call ahead. bing bong just buy an SR22, don't be a poor PPL in a poors only Cessna
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Jul 30, 2019 20:43
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I was flying the pattern the other day in a 152, doing just fine, when a guy in a Cirrus came in and then just after touching down called the tower to make a PIREP for low-level wind shear. The tower asked for info, he reported 10kn loss on short final as he came over the fence, tower goes "uh, alright, that's expected and normal here due to the building beside the runway."  Many of the instructors at the flight school don't really think much of Cirruses either. One described it as the new Bonanza, for doctors with the money to buy a fancy plane but not the time to learn to fly it well
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Jul 30, 2019 21:02
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My rich-guy flex would be somehow getting a Boeing 314 built, re-engined with turboprops, and skinned in aluminum vs. the original canvas.
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Jul 30, 2019 21:59
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Sagebrush posted:I was flying the pattern the other day in a 152, doing just fine, when a guy in a Cirrus came in and then just after touching down called the tower to make a PIREP for low-level wind shear. The tower asked for info, he reported 10kn loss on short final as he came over the fence, tower goes "uh, alright, that's expected and normal here due to the building beside the runway." Cirrus also used "easy to fly" in their marketing, like this is a capable machine but it doesn't take much work to learn it. General aviation's kiss of death. Ola fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Jul 30, 2019 |
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Jul 30, 2019 22:04
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Timmy Age 6 posted:You're not kidding about the fighterish shape playing tricks. I didn't realize that the Tu-160 was actually longer than the B-52. The thing is enormous. The 767 is like this in pictures too because it has similar proportions as an A320 or 737. Normal looking two engine jet:  Until you get a human for scale: 
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Jul 30, 2019 22:10
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I flew on a United 777 earlier this month. It felt like being in a airplane movie set. Absolutely enormous.
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Jul 30, 2019 23:00
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holocaust bloopers posted:I flew on a United 777 earlier this month. It felt like being in a airplane movie set. Absolutely enormous. I flew on a BA 777 and it felt tiny after the 747.
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Jul 30, 2019 23:05
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