Aircraft, Glider and Balloon Pics - Anything real, military or civil, that flies!

[Kevin WS]

Here is another plane not maybe seen too often in the West - a Xian MA60.

This was grounded due to lack of spares just after I took the photo (2006) - after about only 6 months service.

It was never re-registered so is assumed to be scrap now.

[Kevin WS]

If cows could fly!

A Boeing Boeing 737-436.

[Don Boose]

You see some rare birds, Kevin.

Don

[maurice]

Originally Posted by Kevin WS

I have searched all over the internet and the "T" (cargo) versions all have a sharp tail in every photo I can find. See pics 1 and 2 - harder to see, Don, in the pics you reference.

The military versions carry a turret and have a different tail. See pics 3 and 4.

Pic 5 shows the blown up tail from my pic.

Clearly labeled a "T" but not with the right tail. I cannot find a "T" version on the Internet like this. I doubt it is unique, which is why I was wondering if it is a military version with a "T" painted on it!

But at this stage I give up! Hopefully there is an expert here with an answer...

Looking at those pictures my ffho is that it's definitely an ex-military with
the minimum metal work necessary to fair the gunner's station into
the tail fin and fuselage top. The spherical gun shield appears to have
been retained, presumably with the gun ports blanked over. The two
little "fin things" under the tail also seem to still be there.

[Kevin WS]

Thanks for your input Maurice - appreciated. Confirms what I was suspecting.

[Kevin WS]

I put this link here - a manual push-back!

https://youtu.be/XTN4FhlvwX8

An interesting video as it shows a "can do" attitude that is today, unfortunately, becoming rarer and rarer.

[Mike1158]

Not an expert but I know a large number of transport aircraft were simple taken over by their crews when the Soviet Union fell apart. It is possible that some still survive with modifications to remove military equipment, perhaps this is why the designation is unusual. Apparently nobody in government was particularly interested in missing military equipment/stores and it kept food on the tables of crews and their families.

[Kevin WS]

Sounds good Mike. Thanks.

I was wondering, in view of the fact the reg markings were a bit obscure, that maybe this was a Govt aircraft of some sort with the 'F" painted on the nose so it appears to be more civilian? But that's just a probably (not very good) guess!

[Mike1158]

With the confusing variety of spec's and marking, not to mention the erratic policies of the current regime, could just be the case. Black ops of all nations rely on many methods of ingress and egress when conducting training and operations.

[Don Boose]

While working on an aviation research project, I came upon this image in the U.S. Naval Institute files. It is a closeup of the gondola of a U.S. Navy non-rigid airship photographed on 1 October 1918, probably on the French coast. I was fascinated by the appearance of the device, all the paraphernalia, and its resemblance to some steam punk concepts.

Potential paper model subject?

The source is a U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings article from 1919 on naval aviation, which also included the image of Curtiss H-16 flying boat 1070 (Lieut. Commander H. T. Bartlett, U. S. Navy, "Mission of Aircraft with the Fleet," USNI Proceedings, May 1919, Vol. 45/5/195, available at https://www.usni.org/magazines/proce...aircraft-fleet).

Don