Warbird Information Exchange

...well its 2 stories anyway!

a thing of beauty!

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

It's a loading trainer being sent from Ahhneyland to Dover for loadmaster training on the Moose-at least according to FRONTIERS which is Boeings self back slapping magazine.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

So are they transporting it overland the whole way, or loading it on a ship?

SN

"OVERSIZE LOAD"

Understatement of the year?

Dean the amazed

It was moved from Long Beach to Seal Beach by road, then by barge to the east coast, then by road again to its final destination. This fuselage is part of an entire plane (that never flew) that was used for dedicated ground testing of the C-17 design. Problems uncovered in the ground testing were incorporated into the production C-17 aircraft.

The fuselage will now be used as a trainer for aircraft loading as I recall.

OK...Training equipment. But what's with all the vent pipes that look like some sort of ducting for heaters. And the DORMER on the aft section?

Mudge the amazed

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Land of the free because of the brave

A/C ducting. It gets hot in there!!!!

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S.

Ill bet it WAS for HVAC as it gets hot in those things

Usually that sort of duct work is for pressurization/cycles tests. The fuselage is pretty much filled up with high density foam blocks to displace volume inside so the fuselage can be run up to altitude quickly (usually in a couple of minutes) to design pressure. The unit is inspected at set cycle numbers for cracking, failure points and door issues. then off it goes on another cycle of pressurization testing until either 'life' is reached, or a failure occurs. If it's a structures or S.O.F. related issue, the cartoonists go back to work and devise a repair or stiffening of the failed area.
This airframe appears to be the fatigue test airframe and putting it to use as a training aid is a much better usage than turning it into lawn furniture.
We use the outer right wing and stub from T 9996 as a training aid on 787 instruction, that is the wing you see being tested to destruction when the 767 was being certified. The parts sat outside in the graveyard for over 25 years until dragged in for training purposes. looking inside @ the damage done during the 'pull up' testing is a real eye opener followed by an imense sense of comfort at just how much of the structure is still intact.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

in Solana Beach built by that ex-centric artist type guy

A fellow in Australia (possibly New Zealand, I forget) put a C-47 fuselage on a truck frame and made a very nice motorhome many years ago.

S

This one?

http://www.planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=112340

There was also a DC-3 forward fuse made into a rolling Space Shuttle replica.

Yes, the ducts were for pressurizing the aircraft and the straps on the side are where the airfame was pulled on with hydraulic actuators to simulate flight loads.

Most USAF aircraft are tested to an equivalent of 2 lifetimes for fatigue damage, the C-17 was tested to 3 lifetimes.

I'd own and drive that with pride!