IL-2 Flies in US

[51fixer]

Just sae on FB Steve Hinton flew the FHC IL-2 for the 1st time.
1st flight ever in the US of this type.

[spookythecat]

It sure did and I was lucky to be off today. After catching the last Super Guppy flight to the Museum of Flight I made Paine Field with 3 minutes to spare.

Whole flight couldn't have been more than 20 minutes. A real laid back takeoff and then about 5 wide circles of the field and gentle landing. Sounded like things went well and only a couple runups were done in the afternoon. I guess it needs 10 hours for phase one of the flight testing and it's expected to fly some tomorrow.

Here are a few pics.

[JDK]

Thanks for the pics, Al!

Funny to think it's taken so long for the most numerous type of W.W.II to make it to the skies of the US... Did any IL-10s get flown postwar in America?

Regards,

[Courier Sportster]

what an interesting profile as seen from below. great pic of hinton in the leather helmet and goggles. now, please help out, what are the small lines in the front canopy glass, a diamond shape and also on the sides, straight lines? for aiming? bulletproof extra panes? i'd never even have the chance to ask if not for the HD photography of this day and age

[k5083]

Thanks for the pics, Al!

Funny to think it's taken so long for the most numerous type of W.W.II to make it to the skies of the US... Did any IL-10s get flown postwar in America?

Regards,

I believe the answer is yes, one was captured during the Korean war and eval'd at Wright Field, along with a Yak-9. Unfortunately both machines were horse-traded back to their former owners rather than reserved for museum display.

This is a great development. Previous buzz about the work needed seemed to suggest it would be much longer before we saw the Il-2 fly here, so a nice surprise.

August

[Dan K]

Thanks for the pics, Al!

Funny to think it's taken so long for the most numerous type of W.W.II to make it to the skies of the US... Did any IL-10s get flown postwar in America?

Regards,

I believe the answer is yes, one was captured during the Korean war and eval'd at Wright Field, along with a Yak-9. Unfortunately both machines were horse-traded back to their former owners rather than reserved for museum display.


August

To clarify August's comments just a bit, it would appear that two IL-10s were captured by US forces at Kimpo.


http://arizonawrecks.com/images/600_IL- ... 1_RART.jpg


Cornell Aeronautical Labs put one back in airworthy shape, and both were then shipped to Wright.

But I'm simply mooching details from:

http://arizonawrecks.com/wrecksfrombradgray/il10.html

Last edited by Dan K on Fri Aug 10, 2012 10:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

[mike furline]

Kimpo, Sept. 1950



Wright-Pat, Sept. 1951

[StangStung]

Hot da#n!

That is awesome.

Thanks for the pics Al and Mike.

Never knew the USAF got its hands on an Il-10. Cool.

[Fight2FlyPhoto]

Great photos Al!!

I was there as well and shot video of the occasion!

Startup, taxi, takeoff, and landing of first flight:
http://youtu.be/NXejUgnxQps?hd=1

Longer version includes video of engine runs of the IL-2, first flight, and engine runs of the Bf-109:
http://youtu.be/EAKDF7mO0Tc?hd=1

Today she flew a total of four times. Never gets old seeing that thing fly! Simply AMAZING!

[The Inspector]

that ALLISON sounded mighty nice too!

[JDK]

Thanks for the IL-10 answers, folks. Nice to have someone else do the research and sit back, relax...

8) that ALLISON sounded mighty nice too!

Yesssss. But. Wouldn't a Mikulin AM-38 sound a lot cooler? (It'd be unique as a flyer, for one.)

Thing is, after all the FHC's fuss over 'total authenticity', several of the FHC's aircraft are airworthy with non-original type engines. Given I quite agree that the choice is probably an authentic-engined non-flyer or this, quite reasonable compromise, none of us would complain - I'm not doing so, I just get a bit less accepting of the absolute authenticity standards sermon.

Regards,

[shepsair]

James,

Would be nice to finish of the Il-2. Could get the serial number stenciled on the undercarriage cover to the leading edge, rocket rails for RS132 and RS82 rockets and even bombs.

An original Mikulin would be nice and hopefully the one recently recovered and being restored for Vadim will be powered by an original. The one recovered has a great history and some great photos of Il-2 from the unit. Know its side number and also have copies of the pilots log book.

Hopefully be flying by 2014 - 70's anniversary of liberation of Finmark and Norway.

regards

Mark

[JDK]

Thanks Mark. Yes to all that. Despite the fuss over some types, the Il-2 is of unarguable import in W.W.II's history, and needs greater profile in the warbird world. Where's mine?

[The Inspector]

Thanks for the IL-10 answers, folks. Nice to have someone else do the research and sit back, relax...

8) that ALLISON sounded mighty nice too!

Yesssss. But. Wouldn't a Mikulin AM-38 sound a lot cooler? (It'd be unique as a flyer, for one.)

Thing is, after all the FHC's fuss over 'total authenticity', several of the FHC's aircraft are airworthy with non-original type engines. Given I quite agree that the choice is probably an authentic-engined non-flyer or this, quite reasonable compromise, none of us would complain - I'm not doing so, I just get a bit less accepting of the absolute authenticity standards sermon.

Regards,

JDK,
I completely agree, but in spite of building 36000+ airframes, it seems like it's easier to locate a running Maybach for the LZ-29 than a Mikulin, and the airplane has a left hand rotation prop and last time I looked, the only V-12 in that category that was readily available seems to be a left side P-38 ALLISON, plus the Indiana tractor motor sounds more like what you might expect from ground attack aircraft deep and guttural.

[JDK]

I completely agree,...

Good oh.

...but in spite of building 36000+ airframes, it seems like it's easier to locate a running Maybach for the LZ-29 than a Mikulin,...

Indeed. But see above...

...plus the Indiana tractor motor sounds more like what you might expect from ground attack aircraft deep and guttural.

And that's the other crux of the point. 'What you might expect' is remarkably often just wrong. Fact is, you and I and everyone under about 50 has no real idea of what an Il-2 really sounds like - we've never heard one, and this great restoration may sound roughly accurate, but may also not.

One of the key points or authentically restoring aircraft to fly is to be able to revive, to some degree, what they were actually like; and like a fixed radial in a W.W.I era rotary-powered machine, it might be a fun way to go fly, but it ain't authentic.

But of course, it's a lot more complicated than that. Actually a lot of what a W.W.II era aircraft sounds like is to do with peripherals and airframe, rather than the actual engine itself, remarkably enough. If you've ever heard a pair of Mustangs, one with gun ports, one without, you'll notice only one has a whistle. Most of the engine noise we hear from the ground is actually exhaust; so a Merlin with three-stub exhausts vs a Merlin with six has a completely different sound (the three stub is much deeper, more of a bass note). There's no Merlin flying with a long tube or shrouded exhaust, as Mosquitoes or Lancasters flew; but the difference between the straight out ports on the Hawker biplane RR Kestrels flying in the UK is a world different to the much more muted sound off the long-pipe car style exhaust on the Hawker Demon. Prop, supercharger, ducting (or not) reduction gear or contraprop gear all have an element to an aircraft's sound. Unsurprisingly, a Hispano Buchon with a Merlin sounds completely different to a 109E or G. So...

...the probability is this sounds about 'right' - the prop configuration, exhaust setup, cowl and aircraft's configuration (ports etc.) all are the same or near enough original. And that's great.

But we don't KNOW.

Regards,