Live Fire Ball Turret

Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:39 am

Holy crap, look at this! A working ball turret owned (?) by the Stockon Field Aviation Museum.

Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4GS1PND7pA

Last edited by Django on Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:47 am

Isn't that one of Taigh Raimey's projects?

Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:49 am

SWEET!!

Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:54 am

Sweetness, if we could just talk the museums into setting this up in their B-17's. $400 for a ride, an extra $1000 if you want to shoot something!!!

Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:52 am

And you think you have FAA issues now! Add live .50 cals to the mix and they won't let you fly a paper airplane! :wink:

Would be a bit of fun though!!

Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:05 pm

There was an SNJ for sale last year on Courtesy Aircraft with a working 30 cal in the fuselage. The aircraft carried an ATF permit. I guess it's ok, so long as nobody abuses it.

Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:55 pm

P-40 live fire on this thread if you missed it
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... hp?t=20793

Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:44 pm

It was blanks though, right? :?:

Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:57 pm

The P-40? It was my understanding it was blanks they fired, but lots of brass raining down,,,pretty cool

Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:41 pm

Holedigger wrote:The P-40? It was my understanding it was blanks they fired, but lots of brass raining down,,,pretty cool

I concur on the coolness of raining brass...

It's hard not to like those gun flashes on the leading edge as well. :wink:

Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:48 pm

I have heard an F-84F going thru bore sighting of its six .50s. The racket was nothing like the sounds you hear via video, etc. May have added a bit to the tinitus which now haunts me. Uncle Sam did not issue ear protection to me, so I didn't think there was any need............
BTW, tinitus or not, I would PAY to see/hear it again now that 44 years have passed. :roll:

Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:43 pm

Knob creek machine gun shoot and a OH-6A and a M60
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ZCqn5Pel4

Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:57 pm

Mike Dillon, owner of Dillon Precision in Arizona has, I believe, a T-34 with live guns on it. He has a private shooting range and has done many "strafing" runs on the range. NOT blanks, but live ammo. He used to hold quite the machine gun shoot out there. A quad .50 is quite the sight when it is shot at night. The barrels glow a pretty red color after the owner was done shooting.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:47 am

I saw Dillon on a UK television production the other day doing desert stafing runs in his L-29 Delfin. Makes me wonder what kind of hoops the not-so-average guy has to jump through to get BATFE clearance for that! :shock:

The fact that Dillon is a major supplier of weapons (miniguns) to the US armed forces no doubt is a contributing factor.

Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:47 pm

There are no hoops to jump thru to mount a machine gun on your plane, if you own the machine gun legally.The gun mounting is covered in the parts and maint manuals, and as such, are not major modifications to install. You do have to inform the BATF if you are taking the gun out of your home state. You can even fire the gun, as long as you meet FAR 91.15 which covers Dropping objects.
No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.