Grumman, the people that made the planes 12 SEPT 2010

[The Inspector]

ZTEX,
"STOOF WITH A ROOF" WF-2 also know as a Willy Fudd

[The Inspector]

in 2393 it appears thhat146416 saved herself after being given back to the taxpayers, can we assume rebuilt and returned to service?


2406 an OV-1 and is that the prototype Hummer at the hanger doors?

Does anybody have more pictures or info on the interesting looking A3D on the left edge of photo 2403?

You may already know this, but the "ST" stands for "Service Test" and shows that the A3D belongs to Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River.

There is a photo of this aircraft in Bruce Cunningham's book "Douglas A3D Skywarrior; Part One; Design/Structures/Testing" in the Ginter Naval Fighters series (#45.) It is on page 101 and is identified there as A3D-1 buno 135431 and is in all-blue paint with an orange stripe on the forward fuselage. The radome is dark in the book's photo, unlike in 2403.

[hawkeye52]

Pix 2401 & 2414: these were taken on the Plant 2 ramp, NOT "behind Plt 5".
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Great pix, AJ.

Do you have E-2/C-2 & A-6 pix in the lineup?
- H52

[armyjunk2]

Hawkeye, its sorta strange to me but the photographs seem to run out with the later airplanes, I was at the Grumman Archives one day with my friend Leo and I was looking for Albatross photographs. They had very few and no detail shots like these of the early planes, just a few stock photos. Maybe the Archives didn't get the newer photos....but I really don't know what happened...We do have a few E-2/C-2 & A-6 pix.

Does anyone have any trouble viewing these? I have a friend that says he has never been able to see the photos, just a little box with an "X" in it where the photos should be. Turned out he was using a Government computer and it was blocking the photos.......

a few more

2416


2417


2418


2419


2420

[NC_Rotorhead]

Thank you "Junk" for another great photostory.

Regards
Steve

[armyjunk2]

some more F-14's


What's going on in this photo?
2421


2422


2423


2425


2426


2427


2428


2429


2430


2431


2432


2433


2434


2435


2436


2437


2438


2439


2440


2441


2442


2443


2444


2445


2446


2447


2448


2449

[Mr Widgeon]

Photo 2421 is a sequence of take off shots probably to determine the departure and initial climb angle.
Others may know more.

[Bill Walker]

Photo 2421 shows a pretty standard technique for measuring takeoff performance. Known points on the ground would be surveyed, and could be used to calibrate info in the picture. Before the test run some junior test engineer got to carry a 50 foot pole down the runway center line while pictures were shot, so the vertical axis was calibrated as well. Thus you can accurately determine the lift off point, and the point at which the aircraft passes 50 feet altitude. Knowing the starting point, you then have the 2 important take off distances. Knowing the frame rate, you can also determine aircraft ground speed at any point during the take off (distance between frames / time between frames = speed), and acceleration. The same basic method can be used for landing distances.

The basic technique is often called "the screen method", since sometimes a transparent screen with a grid marked on it is placed in front of the camera for the calibration shots and the test runs.

When I started doing this in 1976, we used a Super 8 movie camera, and projected the film frame by frame on the design office wall, in the evening, with all the lights out. I used a tape measure to locate the aircraft in each frame. I also got to carry the pole down the runway. I bet Grumman had a bigger test budget than we did, and probably used a more sophisticated data extraction method .

[hawkeye52]

Excellent, AJ. Continued thanks for your continued dedication.

- H52

[armyjunk2]

A few more F14's

2450


2451


2452


2453


2454


2455


2456


2457


2458


2459


2460


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2463


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2465


2466


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2469


2470


2471 I have no idea why this is here...


2472

[Holedigger]

Just too cool! Making advanced Jet Fighters out of plywood! Was this one of the last "modern" fighters mocked up in plywood before assembly production began? CADD is a wonderful tool, but there is just something about having a fullscale right in front of you to look at!

[Bill Walker]

Now, if all that wood is balsa, and you get a REALLY big rubber band.....

[armyjunk2]

It seems the more things change sometimes, the more they stay the same.

[Larry Kraus]

Since nobody else seems to be ready to mention it,I will.In photo 2458 of the wooden mock up,it appears that Grumman was still thinking about using a single massive vertical stabilizer and rudder.I think that I remember seeing an early conceptual drawing of the F-14 in that form somewhere.

I haven't mentioned since the initial TBM pictures how much I appreciate Army Junk's efforts in posting this priceless photo history.Thanks again A.J.