Origins of Aviation Cliches

[Noha307]

I am pretty sure I first saw "brrrt" (the number of Rs undoubtedly a few more than I've typed!) in a magazine article as far back as the 1980s or 1990s - it is such an apt description! I'd point the finger of blame at Stephan Wilkinson writing for Pilot as he was ever the author of a memorable turn of phrase, but it honestly could have been anyone in an entirely different journal!

Always appreciative of comments like this. After all, you don't know what you don't know.

Anyway, it's not surprising the "word" has a long history given that just about any rotary cannon makes the same noise.

Bathroom Warning

Cheekily-worded signs posted above a urinal or toilet instructing pilots to stand close to said lavatory fixture are nothing new to me, but I guess I had always assumed it was a recent trend. Apparently not so according to a post in r/aviation I coincidentally came across only a day or two after my last post above. The picture shows one such sign at a "local flying club" at Kamloops Airport that reads:

WILL THE PILOTS WITH SHORT
PROPS & LOW MANIFOLD
PRESSURE PLEASE TAXI
CLOSER TO THE UNLOADING
RAMP AS THE NEXT PILOT
MAY NOT BE ON FLOATS...
       'the Girls'

What makes it interesting however is that the handwritten font, style of picture frame and water stains on the paper indicate that it has been in place for an indeterminate, yet long period of time. I would not be surprised if it dates to the 1960s or 70s.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Nope, not me. But I appreciate the compliment.

[JohnB]

Nope, not me. But I appreciate the compliment.

Stephen, good to see you're back. It has been awhile.
John

[Noha307]

Airshow Spectator Steals an Airplane

Although the idea of a novice unexpectedly jumping in and taking off in an airplane at an airshow is now most well known to be performed by Kyle Franklin in his Ben Whabnoski Comedy Act, it is actually far, far older:

At many air shows he was noted for an act of which variations are still seen at air shows today. Quite often during one of these early air shows there would be an elderly woman thrilled with the spectacle of flight, walking around among the airplanes. She would always receive more than her share of attention because it would be necessary for the local police to escort her off the field, for her own safety. Often the announcer would politely ask the little old lady to leave the field. Some time during the event, the announcer would direct everyone's attention to a particularly important aerial display. When every eye was riveted on the airplanes in the sky, the little old lady would find her way into the cockpit of an airplane whose engine was quietly ticking over. Inadvertently she would ram home the throttle and make a daring and risky takeoff. The aerial display would immediately be forgotten and all eyes would be directed toward the little old lady in the airplane. There would be dives, slips, skids and steep turns, and the airplane would disappear behind a row of trees. Women would swoon and men would grow faint. Finally, after the announcer had lost his composure a dozen times, knowing that the poor little old lady would surely be killed, the airplane would come slipping in to a beautiful perfect landing, taxi up to the line, and out would jump the little old lady! She would peel off her wig revealing the incomparable Lincoln Beachy, the "greatest of them all."

(Source: Ted G. Misenhimer, Aeroscience: Basic Textbook for Aeroscience Courses (Culver City, California: Aero Products Research, 1970), 653-654.)

Note that this act would have had even greater impact in the era of barnstorming, when many of the people in the small towns that they visited could have legitimately claimed to have never seen an airplane before.

B-52 with Warp Nacelles

Remarks about the age of the B-52 are, appropriately, nothing new. However, extrapolating the aircraft's future service from that a bit is. For example, the use of names like "Centuryfortress" alludes to the growing awareness of the aircraft's potential for future service. (Contrast with the use of the "Stratosaurus" name.) This likely originated with statements such as those made in a 2007 Air Force Magazine article that the "USAF plans to keep a large number of these eight-engine airplanes until 2040". One way this has been popularly portrayed is by depicting the aircraft with it's engine pylons replaced with warp nacelles from Star Trek. It seems that this concept was derived from a 2008 comic attributed to "ALX & CF". However, it laid dormant for many years until the early 2020s, when it began appearing in photoshopped images on reddit and Facebook. The reemergence of the meme is likely tied to both speculation about the announcement of a new "B-52J" designation for the reengining program as well as the creation of the Space Force in 2019. Interestingly, the concept of an old strategic bomber flying alongside Starfleet starships - albeit with the original engines still installed - extends to foreign aircraft as well. A comic posted as early as 2018 shows a Tu-95 in the same circumstances.

This joke may be found paired with a copypasta about a soldier using a M2 machine gun on Mars, only for him to look down and see that it has markings indicating it was used in World War II and then adding his own.