Saturday, April 12, 2014

Wings Of Freedom

Wings of Freedom Museum
The Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum is owned and operated by the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association (DVHAA). The DVHAA is a non-profit, 501(c)3, all volunteer organization.

I love airplanes and jets.

TV-1 (P-80C) "Shooting Star"
The Lockheed TV-1 (P-80C-1-LO) "Shooting Star" served as a training aircraft for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

Radial Aircraft Engine
Radial engines were popular on fighter planes during World War I. In this type of engine, the crankshaft is mounted on the airplane, while the crankcase and cylinders rotate with the propeller. See how a radial airplane engine works on Animated Engines: Gnome Rotary.

Oh dear, somebody turned one into a Radial Engine Powered Motorcycle.

A10 "Thunderbolt II" GAU-8 "Avenger" gatling gun
My favorite plane is the Fairchild Republic A10 "Thunderbolt II." The A10 was designed not for beauty or speed but for one purpose, to fly an impossibly large and heavy gatling gun around over a battlefield. Because of its looks the A10 is nick-named the Warthog.

The General Electric GAU-8/A "Avenger" is a 30 mm seven-barrel Gatling-type cannon. The gun, feed system and ammo drum weigh an astonishing 2 tons and the whole unit is bigger - and heavier - than a VW Beetle.

The shells are the size of coke bottles and weigh a pound and a half. A full drum adds another 1500+ pounds to the weight of the gun. The projectiles are made of spent uranium which is much denser than lead. The gun sounds very impressive as the A10 flies slowly around over the battlefield.

A10 "Thunderbolt II" armaments
The A10 can carry other ordnance under its wings.

Learn more from the "Great Planes Fairchild Republic A 10 Thunderbolt II Documentary."

2LT James P. Kelly memorial
This bench is a memorial to 2Lt. James P. Kelly, a local boy who died in Vietnam in 1965. .

FJ-4B "Fury" and F9F-2 "Panther"
The North American Aviation FJ-4 "Fury" is a swept-wing carrier-capable fighter-bomber used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Grumman F9F-2 "Panther" was one of the U.S. Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters.

F-84F "Thunderstreak" and UH-34D "Sea Bat"
The Republic F-84F "Thunderstreak" is a swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. This Sikorsky UH-34D "Sea Bat" began as an anti-submarine warfare helicopter but was later reconfigured.

SH-2G "Sea Sprite"
From WingsOfFreedom
The Kaman SH-2G "Super Seasprite" is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting.