Recent content by bf109xxl

The uniform is typical for the Soviet border troops in the 1960s. The red star is present - the image is heavily retouched, but you can still recognize it on the rear hatch flap behind the bright emblem. Unfortunately, the green color of the caps and shoulder straps is completely distorted. This...

I did not interest in the development history of the H-19 and I'm too lazy right now to search for information on it. But I'm curious, whether Sikorsky encountered flutter of the main rotor blades on this helicopter? It was one of the most dangerous surprises during Mi-4 testing, and the history...

It is undoubtedly Mi-4. I can even imagine the caption under the photo: "Soviet border guards in pursuit of a state border violator".

Then you must love the Mi-4 about twice as much.

Early M-105 - 570-580, PF - 600/620 (according to different sources), PF2 had only minor differences from PF - the weight in principle could not change appreciably..

Already M-105P/PF operated at 2700 rpm at higher altitudes - I can post scans (in Russian) if necessary. M-105PF2 was not _much_ heavier - the difference between 105PA/PF/PF2 was rather negligible (600-620 kg, the PA could be converted into the PF during repair). Indeed, only the M-107A was...

However, it is a Mach2 front-line bomber with a 1,500 kg bomb load and ski landing gear for landing on unpaved airfields according to a design proposed in 1959.

I highly doubt that the Germans could be interested in an engine with a 20 hour service life (a typical value for the M-82FN in 1944), even if airplanes powered by it demonstrated relatively good flight performance.

This guy didn't stop there. Here's one of his latest true Jedi projects.

The VK-108 had no chance of mass production before 1947 (and rather had no chance at all). It had a large number of serious flaws caused by overheating. As a result, Klimov abandoned its refinement in favor of jet engines. Why? The injection system was a copy of the BOSCH one. In reality, the...

Aerodynamically perfect canopy. Surprisingly, the pilots didn't appreciate it.

From "Stalin's Falcons: Exposing the Myth of Soviet Aerial Superiority Over the Luftwaffe in WW2" by Dmitry Zubov, Air World, 2024. The book is mainly devoted to the realities of the development of Soviet aviation under the Stalinist regime, which left behind many myths. I've flipped through the...

Thnx. Seems that neither the layout of the cutouts on the instrument panel nor the presence of the additional landing gear warning light cannot be used as unambiguous indicators of the P-40 model.

With all due respect, a photo of the instrument panel of a clearly identified P-40F/L with the same compass location would be appreciated. Then the attribution of the panel to the P-40F/L model would be quite reasonable. I am not a P-40 expert, but so far I have never seen such a photo.