Re: generational markers (was "Disney's Man In Space")

From: Pat Flannery (flanner_at_daktel.com)
Date: 06/01/04 

Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2004 01:29:47 -0500

OM wrote:

>...So it *was* perspex, then? I'd heard some of Gerry Anderson's
>Supermarionation team referring to perspex as the same stuff the Limey
>Air Farce used for cockpit windows on one occasion, but I never did
>find any online docs to point to this as fact.
>

Damned if I know...it could have been Plexiglas, Isinglass, Cellon, or Lux*.
I was just watching a British movie, and my Episcopalian side took
charge and said: "Why don't you refer to it as Perspex, old bean?" I
have seen multiple references to the use of Perspex in British W.W. II
aircraft; and sort of assumed it was their trade name for
Plexiglas....and I was right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspex
Anyway, the tail bubble on the B-45 had it's problems, and the aircraft
rapidly became unpopular with tail gunners.
It also had a lot of other problems; from:
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/baugher_us/b045-02.html ...
"The B-45 encountered severe operational difficulties. High speeds
affected the gyrocompass adversely, and the E-4 automatic pilot
frequently failed when the bomb doors were open. The emergency brake was
unreliable. Bomb shackles would often become unhooked during certain
maneuvers. Engines would often catch fire when first started because of
an improper aspirator system. The airspeed indicator was often
inaccurate, and the fuel pressure gauges were erratic. Those B-45s with
the AN/APQ-24 bombing/navigation radar system had their own special
problems. The AN/APQ-24 was a maintenance nightmare, and spare parts
were in short supply. Malfunctions of the pressurization pump limited
the altitude at which the system could operate. The radar antenna was
not properly positioned, which limited the coverage of targets."
Add to this the structural forgings that cracked during high speed/low
altitude maneuvers, and motors that needed inspection every 7&1/2 hours
of operation, and complete overhaul every 15.
With the rapid advances in jet aircraft design it didn't have all that
long of an operational life, rapidly getting turned into a recon
aircraft, and then tossed in favor of the beautiful B-47.

Pat

*That's for all you John W. Campbell fans.

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