Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Halo on March 22, 2004, 07:03:05 PM
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With all the interest in oil leaks in AH2, the question arises What WWII combat aircraft had windshield wipers, and were they or any other system (e.g., the reported 109 fuel spray antidote) effective in clearing oil or other gook off combat aircraft canopies?
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The first recorded use of a windshield wiper on a WWII fighter aircraft was recorded March 23, 1944. 1st Lt. Flynn Stone was flying his P-51B at 23,000 over the Mediterranean Sea when a migrating stork jettisoned his payload directly on to the Mustang windshield.
Fortunately Lt. Stone's mechanic, TSgt. Barney, had installed an unauthorized prototype test windshield wiper for just such a contingency.
Lt. Stone quickly grabbed the wiper control, concealed as Do Not Push, and pushed.
The X-Wiper was found after the war on an apartment building roof in Helsinki.
Lt. Stone was never found. Nor Barney either.
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wtf?
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bad trip.
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What would a stork be doing at 23k?
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Flying high ?
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Originally posted by Halo
The first recorded use of a windshield wiper on a WWII fighter aircraft was recorded March 23, 1944. 1st Lt. Flynn Stone was flying his P-51B at 23,000 over the Mediterranean Sea when a migrating stork jettisoned his payload directly on to the Mustang windshield.
Fortunately Lt. Stone's mechanic, TSgt. Barney, had installed an unauthorized prototype test windshield wiper for just such a contingency.
Lt. Stone quickly grabbed the wiper control, concealed as Do Not Push, and pushed.
The X-Wiper was found after the war on an apartment building roof in Helsinki.
Lt. Stone was never found. Nor Barney either.
Thats got to be a myth.
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Originally posted by Halo
The first recorded use of a windshield wiper on a WWII fighter aircraft was recorded March 23, 1944. 1st Lt. Flynn Stone was flying his P-51B at 23,000 over the Mediterranean Sea when a migrating stork jettisoned his payload directly on to the Mustang windshield.
Fortunately Lt. Stone's mechanic, TSgt. Barney, had installed an unauthorized prototype test windshield wiper for just such a contingency.
Lt. Stone quickly grabbed the wiper control, concealed as Do Not Push, and pushed.
The X-Wiper was found after the war on an apartment building roof in Helsinki.
Lt. Stone was never found. Nor Barney either.
We have a new BBS Ace....:aok
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Wuz just funnin with ya. Flintstone and Barney, get it? It was a serious question, got no responses, and then when I reread it the farout aspects of a windshield wiper on a fighter took over.
I see wipers on airliners, think they were on bombers, probably used only on the ground or at slow speeds.
But ... dawns on me I really wonder about aircraft windshield wipers. If they were used on transports, wouldn't they be handy on other aircraft too?
Dunno. One of those things that seems rather obvious but gets elusive the more you consider it.
What do high speed aircraft do when flying through heavy rain? Does the airflow keep the windscreen clean?
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I know on the F-15 we have a duct that runs up to the front of the wind screen that can blow out air from the heat exchangers. I'm really not sure on how much they actually use them or if there is any constant conditions that they would be used for. I have seen them used after a heavy rain though prior to launch.
Oh and on the whole bird thing seems very ironic but the F-15 had an incident with a bird. At an altitude of something like 30 or 40 thousand feet an F-15 ran into a very large bird. The debris that was left on the F-15 was found out later to be during the investigation to be an Eagle. Makes ya wonder what the heck the eagle was doing up so high.
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Getting High on hypoxia?
I think though at above 200mph indicated frost and moisture would not form outside the windshield since it would be too" hot" for anything to stick though at lo speed situations I would think these windshield wipers would be needed.
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Windshield wipers on aircraft are for taxiing purposes. They aren't made to be operated inflight and even if they could, they wouldn't serve any purpose. At aircraft speeds, rain doesn't accumulate. It runs off pretty much instantly.
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Originally posted by Halo
Wuz just funnin with ya. Flintstone and Barney, get it?
I knew there was something up with their names.
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what about bugs on the windshield?
If I'll ever take biology, my thesis will be on the mechanism that guides flying insects directly into fast moving human faces. how those insects manage to intercept a human face riding a bike at 200 mph is nothing short of miraculous.
that's got to be nobel prize work.
Bozon
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What's a stork?
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A crane? A Heron?
Roughly the same bird. Long legs, long neck, ball like body. Stand in water and poke fish.
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didn't know storks *****ed fish:lol
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i know some planes were prone to condensation inside cockpit.. any wipers used inside?
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Only in Spitfires.
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At least Mig-21 was capable of spraying alcohol on the windshield. Alcohol came from the same tank which supplied alcohol for radar as coolant.
Parties were numerous and good until Finnish Air Force started using nondrinkable alcohol....
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Friend used to drive a truck between StPetersburg/Russia and Helsinki; They did use 96% alcohol as an antifreeze 'cause it was cheaper in Russia than genuine antifreeze liquids.
Once when he came back the customs officer at border did pour bottle of Sinol (denatured alc; poisonous) into his truck's windshield washer's tank and said "Just wanted to be sure you don't run out of water; quite crappy weather" :D
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Originally posted by frank3
What's a stork?
It is the bird that made the delivery, with you hanging from it beak, to your parents.;)
(http://www.memorylanepostcards.org/pages/images/babies6.jpg)
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http://www.web-birds.com/permann/storch.jpg
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AW cockpit art for the 'Blood Pig' by Dok:
(http://www.gonzoville.com/DoK/AW/images/bloodpig.gif)