Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: monteini on October 28, 2005, 10:25:21 AM

Title: Trivia #3
Post by: monteini on October 28, 2005, 10:25:21 AM: What is the aeronautical origination of the expression, "the whole nine yards"?
Title: Re: Trivia #3
Post by: Widewing on October 28, 2005, 10:54:30 AM: Quote
Originally posted by monteini
What is the aeronautical origination of the expression, "the whole nine yards"?

Before anyone answers this, please go here (http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19971128) first......

My regards,

Widewing
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: monteini on October 28, 2005, 10:56:41 AM: Thats why I said the aeronautical origination of the expression.
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: Treize69 on October 28, 2005, 04:14:16 PM: Haven't looked at the link, but if you burned all of your ammo in a fight, you went the "whole nine yards"- the ammo belts (I forget which plane it started with) were 9 yards long.
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: superpug1 on October 30, 2005, 03:10:07 PM: was it how long the launch ramp was for the wright flyer? but i dunno.
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: FTJR on October 30, 2005, 10:09:00 PM: Never heard of it as an aeronautical expression. I presumed it had something to do with American footbal :)
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: Krusty on October 30, 2005, 10:32:12 PM: Not this urban legend again!?!?!?

God.. I'm sick of this one. It's NOT from WW2 folks! It's not!!
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: Krusty on October 30, 2005, 10:34:02 PM: Quote
Originally posted by FTJR
Never heard of it as an aeronautical expression. I presumed it had something to do with American footbal :)

That's got my vote for "most likely" because it comes from a time (late 60s) when football was on the rise.
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: monteini on October 31, 2005, 08:27:58 AM: ANSWER.

The machine guns of a P-51 Mustang were fed by ammunition belts that were 27 feet long. After a pilot emptied his guns on a target, he would say that he "gave 'em the whole nine yards"

Test Pilot- 1,001 things you thought you knew about aviation. Berry Schiff .. Aviation supplies & Academics,. inc Newcastle, washington 2001
Title: Trivia #3
Post by: Krusty on October 31, 2005, 10:58:53 AM: Correction: The phrase never turned up anywhere, ever, until the 60s/70s. There is no documentation that it showed up sooner, from what I've read.