MORE THAN LIKELY, you will enjoy a splendid evening full of laughter and genuine friendship, and you will meet her at later venues, where you will enjoy each other's company. There is none of the hassle which you get if you are escorting a racy blonde bombshell.
Similarly, the Pilatus Porter PC-6 is ugly, but fun and a great friend in difficult circumstances.
In comparison, Lear Jets and in particular the Lear 25, looks racy and sexy, but like many beauties, she can be cantankerous and occasionally extremely dangerous.
Based on a failed Swiss jet fighter, the Lear Jet was born in the days before supersonic flight became the norm for fighter aircraft.
Aeronautical engineers then did not really understand the problems of compressibility in trans-sonic flight. Notably, pilots did not appreciate that, as the wings approach the speed of sound, a shock wave builds up, rather like the bow-wave of a ship, above and below the wing, more above than below. As the speed increases, the shock wave moves back across the chord of the wing.
Wikipedia describes how Mack Tuck affected even the piston powered fighters of WW2, noting that "The fastest World War II fighters were the first aircraft to experience Mach Tuck. Their wings were not designed to counter Mach Tuck because research on supersonic aerofoils was just beginning; areas of supersonic flow, together with shock waves and flow separation, were present on the wing. This condition was known at the time as compressibility burble and was known to exist on propeller tips at high aircraft speeds.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.
APRIL 2023
April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.
The Aim of Bombing
In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.
