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The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

The Innovator of the Bird Corporation. A modified PBY-5A with two additional 340hp Lycoming IGSO-480 engines.
It first flew in 1968 and I understand it may still be alive (NM, AZ?)

Question about uploading pics. Is it me, my PC or the SOH server.It puzzles me that you guys manage to put fresh pics on the forum.

If I'm right on the Innovator, please consider it OPEN HOUSE, till........
Thanks.
 
Spot on Wout!

Here is one that 3/7charlie sent to me to post (he was having trouble as well). Something a little different being a 3-view.

Hopefully the attachment issues will finally get sorted...

24vnwqq.jpg


I will recluse myself from it since I had a sneak preview.
 
Wout, we are all using image hosting sites.

Photobucket is free for 1Gb worth of pics, and is very easy to use. You just upload to the site directly from your folder, and thereafter simply slot the IMG code into your post.

Well done on the Bird - thought it might take a little longer.

If I didn't know 3/7charlies mystery I should be ashamed of myself - but I'll leave it for now.

(Actually, don't think Moses is using a host site, but then again he is a being of elevated status amongst us)
 
The attachment situation is all rather hit and miss. Some members can upload images and others can't. Same with SOH staff, some of us can and others are not able to currently. On the bright side, if you go back to the start of this thread the attachments have been restored (up to about page 17 or so at last check). We still have over 16 gigs of images & downloads to reload from the server crash.

Like Lefty said, a hosting site will do for now in adding pictures.
 
As for the 3-view, In go for the RR Griffon engined Blackburn B-54 (aka YA-7) with the 2-seat cockpit canopy. If not the YA-7, it is the B-54 (aka YA-8) with the 3-seat cockpit.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for the tips on uploading pics. My training starts tomorrow and should be finished before year's end.

So meanwhile, please use he OPEN HOUSE formula (of course provided I am right with the Blackburn) :engel016:
 
As it's open house and I've been holding on to this one for months waiting for a chance to get it in, I'll toss it out there. And just to clear it up a bit, it's not a PBY Catalina.
 
Dr. Bird's Innovator is an old fav of mine. I had the privilege of being given a tour of it by Dr. Bird back in about 1965/66. Not shown in the pic are the two custom fitted aluminum boats (skiffs) that could be attached and hoisted up under the outboard wing sections (gunwhales of the boats were curved to match the wing shape to reduce turbulence) Also the whole mid-ships area under the blisters was a fully-equipped operating theater (lots of light!) for surgeries in remote areas. A cooler was built into the pylon to store blood plasma.

For more on the Doctor, go here: http://www.birdaviationmuseum.com/index.html

The PBY isn't mentioned but you;ll see he's quite the aviation buff...

You likely know someone who's life has been saved by his primary invention - the medical respirator & he's in some pretty elite company:
http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventors/a/Forrest_Bird.htm
http://www.nndb.com/honors/032/000111696/
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/bird.html

Rob
 
Coincidentally, in the current issue of Aeroplane, there is a photo of the 1950 Navy Day at Lee-on-Solent.

Guess what's flying over ?

YAB.jpg
 
:icon29: to SrGallahad!

PBN Nomad 1941 = Twin flying boat from the Naval Air Factory styled after PBY Catalina; two Wright R-1830-92; span: 104'3" length: 64'8" load: 18,712# range: 2590 ceiling; 15,100'. POP: 156 as PBN-1 [Bu Nos A02791/02946], most of which were exported to USSR.
Click to expand...

And I thought it had the potential be a stinker.
 
Going to be away from the computer until well into the day tomorrow. Will go ahead with the next one to give you all something to work on.

A very curious design. Where is the engine? Hehe...
 
Well, my diggings have revealed something with a description tallying with this, but can't find a pic to corroborate.

Is it the Lewis-American Gray Goose MD-1 ??
 
Lefty scores big here on the parasol pusher mess!:icon29: Apparently it attained the amazing height of 14" on it's test flight.

Over to Scotland-
 
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