Richard W. wrote:
Are the modifications to the two surviving Silverplate B-29s unusual enough for this list?
Honestly, I sort of struggled how to define the scope of the question when I was writing it. It was initially more narrow the some of the other answers - less about singular prototypes and more about modifications to a limited number of production aircraft. Generally, I guess it was also more focused on more temporary or removable modifications - although there's entries that don't fit that in my initial post. However, the line between the two is very blurred and I want to emphasize I'm in no way complaining about the other examples. Feel free to add any of the other instances as well.
Xrayist wrote:
What happened to the Fulton Skyhook that was on the B-17 that is now owned by the Collings Foundation and was also used in the movie Thunderball?
This reminded me of a
post about civilian modifications to warbirds. Also, in regards to the "surviving" aspect, there's a
thread about electronics and munitions.
Chris Brame wrote:
This Stearman which came to grief at NAS Glenview during the war was mentioned as having a cockpit enclosure, although it was removed before the picture was taken to extract the uninjured pilot.
That's really interesting, thanks for sharing!
While writing the initial post I read that one of the downsides of the canopies on the Stearman - and presumably the reason it was not installed on more aircraft - was that it caused problems with glare at night. However, given the sort of afterthought design of the canopy, I could definitely see concerns of trapped pilots being another reason against using it. (As an aside, on the subject of trapped crew, the
patent for the standard World War II aircraft safety belt makes for interesting reading, as it notes that one of the reasons for its invention was the difficulty of removing incapacitated occupants from wrecked aircraft using older belt designs.)
Also, on the subject of glare from windscreens - and to violate my own criteria for inclusion mentioned above - the Vultee V-1A,
c/n 25, at the Shannon Air Museum, the Boeing 247,
c/n 1729, at the Museum of Flight and the remaining Miles Falcons are some of the few surviving aircraft with a forward sloped canopy.
EDIT (24-10-02): Apparently, according to
another post, there may have been a third problem with canopies on Stearmans: they blanketed the rudder and caused directional instability.
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