A life's (fatal) lesson on how NOT to maintain magnetos

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There is likely a lot of stuff missing. Even though they have "guns" I'd guess there is a lot of "dummy" going on. The radio gear is not complete, down to cabling, power supplies etc and that all adds up. I'd bet a lot of the O2 gear is gone.

Even so, the turrets, etc weigh a LOT. You are right, ammo is not light. And of course the bomb load
 
Wartime Gross Weight = 59,000 lbs.
Gross weight of 42-31909 at takeoff on 10/2/2019= 46,135 lbs.
 
Amazing that the A-1 Skyraider could carry 8000 lbs of ordinance, was faster and had about 60% of the range....on one prop! Nicknamed the 'flying dumptruck' for a reason! Of course it would have been mince meat in front of 8 FW-190s.....
 
Amazing that the A-1 Skyraider could carry 8000 lbs of ordinance, was faster and had about 60% of the range....on one prop! Nicknamed the 'flying dumptruck' for a reason! Of course it would have been mince meat in front of 8 FW-190s.....

Well yeah, like comparing a 1T Cummins to a hemi Challenger. Skyraiders were AWESOME aircraft. And still are in some ways.
 
Even so, the turrets, etc weigh a LOT. You are right, ammo is not light. And of course the bomb load

There were instances of crews with the 8th AAF who loaded up so much ammo for a mission it upset the aircraft's CG causing the plane to crash on takeoff. Pilots learned to keep a pretty close eye on that, particularly as missions went deeper into Germany.
 
There were instances of crews with the 8th AAF who loaded up so much ammo for a mission it upset the aircraft's CG causing the plane to crash on takeoff. Pilots learned to keep a pretty close eye on that, particularly as missions went deeper into Germany.

Yep! Weight and balance is critical...Way back when...I arrived at the North Perry Airport in Miramar, FL for a flying lesson. My instructor was no where to be found. After seeing all of the commotion and people walking around out in the middle intersection of the "wagon wheel" runways, did I realizes that a plane had crashed. My instructor was out there helping with the mess. A family from up North were on vacation in Ft. Lauderdale. They flew in a V-tail Bonanza. The plane (upon departure) pitched up, stalled and augured in. Killed everyone. The family had loaded the baggage compartment with coconuts, to take back to friends. A LOT of coconuts! They were laying all over the place. (Circa 1964) It was a "real life lesson" on the importance of loading an aircraft properly.
 
There were instances of crews with the 8th AAF who loaded up so much ammo for a mission it upset the aircraft's CG causing the plane to crash on takeoff. Pilots learned to keep a pretty close eye on that, particularly as missions went deeper into Germany.
the supposed normal load of 7000 rounds is already 1700-1800 pounds of ammo and belt. the listed max weight is also max landing weight, they could take off with more weight, but it was dangerous as the bombs would need to be ditched for an emergency landing.
 
The issue wasn't just the added weight but the location of the added weight. Crews would load up their extra ammo n the radio room, well aft of the aircraft's center of gravity located near the forward bulkhead of the bomb bay. Pilots who dealt with this (and survived) reported when the aircraft left the ground it wallowed tail down and they struggled to get it in level flight.
 
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