Cowboy1968
February 25th, 2012, 05:29
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o431/Cowboy31a/Airplanes/Vought_SB2U_Vindicator.jpg
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o431/Cowboy31a/Airplanes/Vought_SB2U_Vindicator_2.jpg
One of my favorite hobbies is to fly inside the simulated world in machines that made history. When I fly the aircraft I do, I try to lean everything I can about them. One of those planes that picked my interest even before the idea of a flight simulator on a PC was the Vought SB2U Vindicator, aka the Vibrator to many pilots.
Look at the bird and use you mind, and I will bet you can guess why it had this nickname, and it wasn't because of the Pratt & Whitney R-1535 engine that pulled it along.
This bird is a rather unique one in the line up of the scout/dive bombers that flew off the decks of carriers.
It was the first monoplane in its class in this role. Its attack profile was different then the rest of the U.S.N. aircraft in this class. It didn't have dive brakes. vought tried to use standard dive brakes but they made her very unstable.
The profile was for the pilot to climb to 11,000 to 12,000 feet. He had to do this in what was called climbing the ladder when he had a heavy bomb load under the bird. Once he was to altitude then his real work began. He had to navigate to the planned attack area, once there, hopefully under the protection of fighters, he would then have to prepare for his dive.
He would set his plane toward the target. Bring his constant speed propeller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_speed_propeller) to a position that allows it turn at maximum rpm at minimal throttle--this become important later in the dive. This change in pitch of the blades also acts a part of the dive braking method of the bird. The angle of attack allows the blade to spin but it also allows the resistance to the air. Once he has max rpm set on the prop, He then drops the large flaps to full, and the plane starts to slow. He then extends his landing gear witch has the same effect as a dive brake in conjunction with the prop and flaps. Once he has that done he then goes inverted and noses the bird into the dive. He puts the plane on an angle of sixty to seventy degrees. Even with no throttle and the plane in diving configuration he drops at speeds of around 200 mph! The pilot's dive drops the plane from 10 to 12,000 feet down to around 1,500 feet in the matter of seconds.
Once the bomb, which is suspended on a trapeze bomb rack so it clears the prop, is released, the pilot pulls back on his stick hard bringing up the nose, the slams the throttle to the fire wall, and scaddels from the target as fast as he can. That is why the prop rpm is maxed out, it allows for maximum power from the engine.
The dive can be quite intense.
The Vindicator entered service in 1936, and it left front line use in early 1943. It was used at the battle of Midway where the inexperienced marines that flew them failed to score any hits on the Japanese, and several birds were lost in the fight.
The story was different with experienced pilots at the stick. Pilots from the USS Lexington (CV-2) and the USS Saratoga (CV-3) used the Vindicator very well in the early Pacific raids. Several Japanese merchants and some minor combatants were sent to the bottom by the Vindicator.
Contrary to popular belief, like the F2A Buffalo fighter, the SB2U wasn't withdrawn from the front because of a bad record. They were withdrawn because they were out of production and their were no extras to go around after the sale of the planes to the French and British.
Yes I loved learning this machine. It is good little kite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_SB2U_Vindicator
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o431/Cowboy31a/Airplanes/Vought_SB2U_Vindicator_2.jpg
One of my favorite hobbies is to fly inside the simulated world in machines that made history. When I fly the aircraft I do, I try to lean everything I can about them. One of those planes that picked my interest even before the idea of a flight simulator on a PC was the Vought SB2U Vindicator, aka the Vibrator to many pilots.
Look at the bird and use you mind, and I will bet you can guess why it had this nickname, and it wasn't because of the Pratt & Whitney R-1535 engine that pulled it along.
This bird is a rather unique one in the line up of the scout/dive bombers that flew off the decks of carriers.
It was the first monoplane in its class in this role. Its attack profile was different then the rest of the U.S.N. aircraft in this class. It didn't have dive brakes. vought tried to use standard dive brakes but they made her very unstable.
The profile was for the pilot to climb to 11,000 to 12,000 feet. He had to do this in what was called climbing the ladder when he had a heavy bomb load under the bird. Once he was to altitude then his real work began. He had to navigate to the planned attack area, once there, hopefully under the protection of fighters, he would then have to prepare for his dive.
He would set his plane toward the target. Bring his constant speed propeller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_speed_propeller) to a position that allows it turn at maximum rpm at minimal throttle--this become important later in the dive. This change in pitch of the blades also acts a part of the dive braking method of the bird. The angle of attack allows the blade to spin but it also allows the resistance to the air. Once he has max rpm set on the prop, He then drops the large flaps to full, and the plane starts to slow. He then extends his landing gear witch has the same effect as a dive brake in conjunction with the prop and flaps. Once he has that done he then goes inverted and noses the bird into the dive. He puts the plane on an angle of sixty to seventy degrees. Even with no throttle and the plane in diving configuration he drops at speeds of around 200 mph! The pilot's dive drops the plane from 10 to 12,000 feet down to around 1,500 feet in the matter of seconds.
Once the bomb, which is suspended on a trapeze bomb rack so it clears the prop, is released, the pilot pulls back on his stick hard bringing up the nose, the slams the throttle to the fire wall, and scaddels from the target as fast as he can. That is why the prop rpm is maxed out, it allows for maximum power from the engine.
The dive can be quite intense.
The Vindicator entered service in 1936, and it left front line use in early 1943. It was used at the battle of Midway where the inexperienced marines that flew them failed to score any hits on the Japanese, and several birds were lost in the fight.
The story was different with experienced pilots at the stick. Pilots from the USS Lexington (CV-2) and the USS Saratoga (CV-3) used the Vindicator very well in the early Pacific raids. Several Japanese merchants and some minor combatants were sent to the bottom by the Vindicator.
Contrary to popular belief, like the F2A Buffalo fighter, the SB2U wasn't withdrawn from the front because of a bad record. They were withdrawn because they were out of production and their were no extras to go around after the sale of the planes to the French and British.
Yes I loved learning this machine. It is good little kite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_SB2U_Vindicator