The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

[Moses03]

This one had something in common with a post war jet...

[Moses03]

She ended her days in the waters of the Pacific off the coast of Mexico...

[Moses03]

Right! This is the Douglas Cloudster airliner. There was also a post war Douglas Cloudster II.

Here is a more modern quirky job-

[Tako_Kichi]

That's a Ryan Navion that has had extensive modifications to become a flying test bed of some sort. I've done a lot of research on Navion's as I am currently modelling one for FSX but I have never seen that photo before. I'd be interested to learn it's purpose.

[lefty]

It's an Ivy League Special......

[Moses03]

It is a one-off Navion testbed to research airflow. It was called the Navion "USTI".

http://crimso.msk.ru/Images6/SC/SC-1/23-2.jpg


for TK

[Tako_Kichi]

Thanks for the info Moses but I am going to have to declare OH as I don't have anything to offer at the moment.

[lefty]

Interesting, Kevin. The UTSI (University of Tennessee Space Institute) was originally, I think, the VRA developed by Princeton, before those dang Tennesseans got their mitts on it , hence my Ivy League reference !

press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7909.pd

[Moses03]

Ah, thanks for that Mike. Was trying to sort out it's proper lineage.

[Moses03]

What we have here, is a trainer...

[Moses03]

No nibbles? This is a REAL common trainer. Don't let the one-off engine selection fool you...

[lefty]

Cornell ?

[Moses03]

Not a Cornell. Some some reason those wacky Canadians decided to reengine this standard trainer.

[lefty]

Not a Cornell.

Well I wasn't so far off. The Fairchild PT-26B. Described in Molson & Taylor's Putnam book as 'the Lycoming-powered Cornell' !

[Moses03]

Sorry about that. Had a junior moment! Was thinking something else when you said Cornell. Must be the heat...
Better double up on the drinks then to cover both the Fairchild and Cornell mention.