Aviation Trivia Thread

[PaulThomas]

#3 answer is... The whole nine yards was the length of the belt of ammunition on some WWII fighters. It meant you emptied your guns into an enemy. "I gave him the whole nine yards"

I've also heard that it was the lenght of the bay in a B52.

I researched the topic when I was learning English and couldn't find a good answer.

Some claim it has to do with the lenght of the mast, others that it has to do with burial ceremony, others that it's about how much cloth was used to make a suit back in the day...

I'd really like to see some source to that answer.

 

[ToiletDuck]

I've also heard that it was the lenght of the bay in a B52.

I researched the topic when I was learning English and couldn't find a good answer.

Some claim it has to do with the lenght of the mast, others that it has to do with burial ceremony, others that it's about how much cloth was used to make a suit back in the day...

I'd really like to see some source to that answer.

Well first off the phrase has been around longer than B52 has.
I had been told it from three things:
1)Discovery Channel Wings
2)A WWII Pilot that flew fighters
3)During a walk through of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC it was on a plaque next to a WWII fighter.

Back to current question:

Question 4:
Who was the General that said "I have not yet begun to fight" and what was going on that made him say it?

 

[paulsalem]

John Paul Jones, I don't know the other half.

 

[ToiletDuck]

John Paul Jones, I don't know the other half.

Hmmm you are correct! I guess lol. I didn't know there was more than one!

The answer to the question, which I had read, was General Billy Mitchell. He did the first demonstration showing that the US guns could not stop an air raid.

Rather than face facts, the War Department demoted Mitchell and exiled him to "a mosquito post in Texas," as Will Rogers put it. The military expected him to resign, but Billy proclaimed, "I have not yet begun to fight" and that he would "jar the bureaucrats out of thier swivel chairs." Page 47 from Flyboys by James Bradley.

Question 5:
What was the "Red Baron's" real name?

 

[Tired Soul]

Manfred Von Richthoven....

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

5. Manfred von Richtofen

And for more on the 9 yards thing, see

http://www.yaelf.com/nineyards.shtml

and

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_252.html

 

[moxiepilot]

of course I start reading the thread when there is no current question and the only one I could answer was answered already

 

[ToiletDuck]

5. Manfred von Richtofen

Correct! No worry Moxie pilot there is plenty of trivia out there. I've got tons of books to crack open if needed lol.

Question 6:
What was the name of the first jet fighter?

 

[zugzug]

It didn't have a name

Messerschmitt 262

 

[zugzug]

Schwalbe

 

[zugzug]

Sorry

 

[Metro752]

I'm pulling and nothing is happening, i think mines broken. Anyone know a good mechanic?

 

[ToiletDuck]

Sure it did and you chose correctly.

Since it's the second page I'll post rules again.
No using google or any other search function
Only type in answers

Also if you have any questions you'd like to see asked feel free to drop a line

Question 7:
What was the date that the first ever recorded flight of a hotair balloon took place? FYI the balloon was made by two brothers and had over 1800 buttons on it to keep it together

 

[westwind]

The Montgolfier (sp?) brothers, in France, in the late 1700's. Sorry, I don't have the exact date (no Googling). Ben Franklin even witnessed one of the first flights

 

[Swede]

Definitely the MG brothers. I want to say 1783? And the whole nine yards, like "I have not yet begun to fight" are NAUTICAL terms. John Paul Jones made the statement when his modest frigate was getting wacked by a British man of war, and surrender was offered.

Sorry for not following the rules. I'll try to find the "9-yards" thing, it has to do with reefing sailcloth, where 9-yards is the full canvas spread at a particular sail location.