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Old-School Instrumentation — Parallax Forums

Old-School Instrumentation

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-06-13 22:10 in General Discussion
In the time of analog gauges, long before MENU... SELECT... Back when men were men!

Here's a 360 panorama of the flight engineers station on a B-36: Six reciprocating R-4360s and four J-47 jets to keep an eye on, plus fuel, pressurization, hydraulics, electrical, and other systems.

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/062/B-36J%20Engineer.html

Consider the guys who designed, built, maintained, and used these gauges before you complain about how complex your little project is!

Comments

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-06-13 08:51
    Sensory overload! Holy smokes!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-06-13 09:10
    A few more gauges than a Cessna. :)
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2013-06-13 09:12
    REAL Old-School instrumentation - Sopwith Camel

    Camel_cockpit.jpg


    That part over there with the tachometer and oil pulsator would be used by the flight engineer...... :lol:
    Camel_cockpit.jpg
    1024 x 640 - 107K
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-06-13 09:17
    Convair = 6 piston engines
    Corvair = 6 pistons
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-06-13 09:24
    'Not much of a windshirld in that B-36. How did they see what was in front of them -- or the ground to land?

    -Phil
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-06-13 09:29
    Publison wrote:
    Convair = 6 piston engines
    Corvair = 6 pistons

    Corvette = a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate

    -Phil
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 09:49
    Can't recall if I shared this "Group Red" link previously, about the "garage queen" status of so many Corvairs. I've never added mine to the list, since I'm sure that "next month" I'll be getting back on the restoration project.

    http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/groupred/
  • Hal AlbachHal Albach Posts: 747
    edited 2013-06-13 09:53
    Looks like it took 4 people to fly this thing. Wonder how fast they all can get out. It looks like there might be an exit door behind and to the left of the pilot's seat and the overhead emergency. Anyone know of any other exits? Where's the restroom? (Or do they all have to "wear" It?)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 10:00
    No peanuts or sodas on that plane, but they did hand out AOL CDs with 250 free hours.
  • jonesjones Posts: 281
    edited 2013-06-13 13:06
    That type of instrumentation isn't quite as bad as it seems. All of those engine gauges are held in place with a sort of clamp and could be rotated. Often the gauges would be set at what seemed like odd, arbitrary angles but what they were really up to was for normal operation, to the extent possible all the needles pointed in the same direction. One glance would tell you if anything was amiss because you're just looking for a needle pointing different from the rest.
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2013-06-13 14:11
    Oh man! That is absolutely beautiful! Thanks a lot for linking it here. I gotta go share.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 14:54
    mindrobots wrote: »
    REAL Old-School instrumentation - Sopwith Camel

    That part over there with the tachometer and oil pulsator would be used by the flight engineer...... :lol:

    My favorite factoid about the Sopwith Camel was that most versions didn't even have a throttle. The pilot would blip a switch (ie, BIT-BANG) to kill ignition to reduce power for landing.

    The Gnome "mono" engines did not have throttles and were at full "throttle" while the ignition was on – they could be "throttled" with a selector switch which cut the ignition to some of the cylinders to reduce power for landing. The Clerget, Le Rhone and BR1 had throttles, although reducing power involved simultaneously adjusting the mixture and was not straightforward, so it became common during landing to "blip" the engine (turn the ignition off and on) using a control column-mounted ignition switch, the blip switch, to reduce power.

    from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel

    Furthermore, since the SC fired bullets through the PROPELLER, the proper BAUD RATE and STOP BITS were required to synchronize with the machine gun.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2013-06-13 15:26
    My favorite thing about that instrument panel is that you are expected to operate all that equipment and keep it nominal while people in other airplanes are shooting at you.
  • GenetixGenetix Posts: 1,754
    edited 2013-06-13 18:40
    Since when do operators follow directions? Also in a combat situation people are going to do that things that were either never anticipated or push the limits of the design. Besides how often do you look at the instruments when you are driving your car?
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-06-13 18:47
    erco wrote: »
    My favorite factoid about the Sopwith Camel was that most versions didn't even have a throttle. The pilot would blip a switch (ie, BIT-BANG) to kill ignition to reduce power for landing.

    The Gnome "mono" engines did not have throttles and were at full "throttle" while the ignition was on – they could be "throttled" with a selector switch which cut the ignition to some of the cylinders to reduce power for landing. The Clerget, Le Rhone and BR1 had throttles, although reducing power involved simultaneously adjusting the mixture and was not straightforward, so it became common during landing to "blip" the engine (turn the ignition off and on) using a control column-mounted ignition switch, the blip switch, to reduce power.

    from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel

    Furthermore, since the SC fired bullets through the PROPELLER, the proper BAUD RATE and STOP BITS were required to synchronize with the machine gun.

    You forgot the single most interesting thing (IMO) about the Sopwith Camel, it used a rotary engine - that is the propeller was mounted directly to the engine and the crankshaft was bolted to the firewall. The gyroscopic forces from the spinning engine made for very quick turns to the right, slow turns to the left.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 20:00
    Yes, those early rotary engines were amazing that way, cylinders rotating around a stationary crankshaft. But... not unique to the Sopwith Camel IIRC. :)

    My first job was at Pratt Whitney Aircraft Engines in West Palm Beach Florida. They had a long, proud heritage of their WASP radial (not rotary) engines, including this 28 cylinder, 56-sparkplug beast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_R-4360

    Don't foul all 56 plugs on startup!
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2013-06-13 22:10
    Hal Albach wrote: »
    Looks like it took 4 people to fly this thing. Wonder how fast they all can get out. It looks like there might be an exit door behind and to the left of the pilot's seat and the overhead emergency. Anyone know of any other exits? Where's the restroom? (Or do they all have to "wear" It?)

    From wikipedia:

    "....The B-36 had a crew of 15. As in the B-29, the pressurized flight deck and crew compartment were linked to the rear compartment by a pressurized tunnel through the bomb bay. In the B-36, one rode through the tunnel on a wheeled trolley, by pulling oneself on a rope. The rear compartment featured six bunks and a dining galley, and led to the tail turret...."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-36

    20060724094340%21Convair_B-36_Peacemaker.jpg
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