Can anyone identify a vintage plane?

[Steve]

Yesterday I was in Hyde Park for the U of C(hicago) graduation, and a large, vintage-looking airplane flew overhead. I had noticed it over the highway on the way in too. This was a big, loud sucker flying fairly low, maybe for an airshow?

I think it was dark green, maybe grey, it had two propellers very close to the fuselage, and its wings seemed to be placed very forward on the body - the leading edges met the fuselage very close to the cockpit.

Any ideas what it may have been?

 

[mugs]

Yeah that description isn't going to get you anywhere.

Was it a fighter, bomber, cargo plane, airliner?
What era was it from? WW I? WW II? WW III?

Edit: Big + 2 engines sounds like it was probably a WW II bomber.

Start googling B-## (where ## = a 2 digit number) until you find one that looks like what you saw

 

[dougp]

You DO realize how many planes you just described, right? I mean, how big was the thing? Single seater? Any specific markings you could see? Were there bomb doors? Rear/dorsal/belly turrets? Glass nose cone? Was there fixed gear on the rear of the aircraft or was it all hydraulic into the body?

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: mugs
Yeah that description isn't going to get you anywhere.

Was it a fighter, bomber, cargo plane, airliner?
What era was it from? WW I? WW II? WW III?

Edit: Big + 2 engines sounds + 2 propellers sounds like it was probably a WW II bomber.

Start googling B-## (where ## = a 2 digit number) until you find one that looks like what you saw

Engine nacelle's close to the body sounds like a B-25.

http://www.zap16.com/sanicole2...tchell%20dobaf%201.jpg

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Steve
Yesterday I was in Hyde Park for the U of C(hicago) graduation, and a large, vintage-looking airplane flew overhead. I had noticed it over the highway on the way in too. This was a big, loud sucker flying fairly low, maybe for an airshow?

I think it was dark green, maybe grey, it had two propellers very close to the fuselage, and its wings seemed to be placed very forward on the body - the leading edges met the fuselage very close to the cockpit.

Any ideas what it may have been?

Could you be any more vague?

 

[OCGuy]

Was there a treadmill?

 

[Zolty]

DC-3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

The first plane that allowed american airlines to make money from carrying passengers rather than subsidising with airmail

 

[dennilfloss]

Originally posted by: Steve
it had two propellers very close to the fuselage, and its wings seemed to be placed very forward on the body - the leading edges met the fuselage very close to the cockpit.

Any ideas what it may have been?

That is what caused many crashes early on for the A26 Invader.

 

[Steve]

I was under the shadow side of it so I didn't get a very good look, I couldn't see any markings and I assume the landing gear was retracted. I would guess WW2 bomber. Stay tuned and I'll put up a little sketch. I'll also start Googling B-##.

 

[Steve]

I only caught it briefly, but from what I remember it looked something like this:

Sketch

 

[AstroManLuca]

Did it look like a Lockheed L-10 Electra? This was the model of plane that Amelia Earhart was flying when she disappeared.

http://www.century-of-flight.n...d%20L.10%20Electra.jpg

- Vintage
- Loud (probably)
- 2 props close to fuselage
- Wings very near cockpit

However, it's rare and not that big either so it's not likely one of these. Might look similar though. You'll need to be a lot more detailed though. Were the wings straight or swept back? Was the tail just a couple of small fins or a big wide rectangular thing? How large was it really?

Oh, just found another one that looks similar to the Electra in shape but is hugely more common and a lot larger too (64 ft long, 95 ft wingspan). The Douglas DC-3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3. Oh and the military designation of the DC-3 was the C-47 Skytrain.

Having the wings near the front implies that it's a tail-dragger (two forward landing gear + one rear, vs. one forward + two rear). Such a configuration isn't used for large planes these days.

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: Steve
I only caught it briefly, but from what I remember it looked something like this:

Sketch

As Dennil said, perhaps the A-26 and did you see my suggestion of the B-25?

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Steve
I only caught it briefly, but from what I remember it looked something like this:

Sketch

What you have there is either a plane or a penis with wings.

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Steve
I only caught it briefly, but from what I remember it looked something like this:

Sketch

What you have there is either a plane or a penis with wings.

You sound like an expert on penises, mugs!

Steve, check this site out: http://www.ameshistoricalsocie...aft_spotting_cards.htm

Maybe you will recognize one.

 

[Steve]

So far the closest match I can call is the Martin B-10.

 

[Andrew1990]

Wasnt there a German WW2 Bomber that looked like that? Something like Heineken or along those lines.(Not too good with German spelling.)

 

[AstroManLuca]

Heinkel. There were many planes made by Heinkel. The He 111 was pretty close to what OP is describing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111

 

[So]

P-38? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_Lightning

 

[So]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
Heinkel. There were many planes made by Heinkel. The He 111 was pretty close to what OP is describing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111

No HE-111's still flying.

 

[Steve]

B-18, B-23, B-25 are also possibilities. Bogged down with work now, back later.

 

[AstroManLuca]

P-38 has too distinctive a shape to miss.

Thing is, a lot of WWII-era planes are either very rare or completely extinct. Like So said, there may only be one or two museum-worthy models, and nothing flightworthy. There does appear to be an aviation museum in Bolingbrook, IL, but either their website is incomplete or they don't have anything even close to what you saw.

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: Zolty
DC-3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

The first plane that allowed american airlines to make money from carrying passengers rather than subsidising with airmail

That can't be it, the plane he saw was green.

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
P-38 has too distinctive a shape to miss.

Thing is, a lot of WWII-era planes are either very rare or completely extinct. Like So said, there may only be one or two museum-worthy models, and nothing flightworthy. There does appear to be an aviation museum in Bolingbrook, IL, but either their website is incomplete or they don't have anything even close to what you saw.

There's still B-25s, A-26s, DC-3s, etc. flying still. There's plenty of aircraft that Steve described that are still in the air - he should see if there were any air shows in that area the day he saw the plane.

 

[Drako]

Originally posted by: Zolty
DC-3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

The first plane that allowed american airlines to make money from carrying passengers rather than subsidising with airmail

If it was military, it was C-47 or c-53

 

[l0cke]

B2 Bomber