Comments on: The Engineer Who Greased the P-38 Lightning http://www.historynet.com/the-engineer-who-greased-the-p-38-lightning.htm From the World's Largest History Magazine Publisher Wed, 22 May 2013 02:58:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Gus DeFore http://www.historynet.com/the-engineer-who-greased-the-p-38-lightning.htm#comment-779406 Gus DeFore Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:41:44 +0000 http://www.historynet.com/?p=13684275#comment-779406 Hi everyone. Keep the feedback coming. I've never worked on or have flown a P38. I'm a Vietnam Veteran who took 2 tours on board the USS Towers DDG9. I subscribed to this e-magazine because I believe the P38 Lightning is one of the most beautiful & effective planes of WWII. I worked as an electronics technician for 50 years. So I understand developement & sometimes failure which usually is a good learning tool to eventual success. It's great to read the stories on how the P38 developed into the plane it is today. Your feedback makes it all that more interesting. Thank You all. Hi everyone. Keep the feedback coming. I've never worked on or have flown a P38. I'm a Vietnam Veteran who took 2 tours on board the USS Towers DDG9. I subscribed to this e-magazine because I believe the P38 Lightning is one of the most beautiful & effective planes of WWII. I worked as an electronics technician for 50 years. So I understand developement & sometimes failure which usually is a good learning tool to eventual success. It's great to read the stories on how the P38 developed into the plane it is today. Your feedback makes it all that more interesting.
Thank You all.

]]> By: Don Zweifel http://www.historynet.com/the-engineer-who-greased-the-p-38-lightning.htm#comment-779310 Don Zweifel Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:13:12 +0000 http://www.historynet.com/?p=13684275#comment-779310 May I also make another addendum regarding who should also receive credit for solving the airfoil compressability problem. John Stack was only one of the aeronautical engineers attempting to determine super-sonic standing-wave formation at the new wind tunnel. The late Lt Col Bruce Bauer USAF Ret was in addition present along with Kelley Johnson... as remedying this challenge was a criticality-one issue.... A pilot-controlled inflatable boot mod was fitted as a stop-gap fix upon the ventral inner side of each wing-spar... which caused dispersion of the supersonic standing waves thereby maintaining lift plus significantly reducing induced drag.... May I also make another addendum regarding who should also receive credit for solving the airfoil compressability problem.

John Stack was only one of the aeronautical engineers attempting to determine super-sonic standing-wave formation at the new wind tunnel. The late Lt Col Bruce Bauer USAF Ret was in addition present along with Kelley Johnson… as remedying this challenge was a criticality-one issue….

A pilot-controlled inflatable boot mod was fitted as a stop-gap fix upon the ventral inner side of each wing-spar… which caused dispersion of the supersonic standing waves thereby maintaining lift plus significantly reducing induced drag….

]]> By: Don Zweifel http://www.historynet.com/the-engineer-who-greased-the-p-38-lightning.htm#comment-779307 Don Zweifel Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:50:00 +0000 http://www.historynet.com/?p=13684275#comment-779307 May I take this opportunity to unequivocally state that the Lightning never had a stainless steel fuselage or wing spars. The AC utilized mostly duraluminum as it had a higher tensile strength than most aluminum alloys. The technology in question did not exist in the forties and even if it had the mfg facilities, those wouldn't have been up to the capability of mass production. The XB-70 Valkyrie had stainless sheet-steel, however it was determined that repairing ss was exceedingly difficult plus being time-consuming. Therefore that particular alloy was deemed to be not at all practicable.... May I take this opportunity to unequivocally state that the Lightning never had a stainless steel fuselage or wing spars. The AC utilized mostly duraluminum as it had a higher tensile strength than most aluminum alloys.

The technology in question did not exist in the forties and even if it had the mfg facilities, those wouldn't have been up to the capability of mass production.

The XB-70 Valkyrie had stainless sheet-steel, however it was determined that repairing ss was exceedingly difficult plus being time-consuming. Therefore that particular alloy was deemed to be not at all practicable….

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