# I've always wanted one of these... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620 "2010-09-04T20:22:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/21 "2010-09-05T08:34:47Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > With this vintage aircraft, do they have to be bought up to today’s safety standards to be permitted to fly? I always wonder when I see WW 1 vintage aircraft restored and flown, but I doubt that they would have the power to fit much more stuff to them. They’re often certified in the experimental category which means anything goes to a certain extent. The regulators don’t really care too much until you decide you want to carry fare paying passengers. Some old aircraft such as the DC3 have been on the civil register for a long time but military aircraft that have never been on the civil register can be difficult to register as anything other than experimental, even modern ones. The rules can be sidestepped to some extent if the aircraft has dual controls in which case you can take a “student” up for some “instruction”. Also some countries have relaxed rules for adventure flights so long as the passenger is informed of the risks. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/22 "2010-09-05T08:58:31Z")
I was hoping to treat myself to a flight in a Tiger Moth, but I can’t find anyone in Perth who does them. ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/23 "2010-09-05T09:30:07Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I like the PBY but there are some models that have a sort of set of ‘bubble’ windows on the fuselage behind the wings. (for observers?) Those are gun blisters, the original design had flat hatches but that made aiming the waist guns difficult. I have always wanted a [Sopwith Camel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel), but based on my experiences in Rise of Flight, a WW1 flight sim, it would probably kill me. Any mishandling of the plane, such as left turns or take offs, throws the Camel into a vicious unrecoverable spin. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/24 "2010-09-05T09:47:30Z")
I saw a Camel in the Imperial War Museum in London. The first thing that struck me was how tiny it was. And yes, from what I have read, they were mongrels to fly. In a book I read (forget which one) it said that half the casualties in the RFC during the Great War were as a result of training accidents. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/25 "2010-09-05T10:03:47Z")
When my husband was in the Air Force, there was a rash of flight line workers taking airplane parts home with them. My husband did it too. I asked him what in the world he was doing, and he said that he had always wanted an airplane, that’s why he joined the AF, and he was gonna build his own. Fortunately, the base commander declared an amnesty program to allow every to bring back the parts, no questions asked, and Bill (and most people) brought back the parts. I, for one, was glad, I was tired of tripping over those parts. I’m a packrat, but I DO use most of the stuff that I squirrel away. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/26 "2010-09-05T10:16:49Z")
I’ve always thought the PBY looked a little ungainly. I’d take a Grumman Goose in a heartbeat, though. > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I want the most Art Deco plane ever: the [Northrop Gamma.](http://www.aerofiles.com/north-gamma2a.jpg) (with modern CCTV added) > > You know those Tex Avery cartoons where the oil millionaire drives a Dusenberg three blocks long? This is the plane he’d fly. You have excellent taste, that’s one of my favorites. There’s one in the National Air & Space Museum in D.C. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Having googled for beautiful aircraft, I came across the [Bugatti Model 100](http://www.eaa.org/news/2009/images/Bugatti_static.jpg), the only racing aircraft they ever made. > > Never saw it before, and I gotta say it’s the coolest looking plane I’ve ever seen, except maybe for of couple of Rutan designs. > > And it just a couple hours drive away. I’ve been to the Oshkosh air show a couple of times, but never to their museum. > > A [couple](http://www.airventuremuseum.org/images/collection/aircraft/Bugatti%20Model%20100%20Racer-1.jpg) [more](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1229/934201899_958ccc8de7.jpg) pics. Interesting. Judging by the intakes and exhaust, it looks like the engine is amidships. Nothing in front of you to soak up the energy in a crash, and I’ve heard it’s a stone-faced bitch to balance a long drive shaft like that so it doesn’t shake your fillings out. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/27 "2010-09-05T10:20:55Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I saw a Camel in the Imperial War Museum in London. The first thing that struck me was how tiny it was. Is [this](http://images.extraguy.com/uploads/snoopy_on_doghouse.jpg) it? You’re right, that does seem kinda small. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/28 "2010-09-05T14:00:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve always thought the PBY looked a little ungainly. I’d take a Grumman Goose in a heartbeat, though. > > > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > > > I want the most Art Deco plane ever: the [Northrop Gamma.](http://www.aerofiles.com/north-gamma2a.jpg) (with modern CCTV added) > > > > You know those Tex Avery cartoons where the oil millionaire drives a Dusenberg three blocks long? This is the plane he’d fly. > > You have excellent taste, that’s one of my favorites. There’s one in the National Air & Space Museum in D.C. > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > Having googled for beautiful aircraft, I came across the [Bugatti Model 100](http://www.eaa.org/news/2009/images/Bugatti_static.jpg), the only racing aircraft they ever made. > > > > Never saw it before, and I gotta say it’s the coolest looking plane I’ve ever seen, except maybe for of couple of Rutan designs. > > > > And it just a couple hours drive away. I’ve been to the Oshkosh air show a couple of times, but never to their museum. > > > > A [couple](http://www.airventuremuseum.org/images/collection/aircraft/Bugatti%20Model%20100%20Racer-1.jpg) [more](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1229/934201899_958ccc8de7.jpg) pics. > > Interesting. Judging by the intakes and exhaust, it looks like the engine is amidships. Nothing in front of you to soak up the energy in a crash, and I’ve heard it’s a stone-faced bitch to balance a long drive shaft like that so it doesn’t shake your fillings out. On the plus side, the engine would be somewhat protected by the pilot soaking up the energy in a crash. Actually I thought one of the more interesting things was the two-bladed contra-rotating props. Here’s a [fact page](http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Bugatti%20Model%20100%20Racer%20Facts.asp) about it. It had two engines, which for some reason have been removed. It’s a 1930s design, and made mostly of wood. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620/29 "2010-09-05T15:09:16Z")
I’m not a pilot, but have always loved [these](http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/viewsingleimage.html?mode=singleimage&handle=AkRyder&number=95) since the first time I saw one as a child in Juneau. For cars, the unattainable for me is the [Talbot Lago Teardrop Coupe](http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS353US353&q=talbot+lago+teardrop+coupe&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=G7KDTNT0I5G8sQPD-oH3Bw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDAQsAQwAw&biw=1099&bih=495). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-always-wanted-one-of-these/552620.md?page=1)