6951 x 4634 px | 58,9 x 39,2 cm | 23,2 x 15,4 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
23. Februar 2017
Ort:
Tucson, AZ
Weitere Informationen:
This is the Fairey AEW MK.3 Gannet. It was designed for the Royal Navy (U.K.) to be used as a dedicated anti-submarine aircraft which could be launched from an aircraft carrier (its wings fold up as do most carrier-based aircraft). To me, it is an odd-looking beast starting with the contra-rotating propellers. One propeller will spin clockwise, the outer counter-clockwise resulting in greater thrust from a given engine than a single-propeller design. It also provides more stable handling at low speed. The downside is that this design creates more noise. The second odd-ball feature is that the plane looks pregnant. That is a radar dome enclosing a radar adapted from a predecessor aircraft. This adaptation then required a cascade of other modifications including moving the observer's cockpit, creating a new cabin, moving the exhaust, increasing the size of the vertical stabilizer and increasing the length of the undercarriage. It began service in 1958 and was retired in 1978 — only 44 were built.
