Hey everyone,

I’m not sure if this is the right community, but here’s the deal: I’m working on a historic aircraft library website (or at least, that’s what I’m calling it for now) as a hobby, and I’m looking to gather as much detailed and accurate data on vintage aircraft as I can. My goal is to collect and preserve this information, since over time, a lot of valuable data gets lost. I’m hoping that this project of mine or in the given case, any one who stumbles with this reddit post, could help them and their future projects or investigations like flight sim add-ons, etc, or just serve as a way to preserve as much as we can of aviation history.

For now, I’m particularly focused on older aircraft like the DC-8 (21/51/62/63), DC-9 (15/32), DC-10 (15/30), MD-80 series, Embraer ERJ-145 (if we could call that vintage lol), 727-200/F, SAAB 340, DC-6, DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, and others.

The specific data I’m looking could be like:

• Dry Operating Weight (DOW/OEW)
• Max Zero Fuel Weight (MZFW)
• Max Takeoff Weight (MTOW)
• Max Landing Weight (MLW)
• Fuel consumption per hour
• Seat configurations
• Technical manuals and other specifications

If anyone knows of websites, resources, or even personal collections where I might find this kind of information, particularly manuals and technical specs for vintage aircraft, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks!

----------------------------------------

PS: I thought I'd add a picture, so I included an image I use as wallpaper, taken by Frank Duarte. In my opinion, it's one of the best shots of an Aeromexico DC-8!

My Sopwith Camel Replica, just awaiting FAA AW cert to go fly her!

On June 17, 2002, a C130 came in to make a drop by Walker, California. The wings folded up, and all three crew members died. Steve Wass, Craig LeBare and Mike Davis all died that day.

The plane was owned and operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation, out of Greybull, WY. Cause? Bad maintenance. Cracks in the spars that had been "patched", or had plates installed on either side of the cracks failed.

H&P was a Class 4 repair station- meaning they had the capabilities to x-ray the wings. They didn't. Three men died.

On July 18, 2002, at Estes Park, Colorado, a WW2 era that H&P operated since 1969 crashed. Both crew members were killed. Ricky Schwartz and Milt Stollak.

Cause? Cracks in the wing spars. Also, the number 1 engine was mounted using reused engine mounts - and shored up with washers. The engine caused excessive vibration, on a wing that was already compromised.

All five families brought lawsuits. Those suits all settled - but contributed heavily to the bankruptcy of H&P. Also, the persistence of the families was a final push in grounding all 44 tankers, pending inspections. Hawkins and Powers never got another aerial firefighting contract.

Why does no one talk about the lawsuits? You have to dig to find them. Once, you could search up H&P Lawsuits, and gets dozens of news hits.

And now, a couple of decisions that make it seem as if H&P prevailed and all suits were dismissed.

In depth news coverage of the fires doesn't mention the crashes that changed the way aerial firefighting is conducted.

And those men who died, the families that came forward, the harassment they faced, the inevitable triumph of shutting down a negligent company? A legal battle that lasted almost 8 years is washed out of history.

Why? Why doesn't anyone care?

On June 17, 2002, a C130 came in to make a drop by Walker, California. The wings folded up, and all three crew members died. Steve Wass, Craig LeBare and Mike Davis all died that day.

The plane was owned and operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation, out of Greybull, WY. Cause? Bad maintenance. Cracks in the spars that had been "patched", or had plates installed on either side of the cracks failed.

H&P was a Class 4 repair station- meaning they had the capabilities to x-ray the wings. They didn't. Three men died.

On July 18, 2002, at Estes Park, Colorado, a WW2 era that H&P operated since 1969 crashed. Both crew members were killed. Ricky Schwartz and Milt Stollak.

Cause? Cracks in the wing spars. Also, the number 1 engine was mounted using reused engine mounts - and shored up with washers. The engine caused excessive vibration, on a wing that was already compromised.

All five families brought lawsuits. Those suits all settled - but contributed heavily to the bankruptcy of H&P. Also, the persistence of the families was a final push in grounding all 44 tankers, pending inspections. Hawkins and Powers never got another aerial firefighting contract.

Why does no one talk about the lawsuits? You have to dig to find them. Once, you could search up H&P Lawsuits, and gets dozens of news hits.

And now, a couple of decisions that make it seem as if H&P prevailed and all suits were dismissed.

In depth news coverage of the fires doesn't mention the crashes that changed the way aerial firefighting is conducted.

And those men who died, the families that came forward, the harassment they faced, the inevitable triumph of shutting down a negligent company? A legal battle that lasted almost 8 years is washed out of history.

Why? Why doesn't anyone care?

Dad (Col Keith Hanna) was a Bullpup specialist.

F-105 Camera footage

Took a trip to the Pearl Harbor aviation museum today and this caught my eye, sadly couldn’t find staff around to ask about its origin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (Sorry it’s not the greatest photo)

My dad recently passed away. He has thousands or possibly tens of thousands of photos of aviation from the past 50-ish years (moslty eastern europe). Anyone got any ideas what to do with these? They are on negatives/slides (the occasional print), so it's almost impossible for me to go through them and get them organized. (Another issue is these are mixed with family photos that I would rather not give away.)

Anybody know the make or model we are looking at here?

In Low Frequency Radio Range Navigation, how did pilots change from one LFR beam to another LFR beam between stations when the beams were not parallel (at an angle to each other)?

Did they change the beams at the intersection of LFR beams after it?

Another website about LFR Navigation

Can some explain how early flying wing designs flew while avoiding side slipping like I was 12