24 Apr 2024, 19:40 [ UTC - 5; DST ]
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Post subject: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 06 Jun 2021, 11:49 |
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Joined: 02/13/10 Posts: 20129 Post Likes: +23629 Location: Castle Rock, Colorado
Aircraft: Prior C310,BE33,SR22
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The Northrup P-61 all metal twin-engine, twin-boom fighter first flew in 1942 and was in production in 1943. It was the first aircraft designed to use radar, and the first designed as a night fighter. 706 of these P-61's were built. On the night of August 14, 1945, a P-61B named Lady in the Dark was unofficially credited with the last Allied air victory before VJ Day. I don't think I've ever seen a P-61 in the wild. The 2021 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide comes in 3 color and modification schemes; the best -- in my opinion -- is designated the " Black Hole" and its design and scheme were inspired by the Northrup P-61. They both fly. And no, I don't own either one... . Attachment: P-61 Black Widow.JPG Attachment: P-61.1.JPG Attachment: 21 CVO.JPG Attachment: 21 CVO.2.JPG Attachment: 21 CVO.1.JPG
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_________________ Arlen Get your motor runnin' Head out on the highway - Mars Bonfire
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 06 Jun 2021, 13:39 |
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Joined: 10/07/18 Posts: 2692 Post Likes: +1800 Location: Columbus, Ohio
Aircraft: Baron 58, Lear 35
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Username Protected wrote: As a kid I built a Revell model P61. I always thought it was a cool looking airplane. I built the same model. The actual plane is bigger than what you think of as a WWII fighter. There is one at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. 6 or 8 years ago they had a Night at the Museum event and they had the cockpit on the P61 open and you could lean in and look around. I read somewhere that the P61 had the fastest roll rate of any WWII fighter. I guess that’s what full span spoilers will do for you.
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 06 Jun 2021, 15:58 |
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Joined: 07/02/08 Posts: 2200 Post Likes: +462 Company: HPA Location: Twin Cities, MN (KANE)
Aircraft: BE58, C182
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Arlen, how dare you - I'm looking at bikes and you post this? Dad was a radioman at Floridablanca, Luzon 1946-7 with the 419 NFS and got to fly in them on hack duties around the island while there. So, I grew up hearing about them a lot. We saw the MAAM one coming together a number of years ago and that thing is amazing - they will get it to fly someday and I'll do what it takes to be there to see it. The Udvar-Hazy one is (was, it's been a while) in a nice setup to get a good detailed look at the type. Attachment: IMG_0702.jpg
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_________________ Jack Shelton 1964 C-182G PPONK 1973 BE-58
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 07 Jun 2021, 10:12 |
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Joined: 07/01/19 Posts: 742 Post Likes: +340
Aircraft: In market
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Username Protected wrote: As a kid I built a Revell model P61. I always thought it was a cool looking airplane. I built the same model. The actual plane is bigger than what you think of as a WWII fighter. There is one at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. 6 or 8 years ago they had a Night at the Museum event and they had the cockpit on the P61 open and you could lean in and look around. I read somewhere that the P61 had the fastest roll rate of any WWII fighter. I guess that’s what full span spoilers will do for you.
Make me the third. The P-61 was so cool to me because of how big it was when I saw it in Dayton (back when you could walk all around the planes). I built all sorts of model planes as a kid but the WW2 models were my favorite. The only one I really strayed on was the P-38. I was in the 3rd or 4th grade and wrote a letter to Lefty Gardner explaining what I was doing. He sent me a ton of photos of White Lightning and I replicated it as best as I could. I’m not a bike guy myself but I do look at them as pieces of rolling art the people make unique and personal.
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 07 Jun 2021, 10:27 |
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Joined: 02/22/09 Posts: 2566 Post Likes: +1971 Location: KLOM
Aircraft: J35, L-19, PT17
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I met a former P-61 pilot, Joe Jenkins, about 15 years ago at his airport. https://www.pippinfuneralhome.com/obituary/Joe-JenkinsThe day I met Joe, a few friends and I were spending the day touring grass airports around Delaware and Maryland in our Citabrias. Joe spent quite a bit of time talking to us. Guess what, he and his fellow pilots didn't want the Black Widow. They were hoping to get deHavilland Mosquitos instead. He said that they all felt that the Mosquito was the better plane. One other thing about Joe. About a year before I met him, I wasn't having any luck tracking down a fuel valve for my 1968 7ECA Citabria. Somebody suggested Jenkins Salvage Yard. I called and spoke to Joe. He told me to mail him a check for $25.00 and he'd mail it out as soon as we got off the phone. He didn't know me from Adam and still sent me the valve without being paid first. Good guy!!!
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 07 Jun 2021, 22:42 |
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Joined: 08/24/18 Posts: 492 Post Likes: +346 Location: New Jersey, KVAY
Aircraft: Citabria
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Username Protected wrote: I met a former P-61 pilot, Joe Jenkins, about 15 years ago at his airport. https://www.pippinfuneralhome.com/obituary/Joe-JenkinsThe day I met Joe, a few friends and I were spending the day touring grass airports around Delaware and Maryland in our Citabrias. Joe spent quite a bit of time talking to us. Guess what, he and his fellow pilots didn't want the Black Widow. They were hoping to get deHavilland Mosquitos instead. He said that they all felt that the Mosquito was the better plane. One other thing about Joe. About a year before I met him, I wasn't having any luck tracking down a fuel valve for my 1968 7ECA Citabria. Somebody suggested Jenkins Salvage Yard. I called and spoke to Joe. He told me to mail him a check for $25.00 and he'd mail it out as soon as we got off the phone. He didn't know me from Adam and still sent me the valve without being paid first. Good guy!!! I was there too and remember Joe's preference for the Mosquito. Sept 2006. Unfortunately the only picture I can find has Joe facing away from the camera (the man in green)
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 08 Jun 2021, 00:52 |
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Joined: 11/22/12 Posts: 2602 Post Likes: +2364 Company: Retired Location: Lynnwood, WA (KPAE)
Aircraft: 1993 Bonanza A36TN
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HD's inspiration may have been a little more recent ... Attachment: batmobile.jpg
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Post subject: Re: Northrup P-61 Black Widow inspires Harley-Davidson Posted: 08 Jun 2021, 19:33 |
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Joined: 07/19/18 Posts: 368 Post Likes: +154
Aircraft: On the hunt...
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I have a picture around here somewhere of my father standing next to *his* P61 at Pontedera Airfield in Italy. He was the Signal Corps electronics tech on the plane and often flew on test missions (I don't know about operationally). I'll try to find the pic.
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