London's Top 5 Aircraft with Rob Bell
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- Опубліковано 27 лис 2023
- Rob Bell, TV Presenter and Engineer, presents The Institution of Mechanical Engineers Top 5 Aircraft at the Royal Air Force Museum London, looking at what makes an aircraft an engineering success.
Follow Rob’s journey through the Museum hangars, as he takes a closer look at five amazing aircraft, and five examples of outstanding engineering.
To view these aircraft, and more, visit the RAF Museum London. Pre-book your entrance ticket online at www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/ . Entry is free.
Discover the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and find out more about an exciting career in engineering: www.imeche.org/careers-educat....
My only comment is that the P-51 was not "right first time". Both the Merlin powerplant and the bubble canopy were vital additions to the original design.
That could be said for 90% of aircraft ever made really.
"Never fly a Mk1 aircraft" has been said many times.
@@richardwillson101 did really or was that in a dive or a controlled test, I had even hard the P51-D had use 1 third of it Fuel up before it was easy to handle being a tad heavy and Sluggish with fall tanks
Spot on, at first it was under powered at altitude and required the Merlin to make it viable. The RAF took the rough diamond and gave it the foundation to make it great. The mk1 Spitfire was a greater success out of the box and as an aircraft in general.
I believe the comment Rob Bell made about "right the first time" was in reference to the wing design & the aerodynamic work done by other's. (chart at 8:48) Cheer's from over the pond!
@@keithstapleton7805 You are wrong !!!! As the Allison Mustang was faster than the then current $hitfire Mk V with its single stage supercharger, you see the merlin 60 did NOT exist until late 1942 in service 1943. The $hitfire was NOT a success "right out of the box" with its single stage supercharged engine anda fixed pitch prop. and NO range !!!
I would of liked to have seen the De Havilland Mosquito for its excellent and innovative use of materials science.
Wood, you believe it!
Nothing that special, did nothing better than anything else in service at he time !!!
So good to see the Short Sunderland included never mind making number one. C oastal Command are often the forgotten branch of the RAF who carried out long arduous and dangerous missions in our defence and suffered many casualties, among whom was my late mother's cousin Henry Morton who posted missing in action with all of the crew and never found, their aircraft T for Tommy is shown in the footage. RIP Henry, I haven't forgotten about you.
johndublyoo Interesting point NOT made was the Mk 5 Sunderland switched to the US Made radial engines, more powerful to get the overloaded pig off the water, NOT right the first time !!!!
Paragliding in Canada in 2008 I enjoyed a most rare opportunity while at Agassi in British Columbia. I had spiraled up in a big thermal to about 8000’ when I heard a very intriguing sound. It took me about one second to realize I was hearing the sound of Merlin engines coming towards me from way up the Chilliwak valley. They were definitely coming my way. About the time I became concerned about separation, a bloody MkIX Spitfire came around the bend followed by several P-51’s. I couldn’t believe it! I was getting an air show all for me about 2000’ over the flight. They passed below me and yet, there was still the sound of several approaching aircraft! It wasn’t several approaching aircraft, it was a Lancaster bomber, and I had front row seats to all her beauty and sound. I’m an aircraft mechanic by trade and considered this experience to having lunch with Jesus. The sound of four perfectly sync’ed Merlin’s was, well, just perfect. Someone waved at me from the top turret and they were gone, the sound of those beauties lingering in the air for several minutes. Needless to say, it was a perfect day of flying! Little did I know they were headed to the big Abbotsford Air Show. I went the next day and saw the Lancaster on static display at the show and had a chance to speak with some of the crew. Asked them where they came from, asked how the plane was doing, asked how their flight was. They said fantastic and exciting. I asked what was exciting and they said that coming into Abbbotsford they had flown under a paraglider up the Chilliwak valley. I asked him if they noticed the blue and yellow markings on the paraglider, and to my surprise, one of the people standing next to us said “I did, I waved to you and you waved back!” I told all of them that I appreciated the personal air show and that they could do that anytime they wanted.
An incredible experience, never to be forgotten. 🙂
Wow, Brilliant!
Top aircraft for me is the DC3/C47
Totally revolutionary and still flying 86years after it first flew
What a plane.
I flew in a DC3 in 1975. They were about 33 years old then. And there are a few still flying.
@@raywhitehead730 1936
Agree the gooney bird will see 100 years thanks to Basler conversions and beyond…😊😊
It was a great plane too !!!
good to see some Sunderland love! the flying boats tend to get over looked for their importance
I do love a Sunderland it's so fitting a name like Sunderland being a ship building town
The Sunderland did great service.
How much fuel, materials and personnel got past the U-boats thanks to Sunderland's help? 👍
OMG, fast show is back,BRILLIANT!
Harrier - unique solution for a perceived problem (soviets destroying bases), which also changed naval warfare. Tornado - introducing a lot of new technology (ground following radar, swept wings) and not failing. Mosquito - realizing that there is an unused resource (wood manufacturers) and designing an amazing product. Air refueling - really changed the face of air war. Drones/cheap manufacturing - cheap drones that can take out expensive tanks, support arty,... without injuring their operators is also a game changer
Tbh the swept wing design made it into production on aircraft such as the F-14 Tomcat, F-111 and MiG 23 long before the Tornado went into production but it was based on a British idea from the incredible mind of the great aircraft designer and engineer Barnes Wallis.
I live in Belfast. One of my earliest memories is seeing Belfast Harbour full of Sunderlands being de militarised after the war. I had a relation worked in the shipyard so had access during my off school days but had to walk the short distance past the airplane factory. I have a soft spot for these aircraft because of that.
It was a privilege to visit RAF Hendon London museum in 2018, while visiting from Australia.
I had the privilege of working on the BBMF as a Rigger, having worked on both Hurricane and the Spitfire, the difference between the design and construction is staggering, considering they were designed close together. As a design engineer I guess the Spitfire would win every time, it was the first of its time. But the Hurricane is a design delight in its own right, it was the last of its time. The Hurricane design made it simple to work on, it was and is an engineering success. by the time on the flight came to an end my early delight at being able to work on Spitfires had transferred to an absolute love of working on Hurricanes
Great five choices . This was a good watch.
The 'Top 5' format, while accessible, can also be overly simplistic so Mr. Bell does a great job in reaching beyond the subjective by explaining the selection criteria in relation to other aircraft.
00:17 Nice to see that Mk3 glider there. I got my gliding wings in one of those at 645 Gliding School, RAF Catterick, in 1973 during my time in the Air Training Corps (Air Cadets). 🙂
Yup. I will have to go again. My father (d 1962) was on convoys in WW2 and always said a Sunderland was a most glorious site. I had a fully painted and camouflaged Airfix kit hanging from the ceiling of my bedroom in my youth!
ASW aircraft squadrons have competitions for The Best ASW Squadron. In 1967, the RNZAF won the competition flying Sunderland Mk. V MPAs IIRC.
There is a great wartime video of a typical day in the life of a Sunderland and it’s crew.
No arguments from me. Although my top 5 might be different your reasons for those picks were well-presented so fair play.
The sound of the Lanc in flight is sheer bliss. And I'm a sucker for flying boats so your number 1 was a nice surprise.
The combination of an amazing American airframe with the British Rolls-Royce Merlin engine made a war winner.
If you mean the Mustang it was built by Fokker they just changed the Company name. Same people who built the triplane.
The Mustang was Designed and Built by North American Aviation in 1940!
Fokker America was part of the General Motors Corporation as was North American. However Fokker demerged from GM in 1931 and had nothing to do the the Mustang.
Very true edward, i believe it was just "adequate" rather than "right, from the start" as said in the video, it was indeed in my opinion, only when the merlin was fitted by the british, that it became a world beater.
I believe it was only after the RAF retro-fitted Merlins to its original Mustangs that the USAAF took any interest having previously discounted the Mustang because of its poor performance envelope so I agree with you @@anthonylewis679
I love these types of vids I hope you guys can get all the guys from UA-cam on like the tank museum top stuff
It's already been done.
Excellent presentation, I would like to suggest for consideration the English Electric Canberra developed first in 1944 as the DH Mosquito replacement (yes very big shoes to fill) entering service in the RAF in 1951 and serving in a variety of roles to 2007 (56 years in continuous RAF service) widely exported and even our friends in the USA saw its potential and operated them as the modified B57 - I believe NASA still fly them (WB57).
Operational in a range of challenging theatres in several variants from Suez, Rhodesia, Vietnam, the South Atlantic and many places beyond carrying everything and anything you can imagine with good serviceability and safety, it was loved by its aircrews.
If people knew how important and effective this aircraft really was and more importantly what it could do perhaps it would get more credit however restrictions prevent me from elaborating further. A fantastic platform that could fly like a fighter and set many records and was a test bed for many aeronautical advancements. If you are still not convinced just watch Roland Beaumont's demonstration of the prototype at Farnborough to see some of its potential for development. Am I biased - perhaps as my late Father flew them extensively but I cannot comment further.
I really enjoyed the way you presented this list. I quite agree with all of these choices being amazing and important aircraft
I was in this museum and saw these planes. But my favorites are Concorde and Blackbird.
Great video. But, 3 miles down the street from me is an SR 71 Blackbird. And a DC3. My choices. I see them every day.
The video's titled 'London's Top 5'. It just covers the aircraft at the RAF Museum, Hendon. (There's a Dakota at the collection at RAF Cosford and a Blackbird at IWM Duxford.)
Hi Bob, the Fokker D.7 was flown by former WW1 Ace Hermann Goering.
Thank you @jodypitt3629. An interesting fact.
Finally made my way there, just this past October. Seeing the planes on display was fantastic for me. Thank you for preserving such beautiful pieces of history, for people like me to enjoy.
Hey Rob, thank you for a very thought provoking video. I had never considered the Sunderland in terms of it's engineering, so I'm glad you brought it to my atttention.
I would suggest you consider the Mosquito and the Harrier for some place in the order. The Harrier in particular brought "out of the box" concepts to operational service. The Mosquito less so, because DeHaviland had been building wooden aircraft for a long time, but the excellence of their design was the reason for it's brilliant performance, and of course the design team knew that the wooden structure was going to be vital during the wartime demand for aluminum. Both of them are brilliant examples of British engineering.
It's instructive as well to compare the performance of the P-51 B,C & D to the Spitfire IX. Since the V-1650-7 was the functional equivalent of the Merlin 66, the aircraft had equal power. Yet the much larger and heavier Mustang was as fast. This would have been an aerodynamic impossibility without the information coming from CalTech & NACA (and feedback from the skies over Southern England).
Anyway, thanks again for an interesting video. Please keep up the good work.
Nice to see the Sunderland getting some love.
Feels very strange hearing these legendary aircraft being referred to as 'products'. I suppose that is what they were at the time of creation though. Interesting to hear an engineering perspective.
its short yet very informative, and a good job in filming and presenting. Recommended.
Thanks for posting & the explanations ! Always good to learn new things !
G,day to you! Very enjoyable ,nice to see a none biased choice, the closed thing I got to the Sunderland was walking on a jetty near a Empress Flying Boat in Sydney harbour!
'The first heavy bomber designed by Avro' was the Manchester, not the Lancaster.
Nice to see the Sunderland getting some love. It fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and much else besides. Whilst my favourite aircraft is the Hurricane, if I fly in any aeroplane, it would be the Sunderland (preferably to somewhere hot and sunny.)
I was here less than a month ago ,really good as an aviation geek 😆 I wish I could go inside the b17 like you can with the Sunderland 😅
Number 1 was a surprise, but I completely get why you chose it.
I guess the Manchester, from which the Lancaster came, was not a heavy bomber? The Lancaster was basically a Manchester with a longer wing to hold two extra engines. And the short wings were caused by the RAF requiiring a wingspan of 99 feet, to fit into existing hanagars. The P-51 was a clean sheet design taking advantage of everything learned to that point. The Kittyhawk, and Hurricane, were continuations of earlier designs and restricted by that.
A really interesting design element of the P-51 was the radiator ducting and design that significantly reduced the drag of the radaitor.
It would be interesting to compare the Sunderland to the Martin PBM.
The Manchester suffered from the same restriction on wing span as the Stirling. The Stirling as a bomber was not as good as it could have been, yet Shorts managed to produce the Sunderland seaplane.
Frosty The Martin PBM was a better more powerful aircraft !! !
The P51 Mustang was not "right first time" it needed a better engine, the Rolls Royce Merlin supplied at the behest of the RAF. The Sunderland is an excellent choice for number one though.
Well, we all have our opinions, but perhaps you only had a list of six. Try to do it again with "The Best 100" .
I love the Sunderland but if longevity is a reason for its position, it is well trumped by the Vulcan and the Shackleton. For pure engineering design, surely the Harrier should be on the list.
And the Nimrod?
The vulcan is overrated, as apart from Nuclear Deterrent, it never really did much.
I'm not sure if they have a Shackelton at Hendon Museum.
Or a Harrier for that matter 🤔
@@richardwillson101 the RAF Museum’s Avro Shackleton AEW2 was at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester until being moved in 2022 to the Avro Heritage Museum in Woodford, Cheshire where it was originally built in 1954.
We have a Harrier GR9A at our London site and a Harrier GR3 at the Midlands site.
@@richardwillson101 Plenty of cold war aircraft "never did anything". That doesn't mean they weren't any good. Unlike the Septics, Britain never had a need to drop 10 tons of iron bombs at random for almost all of the Vulcan's 30 year service life.
@jonathanmormerod I'm very glad of the fact we didn't.
However, I stand by my opinion that the vulcan is overrated as a platform in history.
It is beautiful, it was cutting edge risk taking design, but plenty of other aircraft held the same deterrent role alongside and would have done the same thing had it been required.
The endurance they faced on the black buck sorties is quite impressive however.
For me the number one would have to be the Harrier, it took the rest of the world 46 years to equal its capabilities and the fact that the US built it under licence for many years speaks volumes about British engineering.
Was so sure you were leading up to introducing the Sea Harrier as number 1.
This can only be a matter of opinion. For instance, was TSR2 there ? Or an Me262 ? Or a Vulcan ?? Or a harrier or a mosquito ??? COSFORD has all of those.
OF COURSE it's a matter of opinion! That's what all these 'top 5' things are - OPINIONS, based on subjectively chosen criteria, and hopefully highlighting some interesting aspect of each contender. Did you honestly expect it to be the definitive, incontrovertible, absolute list?
But not Hendon...
Yes Cosford does... which is why they are featured in the Cosford video and not Hendon one 😂
five pretty good choices - with the Sunderland as a worthy surprise No.1. My grandfather served in them in WW2 having first taken to the air with the RNAC before WW1.
When Rob say 'Brilliant' it just reminds me of the Fast Show and Paul Whitehouse..
That was exactly the reference we were going for. So thank you for noticing 👍
Aircraft that are built years later in a war are bound to be very very much better than their predecessors
this would be a great series to start, though it could use some editing improvements
The P-51 Mustang was not right first time, as it was originally a lacklustre attack aircraft called the A-36 Apache, and even the early Marks were not significantly better than the P-40 Kittyhawk. However, when they put a Merlin in it...
why is the sound of the Fokker DV11 a rotary where you cut the ignition to reduce power due to not having a throttle, when the DV11 had an inline engine which had a normal throttle.
That is probably a good question for the guys in New Zealand who filmed the D.VII. Can we come back to you?
Yes
Mosquito is the most beautiful and lethal machine!!! I do love the Sunderland!! A palacial machine!!!
Popped in this year to see just one aircraft....
The Heinkel He-162
You are the expert and using what you have in your collection. I agree with you only on the Lank. The P51 was ok but we all know the F4 Corsair and even the P47 were better. The Chinook helicopter and the CH130 definitely need to be on the list if that’s acceptable
Now that all the Fat Alberts have been retired - they ought to put one aside for the RAF Museum. They were THE workhorse, for so many decades.
The top 5 not about being better it designs that move the goal post, that change things, and has for the lover's of the F4 Corsair it had it own issue it took 3 years to get from the drawing board to operation, the P51 took around 100 days they say than it took another country and the Royal Navy fleet air arm to sort the issue of getting to do it primary design role as an aircraft Carrier fighter ,And let be honest here it tuned up to late to have any real impact on the 2nd WW , And there's a lot of hype and mythos about the F4 Corsair war record out they in You tube world. IF we were really honest with ourselves
I will politely disagree with you on the F4 vs the P51. But I am very lucky to know people that flew the F4 and also repaired it so I am biased @@daniellastuart3145
@markwalker4485 I never said F4 was not a very good aircraft.i was a great one. I just that. WW 2 record is over exsturated for it length of service
And ltes the Frank you F4 love tend to wash over it flaws
You all should def copy the template of The Tank Museum. You should pick a plane and go into its history. You'd probably get huge views.
Thank you. Judging by the comments here the Mosquito would be a good choice to start with
@@RoyalAirForceMuseum yea that would be great! There are so many cool planes we could learn about.
Fly West!
You missed the Chance Vought F4U-Corsair, the best fighter of WW2.
It should be clearer " From this list imagine they have at least 5 aircraft there. As a tool to inspire British engineers this is *not great* At least Rob is unfailingly positive, but all all 5 here are weaponised.
So, you asked for it in the comments and as the IMechE is a British institution my top British aircraft then:
Concorde - (Albeit partly French) - did that very fast thing, reliably (or until it ingested a spanner)
Comet - first Jet engined aircraft the understanding of which means you can go on holiday for beans
Blackburn Buccaneer - blown wings & area rule!
Harrier - VTOL
Lancaster - how you do a bomber in WW2
Mosquito - how you actually do a bomber forever more
Hurricane - collet fastenings?!
Spitfire - because Supermarine records show how competitive engineering pushes things forward
It should be clearer: that this is RAF museum LONDON - thanks youtube's editor software
We asked and you delivered. Thank you. We are seeing the Harrier and Mosquito being recommended in many of the comments.
what, no F4 Phantom?
Sorry @Cthulhulnc, maybe it will make it into the Top 5 Jets video
Great aircraft ,worked on them in the early 70`c at RAF Coningsby...
The Brits produced jet fighters equal to or better then the F4 during the same time period. In my opinion.
@@raywhitehead730Definitely an opinion!
The F4 was an incredible aircraft and thr favourite of MANY a Fleet Air Arm pilot over any British made aircraft of the time.
I'm sure many RAF pilots would say the same.
While this is a great list, I personally would have put the Lancaster first
I agree on all. The Sunderland was always one of my favourite planes. The Flying Porcupine the Germans called her.
I would have gone into more detail on the P-51 -- her laminar flow wing, an American plane designed to a British Specification powered by a British engine.
Always subjective
I would have put the Spitfire in the top 5, an aircraft that was designed when biplanes were still the primary fighters of most countries yet was still a viable fighter when the first generation of jet aircraft were flying.
We probably would have included the Spitfire, but if you watch the Cosford's Museum Top 5 video you might see why we didn't.
Not sure who wrote your script Rob!
Spitfire better than Hurricane? Any B of B pilot would tell you differently.
Lanc is #1 IMHO. No other aircraft delivered as much pain to the Nazis.
So, I have a theory but I haven’t done the proper ‘due diligence’ with it yet ie I wouldn’t argue its merits to the bitter end.
It goes like this: instead of making loads of four engine ‘heavies’ the Crab Creams would have been much better off making a shed load of Mossies instead. Discuss (50 points).
The Lancaster carried 3 times the bombs of a B17.
Love the Lancaster, but the B 29 beats it and the first production types first flew only about 11 months apart. ( 1941, 1942 ) Pressurised cabin, computer controlled gun systems.
It had to carry 3 times the bombs of a B17 to have any chance of hitting anything at all when chucking them out in the pitch dark.🤣🤣
@@grantm6514 If you want to find out just how (in)accurate USAAF bombing in the ETO was, check out Lord HardThrasher. The Norden bombsight was rubbish and the bombing accuracy by day was barely better than the RAF by night. It only improved substantially once the AAF started using pathfinders and H2X, by which time the need for accurate bombing had passed, unless of course it was pinpoint accuracy on hardened targets that was required, in which case B-17s & B-24s were useless because they couldn't carry the bombs required to destroy such targets and the RAF's SABS was far better than the Norden.
I would love to visit the museum. I believe you have the prototype DeHavilland Mosquito there, and my dad helped to build it at Hatfield...
Sadly I live down in New Zealand and it is too far away for my finances to allow me to travel back to the UK to see it. I was born in 1942 and grew up in London.... not far from DH's....
The prototype Mosquito is at the de Havilland Museum near Hatfield.
I would have put the Spitfire in place instead of the Mustang. Don't get me wrong the Mustang is magnificent... but essentially it was a Spitfire on steroids and would not have come about without the Spitfire preceding it.
Poor old Hurricane. always second to it's more glamorous sister. Rugged, able to absorb damage and be more easily repaired. A good gun platform that was responsible for more Luftwaffe Aircraft destroyed during the Battle of Britain. One doesn't hear of a wartime 'Hurricane Fund' do you?
Fokker D7 seems to have the sound of a rotary in the footage! 😁
No Mossie? Shirley some mistake!
Surprised the Mosquito isn’t in this list
Many in the comments have suggested the same of this wooden wonder
The Mustang was no good untill they instaled the MERLIN.
The Lancaster wasn’t the first bomber designed by Avro. That was the Manchester. Although similar to the Lancaster it only had two engines and was vastly underpowered for the job. The lessons learnt from the Manchester went into the Lancaster which is why that plane was such a good bomber.
First HEAVY bomber, just as he said.
@@Pte1643the manchester WAS designed as a heavy bomber, not sure what youre trying to get at?
The Mustang was a pile of do do until it got Merlin Engines.
Too much B roll, not enough detail. Good choices though.
britain invented both radar and the jet engine, howwever germany put the first jet fighter into the air, and the first plane radar systems onto planes for night fighters.
germans made the diesel engine though. when they do it simple it's unkillable.
1. Spitfire, 2. Hurricane, 3. Lancaster, 4. Lightning, 5. Vulcan. **
One day when you're invited to tender your opinion, you can make a video about it.
@@grantm6514 … hey, at least they got two out of five right!
@@grantm6514 at the end of the video everyone is invited to tender their opinion 😄
Mosquito????????
I thought 'Fokker' was Dutch not German?
You thought right! Fokker was a Dutch company that produced civil aircraft as well.
The Hurricane downed more enemy planes in the Battle of Britain than the more glamorous Spitfire. Am I correct in thinking a Spitfire took 10000 man hours to build but a Hurricane only took 5000 ?
Try some research!!
@@JohnSmith-ei2pz well correct me if I’m wrong!
Not forgetting the fact that the Lancaster had the same top speed as the fighters of the time.
What!? where the hell did you get that absurdity from?
No less then Eisenhower, listed the DC 3, as one of the best weapons the allies had in WW2
Spitfire no 1 every time ❤
1. CF-100
2. CL-13
3. Twin Otter
4. Beaver
5. Canadair CL-415
6. CF-105
All these people copying the Cadence of Jeremy Clarkson...
Why not talk normaly?
The presenter looks surprised (just look at those eyes!) I couldn't take him seriously! Sorry!
The SAAb 37, the Viggen and its marvellous soloutions and ground breaking engineering deserves to be on the list.. :)
But still a great vid.
They might not have one at the RAF Museum.
So how much public money did you waste rebranding all the museums so people won't know where you are. Hendon and Cosford made sense. Just saying your in London is stupid!
IS THIS VIDIO FOR CHILDREN , IT SEEMS SO 😂 !
Like your spelling!
Sorry but Mustang was a loser until married to a Rolls Royce engine. The original Alison engine version was barely better than the P-40.
I like Rob Bell as as a presenter but please mate, don't waste any more time on that awful Abandoned Engineering show that spends more time asking why the buildings it is showing were abandoned than giving the explanation!
Idiotic. The Mustang was average at first. The Sunderlañd was a lump. The D. VII was so good that it was proscribed at Versailles. Yes for the Lancaster, except it was a death trap for crews who often could not bail out wearing a parachute. The Mosquito??..
What is a Plane? It certainly is not what you are looking at. They are aeroplanes. That is what the RAF taught me and you should keep lazy Americanisms out of it. You come across as less than ideal for presenting this type of content. GFood Day!
I agree with you, which is why the title of the video is Top 5 'Aircraft'.
A tool for working with Wood?