Vintage Air Race Photo: The famous P-38 “White Lightnin’” piloted by Lefty Gardner
Posted by NWinston@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 34 comments
Really cool signed print I have. I’m not sure of the photographer or location. White Lightnin’ crashed in 2001 and was later sold to the Red Bull Flying Bulls in Austria.
SeerSearSciear@reddit
great pic of one of my favorite planes! but is that barrel on a pole the course marker? i'd have thought they were a bit...softer, maybe inflatable
NWinston@reddit (OP)
Yea they still have these wooden pylons at Reno! (likely where this photo was taken)
Scott2G@reddit
I miss the Reno Air Races :(
Sad-Bus-7460@reddit
Me too bud
Disastrous_Case9297@reddit
I don’t think they did much inflatable stuff when that pic was snapped.
unsafervguy@reddit
reno never used inflatables. that was a red bull thing.
Disastrous_Case9297@reddit
..pretty sure we were still drinking Jolt soda when that pic was snapped.
jkmapping@reddit
5g antenna before 1g existed.
feed_me_tecate@reddit
I have a really dumb question I've been afraid to ask, and don't know what to even google, but here goes. This is related to the photo.
Wings give lift to get off the ground. I think I understand the high/ low pressure thing.
But when you're flying sideways like this, do you just kinda, fall out of the sky slowly since the lift is now vertical to the ground? Is the pilot in this photo using the crazy bank angle + lift to swing around the pylon?
If there is a term for this, please let me know so I can read more about it.
NWinston@reddit (OP)
For a given aircraft, there is a minimum speed required to maintain a level turn. As the aircraft banks into a turn, the vertical component of the lift vector decreases, so you need to go faster to stay level. In air racing, aircraft are going very fast, so they can maintain steep roll angles without losing altitude.
When an acrobatic aircraft performs a “knife edge” maneuver, it is no longer relying on the wings for lift, rather the fuselage itself, and often some thrust.
wdgiles@reddit
Seems similar to the fair rides that spin at high speed and you "stick" to the wall without falling down. In this case, I'd say the wings are still providing lift but centripetal force of the aircraft pushing against the air column with the wings keeps it airborne. Hard to explain, but makes more sense to me this way.
NoResult486@reddit
That’s not how physics works. The wings do not provide any vertical lift when in knife edge flight, and the “air column” cannot support the aircraft like the wall of the ride you reference. The lift comes from the airflow over the fuselage and the thrust vector of the propellers. No magic forces involved.
wdgiles@reddit
Agreed there's lots of forces at play here, but wings don't just turn off either. They either provide lift or they don't but they can't stop at will. If the air column can't support the aircraft, then how does the aircraft stay airborne while in straight and level flight? Of course the air supports it, that's why they stay up there.
NoResult486@reddit
You’re correct that the wings do not turn off, but the lift force is a result of the pressure differential from top to bottom of the wing multiplied by the surface area of the wing. In knife edge flight the lift vector of the wings is parallel to the ground, so it does not contribute to keeping the plane in the air. The plane cannot be pushed up against the air column, like the wall of the ride in your example because the air is a fluid, not a solid structure like the wall. There will still be a pressure differential on the wing, based on hair speed and angle of attack of the wing, but the force will act perpendicular to the wing, which is parallel to the ground. The only vertical forces are from the propeller thrust vector, and the lift generated by the sides of the fuselage and tail.
Tommy_Juan@reddit
Can some explain where the lift comes from when the plane is in this turn??
Bullsheeto@reddit
You had to experience Lefty coming around pylons 2&3 and disappearing below the horizon to suddenly pop up sage brush level.
Really fortunate to have been able to live in Stead and family in Lemmon Valley during the hey day of true air racing!!’
Protesilaus2501@reddit
At Reno in the 80's I got to experience Lefty coming around pylon 8 when he had a sudden accelerated stall, dropping the inside wingtip beyond vertical, disappearing below the horizon in a pilot induced roll oscillation, pulling up an eternity later and promptly leaving the course to come in and clean out his pants.
When skill and luck coincide, luck can go either way.
ismbaf@reddit
So we’re those people standing there spectators? Just curious if I missed out some other really cool shit that people used to do back in the day.
skippythemoonrock@reddit
"Back in the day" meaning like, a few years ago.. You could always do this at Reno. No more air races though.
ismbaf@reddit
Damn. I never would have imagined that was possible
Notchersfireroad@reddit
Watched Lefty fly this beauty a bunch of times as a kid. Solidified my love for the P38.
Mriya741@reddit
That's a very cool shot of P-38
TX_spacegeek@reddit
I saw White Lightnin at the Oshkosh show many, many times. He would come over the city at tree top level. Those twin Allisons made the most beautiful sound.
Borkdadork@reddit
Wow!
JayGold@reddit
What are those parts on the sides of the booms, behind the wings?
Silver996C2@reddit
Radiators for engine cooling.
DashBee22@reddit
Air intakes I believe
Cryanwhite@reddit
I new his son, went to pilot training school with him in the mid to late 90s. One of many great stories is he had a bi-plane and would skid the wheels off the waters of Lake Witney north of Waco. As a passenger would scare the crap out of me but just shows the balls of steel the whole family has and what great pilots they are too. Met his dad Lefty and White Lightening and will never forget it!
Dangerous-Salad-bowl@reddit
Just to raise you, I worked for the CAF in '73 and Lefty Gardner arranged to give me (19 YO) ride in the back of a P38 while doing an airshow tour in Oklahoma. Sadly, on the morning, the weather gods intervened and it never happened.
(The P38 in the picture was owned by Gary Levitz at the time)
NWinston@reddit (OP)
That’s sounds incredible! I’m sure the stories are endless. I have family from South TX that knew and had flown with him.
dscottj@reddit
An old story was that he used to practice touch-and-goes on the Gulf because he liked the rooster tails the wheels kicked up. Probably apocryphal but 12 year-old me thought it was an awesome story back in the day.
NWinston@reddit (OP)
I wouldn’t be too surprised!
WardoftheWood@reddit
Would love to hear the sound!
Ruud461@reddit
Get on it son!!!