So ever since the purchase of my 170B years ago, I've always been intrigued by the optional rocket flare launcher shown in the parts manual. At last year's convention in Bardstown, KY there was at least one aircraft I saw that previously had the flare launching kit installed, though the 3-hole plate in the side of the fuselage had long since been capped.
My assumption was that such a mechanism would have been used primarily to mark the location of some ground-based feature (like marking a target, but in some civilian capacity). Or perhaps just to torment folks on the ground below on an otherwise slow day .
I recently came across an article from Nov. 1955 Flying magazine which sheds light (pun intended ) on the true intended application. You can follow the link here. I've also pared it down to an 8-pg PowerPoint presentation, but the forum website isn't allowing me to attach it. If you know another method, let me know so I can share the file. FYI, check out the ad on pg. 52 for the tricycle conversion of a 170 too. Enjoy!
http://books.google.com/books?id=FLPKvK ... na&f=false
I doubt the Feds would look kindly upon firing incindiary devices from a civilian aircraft today, but I still think it would be fun to do it once... but only from the ship-mounted method. I cannot imagine keeping the hand-held type described in the article within reach in the cockpit and then firing it out the window at strategic intervals!
Flare Launcher details
Moderators: GAHorn, Karl Towle, Bruce Fenstermacher
Flare Launcher details
1953 C170B - N170RP S/N 25865
Re: Flare Launcher details
I was able to upload it as a .pdf document.
- Attachments
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- flare operation_1.pdf
- (984.54 KiB) Downloaded 494 times
1953 C170B - N170RP S/N 25865
Re: Flare Launcher details
No comments on this? I was hoping it would spark some amusing conversation. Any old "sticks" out there have first hand experience with these as the article describes?
I know a guy that knew an IA way back that claimed to have seen a small plane with the flare launching hardware installed. Said one got caught in the tube once and made a real mess of the side of the fuselage as it burned!
I know a guy that knew an IA way back that claimed to have seen a small plane with the flare launching hardware installed. Said one got caught in the tube once and made a real mess of the side of the fuselage as it burned!
1953 C170B - N170RP S/N 25865
Re: Flare Launcher details
There was some discussion of flares in this thread last year
Re: Flare Launcher details
DaveF wrote:There was some discussion of flares in this thread last year
Dang it! Looks like I'm too late to the conversation. I guess I ought to check the forum more frequently
1953 C170B - N170RP S/N 25865
Re: Flare Launcher details
Sorry, didn't mean to imply you were late, just that there were some interesting comments there. Heck, if we only discussed new topics there'd be very few posts around here.