EXTINCT SPECIES - Airplanes that flew, but not one example exists today!

[@rileyk5628]

the fact that no Boeing clippers have been saved is incredibly devastating; after travelling to Hawaii as a little kid and seeing so many photos and promotional images from way back when featuring these Pan Am clippers... it's honestly shocking how such a legendary aircraft does not exist anymore.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

If I was a Tycoon I would own and travel the world on a Clipper …. Or a PBY

[@miklosernoehazy8678]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 don't lose heart... ...there is a full size replica, built from original Boing blueprints, and it is on display at the Foynes flying boat and maritime museum in Ireland...

[@timorvet1]

@@miklosernoehazy8678 Maureen O’Hara was Patron of the Museum until her death in 2015, and there are many personal items of hers on display.

[@miklosernoehazy8678]

@@timorvet1 ..cool factoid!...

[@ericmkendall1]

Sadly, the only action the YB-49 flying wing saw would be the single sortie in which one example dropped an atomic bomb on the nest of Martian war machines outside Los Angeles in the 1953 film version of "The War of the Worlds."

[@williamjordan5554]

Northrop's flying wing research came in handy when Northrop developed the B-2.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

That was all stock footage.

[@scottrichardson8158]

Wasn't a hydrogen bomb as usually defined; but I am sure it was a more developed than the WWII atomic bombs. Was it a "boosted" design? What was the yield? Obviously not enough as the Martian war machines were not stopped but still of interest.

[@ericmkendall1]

@@scottrichardson8158 A radio reporter on the scene had this to say: "Now, we've been warned that this bomb is ten times more powerful than anything previously used, it's the latest thing in nuclear fission. Nothing like this has ever been exploded before..." It might conceivably have been a "boosted" weapon. It was almost certainly not a legit hydrogen bomb. The first US hydrogen bomb test had only taken place the previous year, and the Teller-Ulam device detonated in November 1952 was not really a practical weapon. Those would only come a few years later.

[@goldtutch]

oh wow heh

[@RM-we7px]

Avro Arrow just a dagger in the hearts of Canadians.

[@n2uid01]

I believe those Orenda engines could have pushed the Arrow close to Mach3. Mike knows the 2 books relating to the Arrow. Look for, Fall of the Arrow by Murry Peden.

[@deltavee2]

@@n2uid01 I'd read it but I'd just get mad all over again. Dief should be dug up and shot just to make sure then buried face down for the usual reason. Just rhetoric of the outraged. Pay it no mind. :\(

The canadian government killed the project but saved its memory. It wouldn't have been that praised if it was left to agonize as a dated design. Remember that it rolled out at the same time Russia sent Sputnik, thus announcing ICBMs were going to be the main strategic force. Usage as an ASF would have been impossible. Low level deep strike and reconnaissance not plausible for the defensive RCAF, and also probably impossible because low level high speed is quite stressful. It killed the Vickers Vaillant. The CF-105 would have been a costly tool to escort a couple of maritime patrol planes, and keeping it would also have been a boondoggle,. Remember, the quite analogue XF-108 was also terminated. Fast interceptors did live a little bit longer in the USSR, but moslty because of the SR-71, and then because it's a good thing to have fast recon

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Post WWII USA. Don't make your own stuff just share your own knowledge with us. Buy our stuff. No we're not making that stuff buy our other stuff. Repeat until no other aerospace industry exists. Americans.

[@dellawrence4323]

We Brits feel your pain with our adandoned TSR2

[@ergodoy7741]

You really know your facts. Nice change from the terrible channels that misidentify aircraft routinely and just fill up their time with blathering and pointless stock footage. You’ve got a new fan.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks and 'appreciate the comment!

[@67marlins81]

I agree, this is thorough and informative.

[@rickmroz9212]

My grandfather was a member of the engineering team that designed and built the Martin P6M. I saw one of these take off and land in Middle River at the Martin plant. Beautiful aircraft.

[@NavyCWO]

Considering the overseas bases we've lost over the last years, the Navy may regret killing off the seaplanes.

[@johnmitchell5702]

Saw them fly on several occasions while at USNA.

[@sailingmaster]

Those flying boats were so wonderful. When I was a kid, many many years ago, a family friend had a Grumman Goose. Dear god I loved that plane. Told him on many numerous occasions that when he was ready to sell, let me know. He didn't. And it's since been scrapped. Broke my heart.

[@thetreblerebel]

Arrow, Super Crusader, Rainbow, the Flying Wing... Priceless aircraft gone forever man...

[@flopjul3022]

not entirely the Flying Wing concept is getting used for the KLM/TU delft Flying V

[@IshijimaKairo]

isn't the B2 a flying wing

[@thetreblerebel]

Jack Northrop's X Planes is what I meant, "The Flying Wing" bomber of the late 40s. I know the concept is in use today but the prototype aircraft, priceless but gone

[@wkelly3053]

We throw away a lot of things, thinking no one in the future will care. Glad we have more museums today.

[@joeschenk8400]

Great video...I always liked the DC 5. There should be and Endangered Species Act for aircraft.

[@johnosbourn4312]

The DC-5 did serve for a brief time in the Navy as the R3D-1.

[@raulduke6105]

Biggest tragedy is the loss of the flying wing under very odd circumstances

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@leftcoaster67]

That's why the Secretary of the Air Force shouldn't have involvement with one of the companies (Convair) the fact he threatened Jack Northrop in front of witnesses that if he didn't accept a merger with Convair he'd be "Damned sorry.." Oh and by the way, Secretary Symington later on became head of Convair.

[@Nafeels]

Oh sure did! Mr. Northrop was so disgusted by the bureaucracy involved in the flying wing projects, and Convair desperately trying to screw him up that he left the aeronautics industry completely by the late 1950s. It wasn't until a few years before his death that he eventually sent his flying wing research data to NASA so as to not "lost in time", and in an ironic twist, leading to the stealth bomber program being awarded to Northrop instead of Lockheed, giving us what is now the legendary B-2 Spirit. I'm a massive aviation fanboy alright, but flying wing designs have a special place in my heart, and judging from concepts I'm excited on what NASA have in mind for future commercial flying wing designs.

[@tankacebo9128]

@@Nafeels agreed. the story of them bringing old Jack Northrop in to see the designs for the hyper classified B-2 spirit shortly before his death brought me to tears.

[@jkdm7653]

@@leftcoaster67 Wasn't that SecDef Louis Johnson(A Truman appointee) who had close ties with Convair? I've read that he was the one who ordered the destruction of all XB-335s and YB-49s. Shameful, eh?

[@grahamrankin4725]

We are happy to have the Spruce Goose at our Air Museum in McMinnville Oregon

[@IntyMichael]

Yes, very impressive. I've visited it 4 years ago.

[@josemoreno3334]

@@IntyMichael I got a chance to see when it was displayed in Long Beach , California back in 1970's.

[@macmac8249]

I can’t wait to see it. Been a dream of mine....Mac

[@LoneKinKong]

I'm happy you'd mentioned the AVRO ARROW - O -CANADA

[@GemCityHippie]

I'd submit for additional consideration under the "Flying Wings" category the Northrop N-9M which was a one-third scale craft designed and flown as a development model for the XB- and YB- 35's. Four of them were built and flown; all but one of them "N-9MB" were scrapped. N-9MB was successfully restored by a museum; but was destroyed in a crash and subsequent fire which also claimed the life of the pilot just a few years ago in April of 2019 that was highly reported on by media from across the country.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@johnosbourn4312]

Yes, I remember that accident, the aircraft was owned by the Planes Of Fame Flying Museum.

[@58jharris]

Why were they operating such a rare and irreplaceable aircraft? It should have been in a museum on display.

[@stevecausey545]

I was hoping we would see a new post from you!...These aircraft are the stuff of legend,...and of forward thinking...it's a lot of fun to see all these planes...thank you again, Mike!

[@rogercarpenter3491]

Mike, I remember reading Wings and Airpower when I was a teenager, early to late twenties. Loved those magazines and all the articles about these planes. Also this was a great video.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@TheSybermedic]

The Avro Arrow and BAC TSR2 are two of the coolest and beautiful planes that never went into production.

[@katrinapaton5283]

Not that we hold America responsible for their demise or anything...

[@paulbarnett227]

@@katrinapaton5283 The cancellation of the TSR-2 was not America's fault. It was the fault of the Labour government of the early 1970s and the American option was just an excuse.

[@Twirlyhead]

The Seamaster has big look of the British Handley Page Victor bomber which first flew 2½ years earlier than the Seamaster.

[@jefffranklin4894]

The sea dart is on a display pillar at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida where the Sun'N'Fun fly-in air expo is hosted

[@ecidaho]

Great video! Really fun and interesting as well as sad they are all gone. I always thought it was cool that George Pal used the YB-49 to deliver an atomic bomb in the 1950s movie version of the War of the Worlds. I also think it interesting that in two movies Nazi flying wings were prominent, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Captain America the First Avenger. The one from the the Captain America movie included parasite fighters as well. Again thank you for presenting a wonderful video!

[@RCAvhstape]

When I was growing up and saw Raiders of the Lost Ark I went home and looked through my dad's airplane books to see if I could find it; it really did look like a real airplane.

[@leroyabernathy9934]

While the original Boeing 314s disappeared, there is a full scale mock-up of one at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland. The museum is situated at the site of the original transatlantic flying-boat terminus.

[@mybobize]

There are actually two left in existence! They are both at the bottom of the ocean after having an engine failure, and being sunk after landing and getting all the passengers off.

[@K4rt80y]

Mike you still have Wings & Airpower fans. They are a treasure. I re-read them weekly. I'm glad I found this series,

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@utubejdaniel8888]

Thanks Mike. I am a big fan of the weird and wonderful in aviation. It is sad to think of all of these extinct machines.

[@scootergeorge9576]

One of the most over used phrases is, "ahead of its time." But in the case of the Northrup YB-49 flying wing bomber it certainly applied. Sophisticated, computer fly by wire technology did not exist at the time this aircraft was flown. The YB-49 suffered from yaw instability as well as deadly stall characteristics. The latter resulted in the death of test pilot Glen Edwards.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

I appreciate the comment about the AVRO ARROW. My mother was the chief weights engineer on the program and I grew up respecting the forward thinking of the engineering team. Canada lost a generation of aerospace engineering and some of the top engineers went to NASA and helped America get to the moon.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@MikeSiemens88]

A complete nose section & landing gear (not sure whether nose or main) survives in the Aviation museum in Ottawa. Also an Orenda engine survives somewhere. You mention Canada building the 104 Starfighter under licence as an eventual replacement, but it was the CF-101 Voodoo purchased directly from the USA that eventually took on the interceptor role in Canada. The Starfighters were used in the ground strike role as Canada's NATO contribution in Cold War Europe.

[@maxsmodels]

Some of the coolest planes ever.

[@johnevans5782]

Thanks for sharing; and to all Airmen everywhere: Thanks for your service.

[@donaldvincent]

Great Video but now I am sad and must go home to cry....I miss the Yankee Clipper that was gone long before I was born.

[@xpkbrz]

Outstanding presentation, priceless content, guaranteed subscription

[@sski]

It's totally a shame that many of those do not exist today. Fred over at Airailimages channel had some photos that included a Consolidated 20-A Fleetster sitting in a California airfield right after WW2 last week that was rotting away even then. I have never seen another example in the modern day.

[@hugoknight1]

Just discovered your site. Fantastic content! I expect the number of subscribers will be rising dramatically and quickly. You earned a new one here!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks, and glad to have you aboard!

[@simonrancourt7834]

I saw parts of the Avro Arrow in the Bagotville air defense museum.

[@PaddyPatrone]

Would be nice if you could include some german designs. There were so many.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Good point, thanks!

[@jayhershey7525]

On the USS Bennington, I worked around A-7s which were similar to the Crusader F-7s in that both had low -slung intakes. This made working near them very dicey! I feel really glad the Navy discontinued them; an A-7 nearly sucked me into its intake! That was January, 1968.

[@davelester5839]

There are two of the S-43 "Baby Clippers" surviving--one from Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

[@lucashinch]

I like the "Popular Mechanics" font!

[@edbrown8353]

Fantastic content my friend!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

[@Boomkokogamez]

To be honest 1950 to 1970s were the days where engineers could build anything without any worry to the program cost.

[@lightbox617]

A lot of these were never expected to go into production. Most of them are sure pretty. The XB70 was beautiful in concept.design and performance

[@mpetersen6]

I will accept the design and performance aspects. The concept, no. The concept behind the B-70 was the building of a manned bomber to meant to drop nuclear weapons.

[@BobKernow]

Great video! When I was a kid my grandparents used to take me to the Isle of Wight on the ferry from Southampton, we used to see two of the cocooned Saunders-Roe Princess flying boats lying up in storage at Calshot, would have been in the early 60's.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful that you got to see them!

[@martinpennock9430]

Thanks again Mike for everything you do. There have been some great examples of aircraft over the ages. Some of these I have never even seen or heard of before. Again we have some of the best designs in the world and even though they may not come to fruition we have some of the best designing minds in the world.

[@billcallahan9303]

The Stilleto wings look similar to the Starfighter's! As a kid, I was lucky enough to see 4 Scorpions flying in close formation over north Mississippi at about 500 feet in the late 1950s. Great video! Brought back a lot of memories! Thanks!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Very true, and the X-15 also. Thanks!

[@adventuressurvivalinthailand]

Flying boats and seaplanes are a great concept that I think is overlooked in today's world. Not sure why. No runways and airports has to be one advantage

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@alanhutchins5916]

That's the point.....maritime safety in inshore waters/harbours = insurance risk, certainly for commercial purposes??, plus the financial model on landing rights on open water.....???

[@davidm.4670]

really rough surface in windy conditions ?

[@animaltvi9515]

Some countries still operate them. Russia and Japan are 2 I can think of

[@jangelbrich7056]

Good photos and presentation! Thanks

[@MurraydeLues]

Kermit Weeks has one or more of the Sikorsky's in his collection

[@johnplaninac9980]

Another great video and the photos are very nice and very informative. To bad that some of the planes weren’t saved.

[@fastfreddy5874]

Hello Mike, we met at a Washington Airline Society meeting where you were the guest host many years ago, a great presentation! About the Golden Era of Flying boats, all is not lost! The last aircraft Sikorsky made were 3 Flying boats, the VS-44a's, of which 1 survives today, totally restored, in the New England Air Museum. Arguably the best of them, with longer range and faster than the Boeing or the Martin boats, but I'm biased as my Dad worked on them as his first job in a lifetime Aviation career. They were his favorites, and I did get him there many times to see "his" favorite, NC-41881, Excambian, both during restoration and completely finished, a beautiful aircraft! Many thanks Mike also for your painting "Dance of the Valkyrie"!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment, and thanks for watching!

[@andrewelland9902]

I just discovered your videos, Mike: It's great to find material like this done by someone who knows what he's talking about. As a Brit now living Canada, I was happy to see that yours was not an exclusively US-centric review, and that you tip your hat to some extraordinary contributions to aviation from other countries. Thank you for that. I'm guessing that you only scratched the surface. I'd watch an hour-long video from you any day. You probably had a lot of other material for this one that you had to leave on the cutting room floor, and that probably included the British TSR-2. Thanks again, Mike: You just got a new Subscriber!

[@bertg.6056]

I just discovered Mike's videos, too. That said, I have been a fan of his aviation art for many years.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thank you Andre - appreciate the great comment! Actually, both TSR 2 airframes survived - one is at RAF Museum Cosford, the other at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Their Olympus engines are at the Gatwick Aviation Museum.

[@richarddouglass1994]

Just discovered your channel. Very happy to see you on KZbin. I remember you from your visits to B&R Gallery when I worked there in the 1990s.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Richard, and B&R was a great gallery too!

[@MrNerv]

Wasn't aware of this channel, came up as a recommendation, but thoroughly enjoyed this video! Thanks for bringing it to us Mike!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the nice comment, thanks!

[@keesvandenbroek331]

Fun fact: Douglas DC5. A couple of those were used by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the dutch West Indies. This makes KLM the only airline which operated all marks of DC aircraft. From the DC2 (DC1 being only a protoype), via the DC3, DC4, DC5, DC6, DC7, DC8, DC9 to ultimately the DC10

[@randym7511]

Another excellent and informative presentation! Thank you!

[@vapormissile]

This is a fun video. "Oh, well, OF COURSE they dumped that one... Oh not the Valkyrie! yah you got me there. "

[@ross.venner]

Thank you for crossing the pond. As a small child, my mother pointed up to the Princess flying above us. I didn't understand the significance until much later. I also recall seeing the Rotadyne at Farnborough.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Awesome that you saw the Rotodyne! I loved seeing Duxford and Hendon during my visits to the U.K.

[@JessHull]

6:10 "its kind of a tubby design" I think its absolutely adorable. I want a plushie version.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment - the Jaguar was just the first step to the F-14 Tomcat. Thanks for watching!

[@chuck9987]

Excellent!! So much information in such a short period of time. There are a lot of valuable metals tied up in those airframes and then there is the issue of the technology being valuable to someone else. The DOD had all of the retired F-14 airframes shredded to prevent someone from buying parts that could wind up in Iranian hands to keep their ever shrinking squadrons of flyable F-14's going. A large number of railroad locomotives suffered a similar fate. Not one NYC J-3 Hudson or Pennsylvania RR T-1 was preserved. They were sold as scrap because their owners could make a buck off of the steel by selling then off.

[@deltavee2]

The Stiletto is far and away the most pleasing aesthetically, it is gorgeous but didn't perform as designed. Note the wings, though, they went into the design of the F-104 Starfighter/ Widowmaker.

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Stilleto sort of flew. That is what its headstone gets.

[@tiacd3780]

The XB-51 what designed as an attack airplane to replace the A/B-26 Invader series, and the XB-51 was beaten by the Canberra, which Martin produced under license

[@WhiteDwarfVR4]

There is a Sea Dart at Lakeland airport in Florida. It's currently on the aviation academy side. Used to drool over it every time we went to Sun and Fun fly-in as a kid. Never realized how rare they are.

[@maciejs3329]

4:40 More were build... 4 of them survived. Brefly after Wikipedia : XF2Y-1 Sea Dart no. 137634 - Smithsonian Institution warehouses, Washington. Awaiting restoration, not exposed. no 135763 - San Diego Air & Space Museum , exposed at the entry YF2Y-1 no 135764 - Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum, Horsham Township, Pensylwania finally YF2Y-1 no.135765 is the one at w Florida Air Museum, Lakeland. looks like Navy was really determined to go with this project despite all inconveniences. jet speeds and waves don't match well.

[@petedraper5185]

I had the Revell model of the X-3 Stiletto many years ago when I was in my early teens. What a beautiful aircraft.

[@jimpern]

I've read that a B-32 Dominator was set aside for the eventual Air Force Museum, but do to some bureaucratic bungling, it was accidentally scrapped!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I can believe that, thanks.

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

The B-19 as well.

[@ericmkendall1]

To my way of thinking, it's not terribly surprising that there would be a great many examples of aircraft that never went beyond the prototype stage and which subsequently became "extinct." The odds of going extinct are pretty good if only a few examples are ever constructed, you start losing them in crashes during test flights, and, in the end, either the design proves less than successful or the prospective end user decides for whatever reason that it just doesn't fit their needs. Still, a number of the types outlined in this video were certainly worthy of being preserved for one reason or another. It's a shame that they're gone. That being said, I find much more interesting the stories of aircraft that actually went into production, saw service, and later vanished entirely. I think those stories are worth pursuing in more detail.

[@SaturnCanuck]

Good video. Three Saro Princess flying boats were built. One flew. All were scrapped. Oh and the nose section of Avro Canada CF-105 number 25206 survives, on display at the Canada Aviation Museum. Not, yes, no complete airframe.....

[@Ironcobra666fuckyou]

As soon as i clicked on this video a surge of sadness came over me. Much love from England.

[@1bardiel1]

I always like the P6M Seamaster... even without the bombing mission, this seaplane could have been widely used in submarine warfare and coastal surveillance ... what a waste :(

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed 100%!

[@fasterthandragons7908]

Even today with sufficient upgrade it could've still been successful in it's primary role, because it's highly unlikely the United States would ever create something that wasn't modular.

[@RCAvhstape]

The Japanese navy still uses flying boats today, they are still relevant maritime tools for a variety of missions.

[@atomicenergycommission9820]

The sadness in your voice can be heard when you say scrapped

[@sgt_s4und3r54]

I love going to the Air Force Museum. It's a beautiful place and I've been there a half dozen times over 30 years.

[@samsignorelli]

The F-111B was not a Grumman plane -- The F-111 was a Convair bird. The 2 companies DID team up on the navalized B version, but that was largely due to Grumman's experience with carrier aircraft, NOT because of the swing wing. Thanks for mentioning the Sea Dart. My father was an engineer on that plane, and I'm the surviving member of the restoration crew for the example on display in San Diego (and the only member of the crew who did not work on it originally, as i was in high school during the restoration).

[@samsignorelli]

@Edgar Miller Nope...my father was an engineer at Convair, and I think the 111 may have been one of his projects.

[@michaelmanger8640]

Love your work Mike, thanks for all the effort. Simply told for us admirers. peace from Melbourne, Australia.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@burntsider8457]

Good content well-presented. No buffoonery like in so many documentaries these days.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@jeremy7383]

I also am a lover of the flying boat. there's a great example at the New England Air Museum of the Sikorsky VS-44 and of course everyone should go see the H-4 at Evergreen!

[@swiper1818]

These are absolutely brilliant videos - keep up the good work!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks!

[@einautofan6685]

Allways loved flying wing aircraft! Nothing looks more futuristic!😎

[@merlin51h84]

Another excellent video Mike. What impresses is the amount of, at least for me, never before seen photos. Keep up this marvelous series of videos.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@765kvline]

Very fine commentary and surprising, too, that so many of these aircraft never saw physical survival to this day. My dad worked for Pan American World Airways and worked on the flying boat engines for many of these large sea-landing aircraft in the Pacific and South America.

[@bgdavenport]

Your visual references continue to amaze me!

[@MultiFastfreddie]

I herd a rumour the soviet BV-14 may now qualify to be on this list.

[@martinstrumpfer1620]

An hour long video? I wouldn't mind that...

[@joeschenk8400]

I agree !

[@chuckschillingvideos]

How about hours long? Many of these birds are well deserving of their own hour long video, including one I can think of that isn't even included in this video (The Martin P4M Mercator, which actually saw combat).

[@timmusial6335]

I was thinking the same thing ...

[@garfieldsmith332]

Thank you for an interesting but in a sense a sad review. It is a shame that there was not the foresight to save at least one of the planes where several were built. In many cases a dozen, two, dozen, a hundred; yet all gone. Watching this I remembered the line of the song Big Yellow Taxi - "That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone". And as a Canadian a big thank you for mentioning the Avro CF-105 Arrow. Many of us wish they had saved one. At least there are still the photos to show a lot of forgotten aircraft that helped pave the way in aviation.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Garfield - you nailed it!

[@jpatt1000]

Thanks for making the book on the Rainbow. Not often you get to leave a message directly with the author, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@bluetopguitar1104]

Thanks. Awesome to see these rare airplanes

[@jetsons101]

I really wished that all the flying wings weren't scraped, it was ahead of it's time----it was "flying art" Your smart, yes I built a Fairey Rotodyne. Time to go, it's the end of a long day...... Again another great watch.

[@johnmoran8805]

Thanks Mike! Good, but sad vid. Like you, I've got a soft spot for flying boats. Cut the yard of a guy that flew PBY's with the black cats. His stories never got old, then he flew water bombers. Good memories, thanks!

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Excellent....Thanks very much...!

[@ZZstaff]

Thank you. I am a former commercial pilot and enjoy aviation history.

[@leester9487]

Ever heard of the Vulcan Starfire? Popular mechanics article in the 80's had me drooling over it. It never went anywhere except to obscurity.

[@greva2904]

The Martin Baker MB5 is the one that leaves me gutted - potentially the best single seat prop driven fighter of WW2, but came too late to see production. Ended up being used as a range target.

[@danf321]

Excellent video!! Although I’m glad I don’t live back when the flying boat Clipper was being used, it’s always been a romantic dream of mine to fly to the Islands in one and of course, sit at the bar and enjoy a Martini.

[@kristov29]

My dream as well. I'll buy the next round of drinks at the bar.

[@danf321]

@@kristov29 Klink!🍸

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks, and although those trips were indeed romantic and adventurous, those were many long hours in the air. I'll share that Martini with you!

[@caseycrutchfield8586]

Enjoy your work very much. Thanks for your hard work.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@viksaini]

Another great video. Let's hope all of the disused, classified aircraft types that flew out of Groom Lake have been saved somehow, somewhere...

[@AtheistOrphan]

Well you’ve got the Boeing Bird of Prey and my particular favourite, the Northrop Tacit Blue, both preserved.

[@adamhay2798]

I guess that in a lot of cases these aircraft were not worth saving at the time due to financial viability. If you didn't scrap it you had to store it and if you store it, what do you do with it? Not a lot of retro fitting since technology was changing by the month back in those days. By the way, up here in Canada the Arrow fiasco is still considered a political criminal act! Another informative video, Mike!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Adam, and yes, great point! Storage of airplanes no longer in military inventory wasn't very practical back then - especially with the flood of new designs and proposals.

[@robdonnelly6537]

Wouldnt it be cool to take some of the plans to some of these aircraft (the less advanced the easier obviously) and rebuild them to the original specs

[@mr.modern4419]

Love you channel!!! Great info.

[@jamescochran7279]

Another great one, Mike!

[@josemoreno3334]

I seen some of these aircraft on display at Edwards AFB, California . I use to go there TDY in the 1980's and 90's working on telephone cables. Seen a lot of test aircraft flying around and sonic booms galore . A lot of history there. Great video by the way.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks, and glad you got to see the great history at Edwards!

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Wow! Great video on aircraft that are now "long gone." Wish a Northrop YB-49 "Flying Wing" could have been preserved. The former Douglas-Chicago plant at Park Ridge, IL, which built most of the Douglas C-54 Skymasters, was used after the end of WWII to store some aircraft the Army Air Force set aside for preservation including the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the "Enola Gay."

[@tigertiger1699]

Excellent🙏, and RIP🌹 for your Buddy..👍

[@drawn2myattention641]

I suspect maintenance costs helped kill the flying boat. Operators not only had to maintain a sound aircraft, but a sea going vessel, as well. Imagine the battle against salt corrosion!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Not exactly. The growth of airfields built in WW2 Killed the Boats in Airline use. As far as Military use, Russia And Japan still use them.

[@kdrapertrucker]

After WW2 suddenly there were airfields on every other island and everywhere on the mainland. The whole point of a flying boat is to turn any open section of water with a dock into an airfield, once proper airfields were availiable.

[@fredikriftner5577]

P16 Switzerland? Build in FFA, ( Flug und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein).

[@jimcurt99]

An airplane lost because it sank- that's a SAD statement if I've ever heard one...

[@badraven9532]

Good Video, Thanks. Its hardly surprising though that experimentals and prototypes fail to be still around, there's quite a long list of successful high build quantity aircraft that have been allowed to all but disappear or actually disappear from the skies. Speaking just UK for a moment, Handley Page Halifax, Bristol Beaufighter, hell, even the Typhoon/Tempest. Even the Lancaster and Hurricane hang on a slender vulnerable thread. I won't go on!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!