Exploring the Wreck of USS Macon, the Navy's Last Flying Aircraft Carrier | Hacker News Reader

Exploring the Wreck of USS Macon, the Navy's Last Flying Aircraft Carrier

news.usni.org

61 pointscurtis17 comments

For those of you in Silicon Valley, USS Macon was based out of Moffett Field (named after Adm. Moffett). The big hangar (currently just its frame) that you can see from US 101 on the west side of Moffett Field was Macon's hangar.

The Moffett Field Historical Society has a small museum (http://moffettfieldmuseum.org/) right next to the hangar which includes some neat stuff on the airship and the rest of the Navy's history at the field.

I'd love to learn more about that trapeze system; it looks absolutely terrifying, not least the climb out of the cockpit and up into the ship. Can't find much about it with a quick search.

I've seen films. Holy shit I wouldn't want to be the pilot on the receiving end of that. Launching is precarious and clumsy; recovery looks like pure nightmare fuel. Remember, zeppelins aren't fast, so those planes are dangerously close to stall speed even without dealing with things like turbulence and crosswind. NopeNopeNope.

Launching doesn't seem like a big deal, as long as you have a decent amount of altitude. If you launch slow, you'll just drop and pick up speed. Should be much like recovery from an aggressive stall.

Recovery, on the other hand, no way. Not too bad in smooth air, I think. You'll be flying really slow, but if you accidentally stall then you'll drop away from the airship to safety and can try again. But turbulence is going to affect the two aircraft so very differently that it seems like there would be a huge risk of collision. Note that there won't be any (consistent) crosswinds, since they're both flying through the same air.

Launching doesn't seem like a big deal

In the film, there's obviously a lot of turbulence. Bouncing up into either the trapeze or the zeppelin is clearly a real danger. Or getting ripped off the trapeze prematurely. Further, those biplanes generate a lot of lift, even at low speed, and tend to rise on release, so the pilot has to be in control (stick forward) at all times and can't simply drop away.

I wonder if it would have been better to launch at a slower speed, then.

I'm not so sure they were 'dangerously close' to stall speed.

While I can't find specifications for the N2Y biplanes hosted by the Macon, keep in mind that the N2Y is a two-seat inter-war biplane trainer with a 115 hp engine--it was not a fighter or pursuit plane. Additionally, it would have been designed to use the short, unpaved runways characteristic of pre-WWII airfields. All these factors point to low stall speeds.

So if we wanted to estimate the stall speed based on comparable aircraft, we'd be looking for a 100-ish hp, two-seat trainer. Aircraft of that description typically have a stall speed in the 35 to 45 knot range.

The source of all truth (Wikipedia) lists the cruising speed of the Macon as 55 knots / 63 mph with a max speed of 75 knots / 86 mph (altitudes not given). The Macon's cruising speed would be right around the recommended approach speed for aircraft like these, and it could have certainly accelerated to higher speeds to perform heavier-than-air aircraft operations.

You and your facts. :-)

N2Y Bi-plane hooks onto the aircraft trapeze of USS Akron (ZRS-4) dirigible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FIm5qt5JrQ

Also (more of a fly-around video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK_Wu3Jiqv4

Back then, aircraft could fly as slowly as a dirigible, which made it possible. There still was very little margin for error.

Hmm, so probably the same order of difficulty as aerial refueling given the low speed differential. Doesn't look any less scary though.

The trapeze rotated to draw the aircraft inside the Macon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F9C-2_Sparrowhawk_fighter...

See that C shaped bit on the left? As the arm is retracted, that C wold ride down to the fuselage to stabilize it as it rose up. Once the plane was inside, they'd close the hatches. Easey-peasey to climb out with a ladder hooked to the cockpit rim.

Yeah I thought that C-shaped piece was something to do with it; it appeared to fit around the back end of the fuselage somehow.

The plane is pointing up, I imagine it's still powered up to keep tension on that hook. Really something.

Did not see that this retracted. Thanks!

Yeah, that was something. The USAF tried a 2-3 similar schemes.

Let me recommend the wiki for a starting point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_aircraft) for more cool stuff. You're in for a treat :-)

I grew up on adventure pulp fiction and Saturday serials at the local theater. I love that sort of stuff!

The trapeze retracts into the airship, bringing the plane with it.

Airships has a load great information on the USS Macon and the USS Akron.

http://www.airships.net/us-navy-rigid-airships/uss-akron-mac...

I have discussed with a japanese go player who told me that Pearl Harbour was a huge strategic mistake. Most of Japanese army is the navy. They can not play go in boats. They play chess. It is a good game for winning a battle, but not a war.

Interesting to see that reporting the hindsight of an old wise japanese makes me lose so much karma. It is not clear if this bad return is comming from japanese people or by chess players ?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com