Hey all, I have been trying to get pictures of this plane for months and finally got them today. Here's the weird part, it is a Radial Engined plane from probably the 50's, it has an extended radome on the front and a pod underneath the right wing root. It is painted U.S. Navy Haze grey both top and bottom. My questions are why refit a Koren war era plane with the kit it has on it? What could it's purpose be? What kind of plane is it? I flew in an armed services for my countries military and would like to think I have some knowledge of plane recognition and purpose but this one baffles me, it is NOT a DC-3, DC-6 etc...so pipe up you aviation experts and have a go. And the last question is why in the hell would you fly this plane daily over the area in which I live? It almost looks like a Vickers Valetta but the Valetta is too stubby looking to be that plane.
Without further a due here are the pictures. Click on the pictures to get the full size...
Also here is a P2 someone mentioned for comparison the P2 has a midline wing root whereas the plane above has a low mounted wing. Also the tail is not that of a P2, it is completely different. While they did modify the nose to house the radar or surveillance package it is rather unheard of to modify a structural component such as the tail assembly. To replace the radome is no big deal as it is just fiberglass.
After further digging I found That the plane in question is a Convair Cv-600 It is a photo recon bird and its owner is restricted, it's purpose is LiDAR imaging among other things.
Okay so after figuring all this out, here is a bit of trivia, the first "Vomit Comet" NASA used to train the astronauts was the same type of aircraft as this one. A Convair CV-600... Pretty cool.
Looks like a variant of a Lockheed P-2 Neptune such as a P2V-2S etc.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Matt
Sorry I looked it is not a P2. I was a P3 crewmen and new right away it was not a P2... Also what could be the purpose of the enlarged radome and the surveillance pod underneath the right/starboard wing root...?
ReplyDeleteI will add a P2 Neptune to this post for comparison. Also the P2 has been retired for 30 yrs or more with the P3 coming online...
Cheers.
Planes are not really my thing??? Have there been any sightings of Mulder or Scully in the local area.........
ReplyDeleteI think I finally figured the plane type out but still cant explain all the modern improvements. It is a Convair CV-600 I believe. But why use a 1950's era aircraft for reconnaissance? Also it is obviously still being used by the military...
ReplyDelete