http://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/small/000/209/209191.jpg
What was Sikorsky S-39 Operation "Beer Knobs"?
Where did it happen?-(airport launched from).
http://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/small/000/209/209191.jpg
What was Sikorsky S-39 Operation "Beer Knobs"?
Where did it happen?-(airport launched from).
With over 500 views and no takers, this quiz seems to be a wee bit esoteric so I will relate the true story behind the early "Operation Beer Knobs".
New York State as with some other state liquor regulations in America had a law that all beer dispensed or drawn from tap had to be labeled plainly marked with a tap knob naming the beer dispensed. This also advertised in the bar or public house with spirits permit which beers were available on tap.
Some many kegs of Piels Brewery of Brooklyn, New York draft beer had been loaded on the liner "Virginia" bound for Cuba when the advertising man for the brewery discovered the required carton of Piels beer "knobs" had not been put aboard the liner which had already sailed from New York harbor. The ad man frantically called for an amphibian aircraft to deliver the required beer knobs at sea to the liner. He was within half an hour of of Floyd Bennett Airport near Glens Falls, a lake resort area and found a willing amphibian pilot who cautioned the ocean water was very choppy making it a risky task, but he was willing to try the flight to the liner.
The pilot flew a Sikorsky S-39 to meet with the ad man and picked him up along with the beer knobs cargo. They flew rapidly so the liner would not be too far out in the Atlantic Ocean.
They sighted the liner that put a small boat over the side to receive the cargo. The S-39 amphibian positioned to land alongside in the swelling sea. Skimming just above the water, the S-39 hull smacked a wave crest, and settled heavily in a trough with a wing float buckled. Despite this mishap, the cargo of beer knobs was tossed over to the liner's small craft and the cargo was safely taken aboard the "Virginia".
The S-39 pilot had no choice except to attempt a water takeoff with the damaged aircraft. He was successful in his ocean water takeoff and returned to land. This successful operation was a tribute to the design genius of Igor Sikorsky who is more noted as the designer of the World's first successful helicopter and founder of Sikorsky Aircraft in America. Sikorsky's S-39 amphibian is a five place aircraft powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. radial engine. See the link in the quiz for a restored example.
My next quiz should be far simpler to answer and I expect the right answers
more quickly.