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Old 02-04-2020, 06:21 PM   #55
Rupert
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: Mounting Weapons to Old Warbirds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Does anyone know what the rules are for flying WWII vintage aircraft with their period accurate defensive armaments, assuming you happen to own registered machine guns of WWII vintage as well?

My guess is that FAA regulations require a pretty comprehensive listing of what parts constitute the aircraft and you most likely would get funny looks and polite refusals if you tried to include two .30 cal and two .50 cal Browning machine guns.

But I figure I better have good answers for my PCs, because if I feature a WWII warplane for them to use, they'll want to know what obstacles exist in the way of them arming it...

Edit: Apparently you can mount the guns, as this guy did, but the FAA takes a real dim view of civilian aircraft leaving the ground with anything designed to drop from it (e.g. cartridge cases) without the appropriate waivers. Which they are somewhat reluctant to grant for warbirds armed with machine guns.
Well, if the guns are inboard, like a Catalina's (for example), the shell casing s will stay in the aircraft. Just to make sure you might have to mount a collection bag or chute on the gun, which would undoubtedly be a minor annoyance when using the gun.
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