Thread: CAF 2015 Air Show @ New Century (Old Olathe Naval Air Station)

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Ah.......war stories!!

My first full duty assignment after tech school was at George AFB in the Cali desert. I was pressed into flight line duty as a grunt worker for the (small) annual air show aimed at community relations for the nearby civilians. Having helped get the viewers settled into the temporary grandstands along the flight line, we were ready for the airborne part of the show. Along with all the maneuvers, jumpers and such, the announcer set up the next act. "Ladies and gentlemen, next to fly by will be the slowest flying jet aircraft in our inventory." You could hear some muttering about "....slowest? So what!?" About that time a Phantom goes puttering bye at a couple hundred feet, wings dipping side to side as the pilot kept it just moving. Okay, whoopty dooo.................. The plane did it's turn out and disappeared into the sky. Then the announcer says "Ladies and gentlemen, now our fastest jet fighter!" . Yep, you guessed it...........the same F 4 with full afterburners at the same altitude from right to left down the line..................whoosh! WHAT A SOUND!! Gotta love it!!

Later, having become a flight crew member over the jungles, I got a grin over a tangential F 86 encounter. Our aircraft commander had been a fighter jock in Korea. The F 86 was their primary bird. He had a patch on his flight suit that always put a smile on my face. It said, "F 86, last of the sport models". Life is good..........

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Again nice pics Roger-looking forward to next years also????

But not off a carrier!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I expect I'll be there next year again.

Your AF Academy story brought back a memory of my SR year in HS. My Dad was the Superintendent of our small town school, and he had hired a retired Army Bird Colonel to teach History, Col Pat Laurie. In the Winter of my SR year Col Laurie stopped me one day and said, "I've still got some favors owed, and if you'll take the appointment I can get you into West Point, but I don't want to waste the favor if you won't take it and promise me you'll give it your all." Like a fool I turned it down, and like you I often wondered, "What if...." Of course that was early in 1965, and if I'd have made the course I'd have been coming out right in the height of the Viet Nam Conflict, so maybe the Good Lord biased my decision.... Hard to say, but I definitely passed up an opportunity.

I ended up in as an enlisted Navy airplane mechanic, and spent my entire time at NAS Corpus Christi attached to a Training Squadron. Each month one of the old carriers would steam up from Pensacola and cruise up and down the gulf coast area, about 90 miles out, and our pilots would fly out for carrier qualifications, and one of the three squadrons supplied three or four guys to fly out to the boat in case someone broke something on a plane. In my four years I worked the line for about a year, then went into the power plant shop for about three. I managed to dodge carrier quals for the whole time, UNTIL a month before I was getting out. Four years in the NAVY and I saw only one warship, but we landed on it, spent a sleepless night in rough seas, worked the quals the next day, and then got a cat shot off of the deck to go home. I was in a seat facing aft for the cat shot, and it was a pretty cool experience! Another memory maker....

and I bet you weren't looking at your i phone during the launch!!!!!!

I received my draft notice the Monday after Kennedy was shot on Thursday-
having been in maintenance at air line I was assigned as Tank Mechanics HELPER.
2nd Inf Div was made First Cav and shipped to VN-------I was released 90 days early to go to school-
Nam sure turned ugly past the advisor era

Wish I had tried to be an astronaunt

There is a plaque on the dashboard of 'Baby Elephant' that reads:
'The top of this gearlever is from the joystick of a Corsair Fighter/Bomber Chance Vought F4U - 1 as flown by the late Flight Sergeant David Howlett of New Plymouth over Manus and Rabul Papua New Guinea during WWII in 1945 with the 19th Fighter Squadron, and still retains the bomb release button and machine gun trigger.
Aircraft Stats: 2250 hp Pratt and Whitney R - 2800 double Wasp radial piston engine.
Max speed: 417 mph @ 20,000 ft.
Max weight: 14,000 lbs.'

Dave crashed this plane on take-off, without injury to himself, and was exonerated from any blame.
This was the only part of the plane (which was a write-off,) that he souvenired, and when he became late it was passed to me.
And we mounted it (with explanatory plaque,) on the gearlever of the bus.

Just thought you might appreciate that wee story.

It doesn't mean much to anyone else...but it does to us.

Originally Posted by rspears

I ended up in as an enlisted Navy airplane mechanic, and spent my entire time at NAS Corpus Christi attached to a Training Squadron.

A Swabbie that never saw sea duty. I probably spent enough time on Naval ships for the both of us and I can tell you what they can do with the nets. I've been up and down them more times than I would like to remember, but I wouldn't trade the experience and memories for anything.
And I too think the Corsair was the best of the piston powered fighters and I've always been partial to the F86 Sabre Jet.

Those "What Ifs" will get you if you let them; I have several that regularly make their presence known to my often idle mind, but I don't let them get me down.

Roger, you're not the only "Swabbie" to never go to sea, I am one, too. Got sent to Helicopter A School at Memphis ( Millington) right out of "Boot" in 1960; drew Shore Duty at O & R at NASNI, San Diego in January 1961 to April 1962; rolled to Sea Duty assigned to HS 8 (they were on a WESPAC cruise at the time and I thought - nay, wished with all that was in me, that I would go join them in Japan, but no dice), and assigned TAD to HS 10, a Training Squadron based at NAAS Ream Field as a maintenance instructor on the then new, and just being put into fleet service HSS/HUS 3 Sea Kings until my assigned squadron returned from WESPAC. Got released from active duty in April 1963, shortly before the squadron started training on the Sea King for deployment again in '64.

Rrumbler, I expect we're not alone. I was one of several dozen or so that cleared ADR-A School (machinists mate, Radial) and got assigned to the training squadrons. The story I heard later was that someone up at NAVPERS had the idea that sending A school grads to a training command for a year, then sending them to active sea duty slots would be more efficient for the fleet - get them some experience before getting their feet wet, so to speak. Problem is the "plan" wasn't really a formal plan, and most of us got forgotten and just kept getting extended in place. Of course it served another purpose, too, since the fleet guys had zero desire to get a training squadron assignment, because it was sort of an extension of boot camp (training officers as pilots) with more of the mickey mouse rules and structure. Worked for me, especially considering the events in the world at the time....

Roger just caught this post this morning. Great photos! I too am a big Corsair fan. Though I didn't serve any military time, I love all the ww2 and post war planes. I've had a chance to see only a few corsairs up close, if I remember correctly one was in Reno NV at an air show, and the other was in Ohio at their air museum. Can't recall if they have one in Oregon where the spruce goose is, I don't think so, but I may be wrong.
I grew up watching Bah Bah Black sheep on t.v. and could never get enough of their arial flight scenes. I think Bob is right too that next in line would be a few planes, such as the P38 Lightning, P51 Mustang(use to see those every year as a kid at the Nut tree airport show in Fairfield, and though I have never seen a f86 fly by, I'd sure love to! My bucket list includes getting a flight in an old bomber, and if I won the lotto to own a corsair, as well as an old biwing barn stormer, and to take flight lessons. But for now I never pass up an opertunity to see old aircraft when they are around. Thanks for the great memories you all shared here.

Yeah, the Blacksheep program was a good one for sure. I didn't mention it but both the Corsair and the Mustang were available for ride along flights - $1800 for the Mustang, and $2500 for the Corsair. The B29 was doing them too, with prices varying depending on the seat, but they were in the stratosphere, too. I passed.... You can get a flight in the local CAF's Stearman bi-plane for around $180 as I recall, and they also do rides in their PT19 trainer.

While I was living in Overland Park, KS (1993 - 2002), they held air races at New Century. Several of the local roads were blocked off because of overflight during the races. I wish I could find the photos. We had pit passes, which let us walk around the parking apron. There were a couple of P-51 Mustangs, a clipped-wing F-4U Corsair, a YAK-3 (I believe), an F-8F Bearcat or two, and many others that I can't remember. The pace plane was an F-80 Shooting Star. He led them around for warm-up laps, and when they dropped to the deck for the start of the race, the F-80 left them in the dust like they were standing still.

Thanks Roger for taking the time to post these pics. Thanks to all of you that served as well. My favorite war birds were B-25's, P-40's, and P-38's. I use to read old war books as a kid and was fascinated by the war birds. My grandfather sparked that flame by taking us to the EAA pre shows and such as a kid. I miss the re-enactment air shows we used to have around here.

b17.jpg

Just saw a note that Aluminum Overcast B17 will be in Oklahoma City this weekend, and in Topeka November 20-22 - B-17 Aluminum Overcast Tour Stops | EAA

It's another of the great WWII bombers, and it's great to see one still making the rounds.

All this talk brought back a memory: In 1959, after I graduated from high school, I got a job with a local REA Co-op power company in my hometown of Twentynine Palms, California, and worked there through the rest of the year until I enlisted in the Navy in January 1960. One hot summer day, we were working out in the boonies near the boundary to the Marine Base, and took our lunch break in the shade of a shallow canyon about 100 feet deep. As we were sitting there against a shallow cut in the sand, grains of dirt started falling from the cut and the ground started vibrating; not shaking - yet. We were trying to figure out what was going on when a low whine and rumble came from around a bend, and two F4U Corsairs came around that bend flying about fifty feet above the floor of the canyon - low, and relatively slow. They were dusty grey, and had MARINES on the fuselages, and as they flew past, the pilots gave us a wave and a salute, and they were gone around another bend. They were so low that they probably were not visible from the flatland above the canyon, and we figured that they were involved in some exercise on the base.

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maybe just fighter pilots being "FIGHTER PILOTS"

Ever see a North American F-82 Twin Mustang never heard of one until recently, basicly a twin p51 mustang.