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CAF 2015 Air Show @ New Century (Old Olathe Naval Air Station)
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Awesome! Great camera work right there Mr. Spears. , Looks like it was a great way to spend a few hours.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
34_40
Awesome! Great camera work right there Mr. Spears. , Looks like it was a great way to spend a few hours.
Thanks! Note the Navigator's Map in the B29 is signed by Dutch Van Kirk, who was the Navigator on the Enola Gay when it dropped the bombs on Hiroshima. Dutch passed away a few years ago, but the guys from Dallas/Ft Worth where Fifi is hangered, shared that Dutch thoroughly enjoyed being in Fifi, and taking a ride to bring back some of the memories. Good stuff, to me.
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There is no prettier plane than the F4U. None. I've been to that airshow a couple of times, and I really miss being able to see those old warbirds up close.
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Nice camera! The props aren't even fuzzy.
What is that one red hose on the bucket of bolts?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
firebird77clone
Nice camera! The props aren't even fuzzy.
What is that one red hose on the bucket of bolts?
I'm not checked out on that engine, but the main oil sump sits between the two lower cylinders, with number one straight up on top. I believe that the red hose is the oil return line to the tank, which sits atop the accessory section behind the cylinders.
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I admire your ability to catch them in flight............I find that difficult to do.
I agree that the Corsair is a very attractive bird, one of the first aircraft models I built as a youngster. But I can't narrow it to only one aircraft as "prettiest"............I really like the form of a P 38 Lightning at least as much............
Got to see "Legal Eagle II" on static display at Ellsworth AFB earlier this year.............those B 29s are majestic!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bob Parmenter
I admire your ability to catch them in flight............I find that difficult to do.
What I did for these was put the camera drive in high speed continuous which shoots five or six frames/second, then track the planes and try to adjust the range as they come by letting the auto focus do the hard work, shooting in bursts of three to ten or more frames at a time. Lots of frames to look at and cull through for the one or two that "work", then cropping the good ones for best effect. Shooting digital is amazing, especially for things that are moving, as it's so easy to shoot 500 frames to end up with 5 or 10 to keep.
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Excellant collection of leading edge stuff------------After being around flying things since early 1960s---I love them all
Just seems strange that in our country where we did all that to whip THOSE guys---most of our current folks drive stuff that was built by the enemy-------
Roger, did you get some access to limited/restricted areas for pics as I don't see many people on flight line?????? Nice to get up front!!!!!! Was this with your Canon?
Bucket of bolts-----ain't that the military version of Beech 18?????got hundreds of hours in 3 or 4 of them
Wish they had a show around here, but usually just flying thru enroute to OshGosh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
jerry clayton
...Roger, did you get some access to limited/restricted areas for pics as I don't see many people on flight line?????? Nice to get up front!!!!!! Was this with your Canon?
Bucket of bolts-----ain't that the military version of Beech 18?????got hundreds of hours in 3 or 4 of them.
Wish they had a show around here, but usually just flying thru enroute to OshGosh
The show was Friday/Saturday/Sunday so I went by on Friday to walk among the aircraft. Much, much smaller crowds which let me pick a vantage point, wait for any people around to move, then quickly shoot :D Yes, I was using the Canon with a lens hood to reduce glare.
The Bucket of Bolts is a C45, which was based on the Beech 18 shortly after it was introduced in the late '30's. They were used a lot for utility service through the '60's and maybe into the '70's.
You might check out the CAF (Commemorative Air Force, formerly "Confederate", changed to be more PC;)) to see if there's a similar show in your region. They list a Great Lakes Wing around Chicago, and there's an Indianapolis Wing, too. I'm fortunate that the Heart of America Wing is based less than five miles from our home, but NOT in line with the runways! ;):LOL::LOL:
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Thanks Roger-
I haven't flown a B 18 since sometime early 1969 would probably enjoy a couple flights- well actually would even enjoy another B777 flight
Did some looking at that site where you have the pics-interesting
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
rspears
Good stuff, to me.
And me also..
My favorite would be (what else) the P-51, been awhile since I've heard a Merlin in a Mustang... but you just never forget that song..:)
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The P 51 is a terrific bird.
Nellis AFB does an airshow each November that usually is very good. The Thunderbird stuff is always there to enjoy of course, but they do a good job of mixing in a wide variety of aircraft. A few years back they arranged a fly by of three aircraft intended to demonstrate changes over time of the fighter inventory. They brought together a P 51, an F 4 Phantom, and an F 22. I chuckled a bit as they flew past; you could hear the Merlin at full tilt, churning for all it was worth......sounded great. On the other hand, I imagined the jet jockeys were throttled way back, trying to maintain above stall speed (only a slight exaggeration) to hold the formation. It was great to see! It would have only been better if they'd found an air worthy F 86 to add.......
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When I was in the Navy at NAS Corpus Christi they held the annual Navy Relief Festival, opening the base to the public and featured a daily show by the Blue Angels. When they were flying Phantoms about '69 there was a Father/Son team of matching Bearcat's there, and Dad's had the two-stage blower with water injection, and they'd made up a poster describing a drag race to 10,000 feet between Pop's Bearcat and an Angel's Phantom. Very nicely done, it described that as the flag dropped the Bearcat would be rolling immediately, but the pilot had to be careful not to give it too much throttle too fast or it would torque roll into the tarmac. He would be off the ground before the Phantom had rolled 100yards, standing on his tail and boring a hole in the sky, balls out, blower cranked, water flowing to keep from melting plugs & pistons. As I recall the Bearcat would be at about 5000' when the Phantom tucked his wheels and stood up on his tail, hitting afterburner, and they were then racing that last half. The statistics for each plane said that the Phantom would pass the Bearcat in the last 500' or so, and of course could then continue into the heavens in a corkscrew motion. It made an impression on this young sailor, and sealed my love for radials for life.
Unc, your comment about an F86 brings back another memory. I couldn't have been more than five or six, which would put it at about 1952 or 1953 in Noel, MO. One Saturday morning I had wandered down to the school grounds and was walking around the baseball field chucking rocks towards the fences when I heard this loud "WOOOOOSH" in the sky, and looking up I saw what I later learned to be an F86 Sabre fly down the valley at about 1000' or so. Not sure how many people saw it, as it was kind of early on a Fall morning; where it came from or where it was headed, but I expect that the pilot probably had ties to the area and was checking things out from his vantage point. Again, it made a lasting impression on a young hill country boy!
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I think my interest in flying was definitely sealed with the constant low level F86 flying over the farm in the fifties------I had seen many formation flights of prop planes in the forties but those jets--------- during th Korean war ---keeping up with the war in the news paper, radio, etc but being almost blown off the tractor by the fighters and B47s doing all that low altitude stuff( think they probably were out of Scott AFB down near St Louis-made me apply for AF Academy in 59-- Congressman gave spot to one of his FAMILY friends kid , but he offered me Naval Academy which I didn't want, however I have many times wondered "what if" oh well-did fly some impressive stuff during my career and have a list of some that I'd still get in if given the opt---I definitely wouldn't turn down any of the ones Roger has photographed--
Again nice pics Roger-looking forward to next years also????
But not off a carrier!!!!!!!!
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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..........
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Quote:
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....
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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
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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.
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Quote:
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.:eek: 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.
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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.
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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....
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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"
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Ever see a North American F-82 Twin Mustang never heard of one until recently, basicly a twin p51 mustang.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...3887.Color.jpg
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I think thats the second picture I've ever seen - never seen the plane sadly.
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