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Vivid memory of a P-51

Old Aviators and Old Airplanes.....

This is a good little story about a vivid memory of a P-51 and its pilot by a fellow who was 12 years old in Canada in 1967. You may know a few others who would appreciate it.

It was noon on a Sunday as I recall, the day a Mustang P-51 was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night from some U.S. airport, the pilot had been tired. I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her. It was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by.

The pilot arrived by cab, paid the driver, and then stepped into the flight lounge. He was an older man; his wavy hair was gray and tossed.

Looked like it might have been combed, say, around the turn of the century. His flight jacket was checked, creased and worn - it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac.

After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up, just to be safe."

Though only 12 at the time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire, point, then pull this lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story.

The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge. We did.

Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied t o the end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds; we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway. We could not.

There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" said the controller. In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two-thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze.

We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. " Kingston tower calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment.

The radio crackled, "Go ahead Kingston ." "Roger Mustang. Kingston tower would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show!

The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking. I couldn't forgive myself!"

The radio crackled once again, " Kingston , do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, Kingston, I'm coming out of 3000 feet, stand by."

We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream. Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze. Her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding andtearing the air.

At about 400 mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with the old American pilot saluting. Imagine. A
salute! I felt like laughing, I felt like crying, she glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded.

Then the old pilot pulled her up and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory.

I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to
America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory.

He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest, projecting an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will.

Until that time, I'll just send off this story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's lasted a lifetime.

(Forward to your Pilot Friends) And anyone who would enjoy a good story!

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The Charlie Brown Story

Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.. It was ready to fall out of the sky. Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you'll be surprised.....

This is as it should be - passengers in closed cabin, pilot in open cockpit so he will stay awake.
The airplane is in Spokane , WA , and is the oldest flying Boeing in the World.
After 8 years of repair and rebuilding and 8,000 hours of toil the Boeing 40C rolled out last winter as a finished airplane.
They had to wait a few weeks for the snow to melt to fly this baby. They received their Standard Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA and completed the engine pre-oil and fuel flow tests for the first of the taxi tests.
Facts for the Boeing 40 project:
221½ gallons of dope/reducer and 120 yards of 102 ceconite fabric. 12 gallons of polyurethane paint for the sheet metal. The wings have 33,000 individual parts in them. The airplane weighs 4080 lbs empty, has a gross weight of 6075 lbs. It is 34 ft long and 13 feet tall with a wing span of 44½ feet.
Wing loading is 10 lbs per sq ft and power loading is 10 Pounds per HP. It should cruise at 115 mph using 28 GPH, and 32 GPH at 120 mph. It carries 120 gallons of fuel in three tanks.
350 - 2 inch brushes were used to apply 6 gallons of West Systems epoxy, and 181 rolls of paper towels for cleanup.
There were a total of 62 volunteers who worked on the project to some degree. 21 of the volunteers did a significant amount of work, and 9 of the volunteers worked continuously during the 8 year project.

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Pine Island History

ABOUT BERT'S BAR on Pine Island:
    Most of Florida's tiny fishing towns are disappearing and giving way to McDonald's, high rises and hotel chains. But not Matlacha. Here you still find cozy cottages, bed & breakfasts, fishermen tending their nets, bait shops and shrimp boats.
    Matlacha housing started in the 20's. The bridge to Pine island was completed in 1927. Fishing shanties and squatter shacks appeared on the Island. Many of them have survived to present day. The area around the Matlacha Bridge was made famous by Ft. Myers author, Richard Powell, in his book, Pioneer Go Home. This book was made into an Elvis Presley movie called "Follow that Dream".
    Bert's Bar is composed of two buildings. The original building was the bar near the road. It was built in the 30's as a "sweet shoppe". Then in 1941 the "hotel" building was built. It consisted of eight sleeping rooms.
    During WWII, army bases were set up at Page Field and many of the soldiers would come out for a weekend to Matlacha to go fishing off the "fishingest bridge in Florida" at Matlacha Pass. They became regular customers of the hotel and bar.
    Stories abound that the hotel had the reputation of "ill repute" and ladies of the night. Imagine that. Some time after WWII the bar became known as "Mother's"
    In the seventies, the bar became known as the Tri Dilly Inn and then Harry's Barge Inn. The hotel continued to operate up to the 70's.
    It was the home to many a local fisherman. Shrimp boats were parked out back of the Inn. We still have deep water at the end of the dock as a result of that.
    Later the place was purchased by Bert Clubb, a famous Lee County bar operator. Hence the name Bert's. Bert's became the bar of choice for many people from all over Lee & Charlotte County.
    It has even been said that there were "Dancers" in the back room (formerly the hotel). Bert operated the establishment for many years and then sold it to a long time employee.
    In 2000 the establishment was sold again, the name stayed and the legend lives on. Over Sixty years. Bert's has had a colorful sixty years of history and is the home of many stories of its past. If the walls could only talk.

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The pilot was strangely silent for a moment. Finally he stammered, 'So, what you're telling me is... you're NOT my flight instructor?

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Moose Hunters

Two Irish hunters persuaded a pilot to fly them to Canada to hunt moose. They managed to 'bag' six. As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only four moose.
The two lads objected strongly. "Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he flew the same plane as you do."
Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six moose were loaded.
However, even on full power, the little plane could not handle the load and went down.
Somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, Paddy and Mick survived the crash.
After climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asked Mick. "Any idea where we are?"
Mick replied, "No, but I think we are pretty close to where we crashed last year."

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Actual exchanges between pilots and control towers.
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Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
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Tower: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet.. How much noise can we make up here?"
Tower: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"
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From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f....ing stupid!"
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O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, Eastbound."
United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this...I've got the little Fokker in sight.."
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A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight.. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, What was your last known position?"
Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."
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DC-10 had come in a little hot and thus had an exceedingly long roll out after touching down.
San Jose Tower noted:
"American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the runway, if you are able. If you are not able, take the   Guadeloupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights and return to the airport."
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My favorite.
A Pan Am 727 flight, waiting for start clearance in   Munich , overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany . Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war!"
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Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way, after we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124..7. Did you copy that report from Eastern 702?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern... we've already notified our caterers."
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One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the active runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane. Did you make it all by yourself?"
The Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with a real zinger: "I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like yours and I'll have enough parts for another one.."
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The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between   Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: " Frankfurt , Speedbird 206! clear of active runway."
Ground:  "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark, -- And I didn't land."
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While taxiing at London's Airport, the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727..
An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming:
"US Air 2771, where the hell are you going? I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!"
Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour, and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, US Air 2771?"
"Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded.
Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind.. Tension in every cockpit out around Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"
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Aviation Videos

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These are Great In-flight Photos Of the FA-22 as the first Aircraft Delivery was being made to Langley

AFB in Va. Langley is to be first Operational AFB for the FA-22. It is A very beautiful AFB, located in a

Picturesque location, as you can see In these photos, near Norfolk and Hampton, Va.

The Aircraft flying along with the FA-22 in the last of these photos is The F-15, which will be replaced by

The FA-22 which is several times Better.

In Actual In-flight (simulated) Combat Operations against the F-15, Two FA-22s were able to operate Without detection while they went Head to head against (8) F-15s. The FA-22s scored Missile Hits (Kills)

Against all the F-15 Aircraft and the F/A-22s were never detected by Either the F-15s or Ground Based

Radar. Maj. Gen. Rick Lewis said: 'The Raptor Operated Against All Adversaries with Virtual Impunity;

Ground Based Systems Couldn't Engage and NO Adversary Aircraft Survived'!

FA-22 -- America 's Most Advanced Fighter Aircraft for the 21st Century! They're a titanium and carbon fiber Dagger. They're so advanced that if Their on-board locator is switched off Even our own satellites can lose track Of them. They're the first military Aircraft ever built that is equipped With a 'black-out button'. What that Means is this: The best conditioned fighter pilots are Capable of maintaining consciousness Up to in the vicinity of 15+ G. The Raptor is capable of making 22+ G Turns. If someday an adversary builds A missile that is capable of catching Up to one of these airplanes and a Raptor pilot sees that a strike is Imminent, he hits the 'b.o.b.' and the Airplane makes a virtual U-turn, Leaving the missile to pass right on by.

They know that in the process he will Temporarily lose consciousness, so the Raptor then automatically comes back To straight and level flight until he Wakes back up.

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FLYING WEST
I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die-
A place where a guy can go and buy a cold beer
For a friend and comrade, whose memory is dear;
A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread,
Nor management type would ere be caught dead;
Just a quaint little place, kinda dark and full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke;
The kind of place where a lady could go
And feel safe and protected, by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their paining is finished, and their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And the songs about flying and dying are sung,
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd flown west before.
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door;
Who would buy you a drink if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"

And then through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen for years, though he taught you how to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear,
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here.
"For this is the place where true flyers come,
"When the journey is over, and the war has been won
"They've come here to at last to be safe and alone
From the government clerk and the management clone,
"Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise
Where the hours are happy, and these good ol'boys
"Can relax with a cool one, and a well-deserved rest;
"This is Heaven, my son -- you've passed your last test!"

Author: Capt. Michael J. Larkin
Dedicated to: Capt. E. Hamilton Lee