Quad Cities Air Show

[sparks]

Just a few thoughts....

The wife and I went there today. Blue Angels. Aeroshell Acrobatic Team. Wingwalker.......etc.

At one point there was a 'heritage flight'; a P51 and F16 wing to wing in a photo op. I'll bet the young man in the F16 wished he was in the 51! Nothing like the sound of a 51 with a R/R Merlin.

Been going to airshows for a bit over forty years now.

Bob Hoover and Duane Cole are some of the earliest memories. And the CAF......and Fifi.

Personally, I'm not in favor of going to war at the drop of a hat. On the flip side, I'm not real crazy about getting my butt kicked in either.

And at the end of the day, when whatever aero team is up there, and they do the 'missing man' pullout, I still get a lump in my throat, sometimes a tear.........

Whether it was ninety years or ninety seconds ago, there have been some very brave and selfless individuals watching over us.


SALUTE!!

[glenn kangiser]

I had a beer with Jimmy Franklin at an air show.

Hard to beat ol' Bob Hoover.

[NM_Shooter]

Five years ago at work, a colleague's family member was passing through town.  He and his wife were both active Air Force, and they were moving down to a Texas base on assignment.  He was a jet jockey, and was towing a home-built sport aircraft when they stopped by our place of work for a road break.

We all went out to see the plane and to talk to them.  Everyone was surrounding him and asking questions, and his wife was standing off talking to one of the ladies I worked with.  I went over to visit; she was this cute little thing, maybe all of 110 pounds and looked like a soccer mom in training.  I asked her what she did for the Airforce while her husband was off flying jets...(nurse? admin? PR? thank God I didn't specifically ask)....

"I fly F-16s too". 

Gulp.   

Turns out that she flew cap over the Utah Olympics, and was actually a more experienced pilot than her husband.  Her specialty is weapons test and was tasked with evaluating new targeting and deployment technology.  I found out later that she is highly regarded and one of the best.   

[glenn kangiser]

Almost sounds like my instrument/commercial flight instructor, Kathy Grey.  She flew everything - even did airshows at air bases flying "Freedom - America's Smallest Jet".-- Small planes across the ocean to Africa etc. when Sat Nav was the only means of communication - every few hours only.

She also did mapping or something at the North Pole - compass didn't work there.

[n74tg]

I went to the Oshkosh airshow every year from '92 thru '97.  First year there, I saw a formation flight of 12 P-51's and 24 Dauntless bombers.  I was in love with the Van's RV-6 at the time and a big old radial started up right behind the Van's tent.  We all ran outside to see what was making all the commotion and there were six Corsair's starting engines for their part of the airshow.  They all had their wings folded up while parked, but had enough room between planes to put the wings down before taxi.  On start up the number four plane had a hydraulic problem when he'd taxied about halfway out.  He was now blocking the number 5 and 6 airplanes from getting out.  No problem for the Corsair,  they just folded their wings back up and taxied around him. 

Another year, they dedicated the airshow to the bomber crews of WW2.  We all got to see a missing man formation done with three B-17's and one B-25 (who did the missing man pull-up).  I flew B-52's during the Cold War, so that kinda brought a tear to the eye.

And finally, talking about famous people.  Debbie Rihn Harvey, senior captain for Southwest Airlines and team member for too many years to count on the U.S. Aerobatics Team (competes in the World Aerobatic Championships).  She taught me to fly aerobatics (Hammers, Immels, Cubans, Split-S, upright and inverted spins, snap rolls, barrel rolls, aileron rolls).  She is one cool cucumber.  One year at the U.S. Aerobatic Championships (about 1999) she had an aileron control horn break during competition.  All we heard on the radio was "it broke".  She rolled back upright with the one remaining good aileron, did a controllability check, came in and landed.  They welded the control horn back together and she took off again to complete the competition flight.  According to competition rules, if your airplane breaks and is repaired you can do enough maneuvers to check out the quality of the repair, but you can't do any of your remaining planned aerobatic maneuvers as part of the test out process (that would be considered practicing and would get you disqualified).  She flew the rest of the flight uneventfully. 

Don't get me to talking about airplanes, ooops, too late.

[NM_Shooter]

I have a CD called "Round Sounds".  It is nothing but recordings of famous rotary airplane engines during warm up, taxi, and takeoff.  My wife hates it when one of my buddies is over and I demo on our stereo.  We have a Bob Carver sub-Woofer that shakes the house, and I once dislodged a 5'X7' double pane glass from my bedroom window with the stupid thing.  Still gives me goose bumps though.

BTW..Hot Springs is sweet.  I high-schooled in Mountain Home.

-f-

[sparks]

I had a beer with Jimmy Franklin at an air show.

Hard to beat ol' Bob Hoover.

Jimmy Franklin.... haven't heard that name in years. My memory is fuzzy here, Stearman, maybe?
I do recall in the early 70's, when the EAA show was still in Rockford, Il ; Hoover was flying a stock Aero Commander Twin.

The announcer said something to the effect of Bob coming in for a low level high speed flat pass. At the last second , Bob inverted the aircraft and blew down the runway about 15 feet off the asphalt.

We could hear the announcer kind of muffle the mic and ask someone, "was he supposed to do that?"

The laughter was incredible. Apparently the announcer didn't know Bob Hoover!!

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like Jimmy bought the big one in 2005.  Bummer but what goes up must come down.  Mid-air.  It was a Waco and last it was apparently a jet powered Waco.

Can I say it? hmm  At least he died doing what he loved to do.

[n74tg]

Talk about big radial sounds.  You reminded me of one of my favorite things about Oshkosh.  We always stayed in the college dorms when we went to the airshow, and none of those dorms are air-conditioned (at least they weren't from '92-'97), so of course we would have the windows open. 

So, most every morning we would be awakened by the sounds of a three ship B-17 flight cruising around the local area.  I don't know if they were checking out systems, or just flying for fun.  It always happened around 6 a.m., just as the sun was beginning to come up.  I don't think they were carrying passengers for demo flights.  Who knows, maybe their purpose WAS to wake everybody up for the days airshow.  Whatever their purpose, I do remember how pleasant it was to wake up to the sounds of big radials cruising in the distance.  it just put you in a good mood to get up, dress, get over to the dining hall for a big brekfast and then on to oohing and aahing airplanes for the rest of the day. 

It was either EAA, or AOPA that every year sold aviation related Christmas cards.  They had this one card that I will always remember.  It was a scene of a little farm house.  It had a 1940's era car sitting in the driveway, smoke coming out of the chimney and a little ways off in the distance a B-17 flying at low altitude.  The caption inside said "Home for Christmas".  Every time I think of those B-17 early morning flights at Oshkosh I can't help but remember that Christmas card too.

Gee, I miss flying.

[glenn kangiser]

I really like the radial sound but the P51 Merlin in a high speed flyby is my favorite sound I think.

http://avanimation.avsupport.com/sound/P-51.wav

http://avanimation.avsupport.com/Sound.htm

[glenn kangiser]

Jimmy Franklin picture tribute.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2321039681383208787&q=jimmy+franklin+waco&ei=bbljSPOmAYuUrgO2soivAw&hl=en

Jimmy flying.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2321039681383208787&q=jimmy+franklin+waco&ei=bbljSPOmAYuUrgO2soivAw&hl=en

[Sassy]

My dad probably flew most or all of those planes during his almost 30 yrs in the Air Force - the last planes he flew were the B52 as an instructor pilot flying lots of secret missions over Russia photographing their military installations - they would fly so high that by the time the Russian MIGS would realize they were there, my dad would be out of there - they couldn't catch him.  He also flew KC135's & C130's in Vietnam - would land & have lots of bullet holes in the fuselage oftentimes.

When I was 6 mo old he was flying a B25 I think (had the cockpit with the canopy over it - he was the pilot & he had a copilot that sat behind him.  There was also a navigator.)  While refueling, the plane caught on fire - the navigator bailed out, but the canopy malfunctioned & wouldn't open.  The smoke caused my dad & his co-pilot to pass out.  Evidently the plane turned upside down, the canopy burned open & they fell out.  The fresh air caused them to gain consciousness - my dad figured they were approx 1500 ft from the ground - both pull the ripcord on their chutes & made it safely to ground. 

My dad ended up in a tree, he didn't know where his co-pilot landed...  a farmer drove by & stopped when he saw my dad - asked him if he'd seen the plane crash & then drove on his way.  Dad was able to make it to the ground & started walking - in the meantime someone must have called an ambulance but it never made it - the engine blew up.  Dad ended up walking along the road.  Another farmer stopped his truck, picked him up & took him to the local hospital.  He was taken to a large, regional hospital where he stayed for a month due the the extensive burns.  BTW, this was near Little Rock, Arkansas...  It happened Christmas Eve, 1951. 

He landed a B52 at Castle AFB, California with the 4 engines shut down on one side in 100 degree weather.  I guess he was the 1st one to do that.  The engines had caught fire.  Supposedly, it had been fixed when another pilot flew it a week later & it crashed...   

[Sassy]

Hope you don't mind me posting this poem they read at my dad's memorial service Feb 29, 2008 - Leap Year - how appropriate...  It's called  High Flight  it was on a plaque he had been given as an award one year.  By John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Oh I have slipped the surly bounds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds--and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled & soared & swung
High in the sunlit silence.  Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew,
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

[sparks]

I don't recall the exact quote.

"Never has so much been owed to so few by so many"




And that's all i have to say about this

[MountainDon]

The exact quote is...

"Never was so much owed by so many to so few" - Winston Churchill, 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, in a speech to the Brtish House of Commons.

"the few" described the Allied aircrew of Royal Air Force (RAF), whose desperate struggle gained the victory.

[sparks]

Oh man, did I mess that up

[MountainDon]

That's okay... I'm a WWII history fan/nut

[glenn kangiser]

If you come loose will the fan fly off?

[MountainDon]

I left the door wide open on that...



...it's a pusher fan; just wobbles a lot.

[glenn kangiser]

I knew I had you there.