Don Ornbaum

[sledge39]

...Larry...thanx for posting the links to your previous threads...now all the good stuff can be found from a single source.

...all good...

Sledge

[Lon Moer]

...Larry...thanx for posting the links to your previous threads...now all the good stuff can be found from a single source.

...all good...

Sledge

Yep, I spent all weekend reading through all the old threads.

Now I want to go dig out some old Tigercat tanker pictures I took back in 1976~1977 at Sequoia.

[Larry Kraus]

Lon, I'd like to see any F7F pictures if you can post them. In the meantime here's my old F7 thread

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18936

[sledge39]

...a few pictures of F7Fs...

#1 They reloaded tankers at Chino (CNO) from (unknown) thru 1969
Chino Aug 1968 #E63 N7654C

#2 They reloaded tankers at Ontario (ONT) in the 1950s...and later 1973-77
Ontario Aug 1975 ...three loaded F7Fs

#3 They reloaded tankers at Hemet (HMT) from the beginning thru current
Hemet July 1975 #E62 N6129C

#4 Ed Real took #E42 to the California 1000 (1000km) but did not race
Mojave Nov 1971

Sledge
.

[Larry Kraus]

Excellent pictures Sledge, and thanks for the captions. They really help. Ah, the good old days....

[garlok]

Hey Larry,
Re: your photos of Aug 11, 2015 of your 1980 Ornbaum ride-along in T61,
that's not Chuck Sheridan in the right seat -- it's me, Scott McDonald. I filled in the
remainder of the 1980 season when Don's copilot decided tanker work was not for
him and left abruptly. Don could be very aggressive on fires, but he was the smoothest
pilot I ever saw and I never felt in danger. He could put that DC7 anywhere an S2
could go. Uphill drops were done with a lot of smash -- dramatic and fun. I really
enjoyed seeing those photos. Would you happen to have anymore that would show
more than just my left arm??
Scott

[Larry Kraus]

I guess that I don't have perfect recall in this case. I spent April through the middle of July in New Mexico and Arizona and mid-July through early September in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho in 1980,so I was out of the California and Oregon tanker operational areas for that time. I must have keyed on Chuck flying with Don in T61 out of Fresno in 1982 rather than 1980. If I'd looked at the blurry picture from the flight with you guys in T61,it would have been obvious that Chuck wasn't involved.

Here's a shot of Chuck Sheridan with Dave Kelly in T62 in Remond when I got home from the 1981 Alaska Fish Haul.



Here's a blurry shot that I didn't include in the earlier post. I was using a pocket Olympus 35 camera that was an excellent point and shoot pocket camera, but it wasn't quite up to the light saturation and vibration in this case. Not a very good picture,but it does include more than just your left sleeve



Here are some cockpit shots in T61 prior to the flight above









Norman Stubbs was changing one of the left main tires with the airplane loaded and the airplane slid forward off the jack with the wheel removed. Since it might have stressed the remaining wheel, both the inboard and outboard wheels/tires were changed and Kenny Stubbs did a gear swing on that side. Sam Lizardo is by the jack and my T68 c/p Bill Rhodes has his back to the camera.

[garlok]

Yaaar, matey...the fish haul! I flew a super DC-3 for Powers one of those years in King Salmon, I remember seeing you up there also, loading those totes. John Seiglinger dropped in with his Otter. I dug out my diary/journal for 1980 and here is part of my September 02 entry..."At about 4 in the afternoon they called five of us for a fire right up near Fresno. Larry Krause arrived first, just getting in from West Yellowstone. The fire was in a steep canyon wall, and there were 9 tankers on it counting us. ...when we taxied into the loading pit at Fresno, they waved us out. We had lost a cap on the left outboard main tire on takeoff and and it tore the #%&@ out of the nacelles, the flap, and even put some rubber on the prop, not to mention ripping off the brake assembly." I think I'm fooling with the downlock in the picture. Man its fun to see the pictures. I was young and skinny once upon a time, har. Flying a Pawnee now and then, getting in and out a little slower now.

[sledge39]

... when "Tanker 61" was a B-17 ...

... Chino 1969...'Tanker 61' N3702G ...crew: Hill and Bleasdell.

When Larry Hill saw this he said something like ... " never get under a loaded tanker ! " ...

They had been hauling loads and turning right after take-off ...then on the next one they turned left ... " and there I was " ...

Sledge

[Lon Moer]

Saw video of Tanker 60 on the news last night, making a drop on a fire in central/northern CA.
I didn't get to hear where the fire was at, but I recognized the tanker's paint job from this thread.