Today's photo from Aircraft-in-Focus.com

[k5083]

Now that my web site contains over 14,000 photos of over 3,000 planes, and still rising, one of my favorite features is the random photo widget that changes whenever you view a page. It often triggers fond memories or at least a moment of reflection. In an attempt to share this, I'm going to start posting a not-quite-random image from the site to this thread. I'm not calling it Photo of the Day because I have no illusion that I'll get around to it every day, but when I can, I will. A lot of the photos will be warbirds or antiques from airshows of a few decades ago. Feel free to reply with comments, questions, additional info, or whatever.

Here is today's.



These two Sea Furies were familiar to anyone who went to a lot of airshows, circa 1980. Frank Sanders' N232J, built up from parts of TG114, VR918 and VR919, initially word Royal Navy markings with the tactical number 232, then was painted in this Royal Canadian Navy scheme. It has since been rebuilt into the racer September Fury. Ellsworth Getchell's WH587, with its accurate Australian markings, was one of the most popular and well-traveled warbirds of that period, usually flying from California to Oshkosh each year. It mostly shows up around California now.

See pics of 20 different Sea Furies (and I still have a couple more galleries to put up) here.

August

[Snake45]

See pics of 20 different Sea Furies (and I still have a couple more galleries to put up) here.

August

Fabulous pics, thanks for sharing them! The Sea Fury is one of my favorites, right up there with Mustangs, Bearcats, and late Corsairs (-4 and later).

[Neal Nurmi]

A fine photograph of a couple of airplanes familiar to me. Way back in the early 1970s I stopped in at the Half Moon Bay airport kind of looking for John Herlihy as well as just looking for interesting airplanes. No Herlihy around but I did find an odd character working away on a Sea Fury -- an airplane I'd only vaguely ever heard of. This guy was fussing around the cockpit of this big fuselage -- the enormous wings were outside on pallets. I was very impressed. In later years I got to know Mr. Getchell a bit better, and I've always greatly admired the man. He's still active with the Mustang club too -- a friend who finally soloed in the P-51 a few years ago said Ellsworth was a terror of an instructor in the T-6, and my friend became very proficient as a result. One of the quiet great ones in the Warbird movement.

Did 232 ever have that painted spinner when Frank Sanders operated it? I suspect this was shot when a man named Simms was flying it, before it went to England. I have shots from about 1978 or 79 with this spinner treatment.

[k5083]

Today's photo is That Time at Oshkosh when two Lockheed Constellations flew together. Certainly the most beautiful of American propliners, maybe even the most beautiful of any nation.



N6937C, in the lead, was restored to flying condition by the Save-A-Connie foundation, now the Airline History Museum, in the 1980s. Grounded since an engine failure in 2005, she hopefully is on her way to flying status once again. Behind her is C-121A 48-609, which to the great distress of her fans, was sold to a Korean airline for use as a static display at its training facility. According to the web site conniesurvivors.com, two of her engines have been swapped out with inoperable ones to keep airworthy Connies flying.

Several Connies are being worked on now, in the hope of flying them again.

See pics of 16, mostly static display, Connies on my web site.

August

[Snake45]

My Dad had over 20,000 hours in a variety of both military and civil (mainly commercial) aircraft ranging from T-6, B-25 and B-26 and F-86 through C-130. I asked him once what was his favorite military aircraft to fly and he answered without hesitation, "The Connie." He flew C-121s with the Air Guard for the best part of a decade, and apparently loved them.

(His favorite civilian aircraft to fly was the Fairchild/Fokker F-28 bizjet.)

[Lon Moer]

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These two Sea Furies were familiar to anyone who went to a lot of airshows, circa 1980. Frank Sanders' N232J, built up from parts of TG114, VR918 and VR919, initially word Royal Navy markings with the tactical number 232, then was painted in this Royal Canadian Navy scheme. It has since been rebuilt into the racer September Fury. Ellsworth Getchell's WH587, with its accurate Australian markings, was one of the most popular and well-traveled warbirds of that period, usually flying from California to Oshkosh each year. It mostly shows up around California now.
<>
August

Sea Fury 232 started out as a Warbird and was turned into an Unlimited Air Racer, but Sea Fury 260X was an Unlimited Air Racer that was turned into a Warbird.

[k5083]

You get two pics today because I couldn't choose between them.

My friend Dick Kamm was an F-80 crew chief in Germany 1949-50. Flights of French Air Force Vampires sometimes dropped by the base at Furstenfeldbruck, and he would hustle out with his camera.



Vampire FB.6 VZ133 taxis past F-80B 45-8688 of the 36th FG. I'm no expert on French tactical markings, but I think this was from the 4e escadre de chasse, based at Friedrichshafen. Note that the plane used to be coded G.4F but has been changed to G.4L. Not sure what that means.



The high angle on this shot of Vampire FB.6 VZ164, I think from the same unit, suggests that Dick was standing on something to get the shot. Probably the wing of an F-80.

More pics of these and two other French Vampires plus 15 others on the Vampire page of my site.

August

[raconnel]

Thanks! That's a great shot comparing the Vampire and P-80.

Richard

[k5083]

Today's post is just a shot of Aero Trader's Pacific Princess in her old navy colors. Always nice to see on the Chino ramp in the 1980s.



There are about 70 B-25s pictured on my B-25 Mitchell page.

August

[Chris Brame]

And here she is in 1955 while still in USAF service, appearing in the short film 24 Hour Alert:

[Snake45]

And here she is in 1955 while still in USAF service, appearing in the short film 24 Hour Alert:

Very cool! There's a chance my Dad might have flown her in training.

[k5083]

Given the type's dangerous reputation, I have appreciated the few occasions when I've seen authentic rotary-powered Sopwith Camel replicas fly. Here is the one at Rhinebeck several years ago. The plane still looks good, and gets pulled out to the flight line on airshow days, but I don't think it has flown for at least the past few seasons. None of the aerodrome's pilots seems to want to try his luck with it.



Pics of 13 genuine or replica Camels on my Camel page.

August

[k5083]

Today's photo is T-33 56-1749 N155SF, guarding the ramp near the CAF hangar in San Marcos, TX.



August

[k5083]

With yet another new Hurricane maidening recently, it's a moment for some of us to recall that it wasn't so long ago when there was only one civil-owned airworthy Hurricane.



When the Canadian Warplane Heritage brought it to Canada in 1984, it was nothing short of a sensation. Even when the shops in the UK started churning out more Hurricanes, it still delighted crowds until its loss in 1993.

This and 18 other Hurris are shown on my [img=http://aircraft-in-focus.com/hawker-hurricane/]Hurricane page[/img].

August

[DH82EH]

I sure do miss that Hurricane.

This is a cool thread August.

Thanks

Andy