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Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:42 pm
Howdy y'all. I'm a Warbird museum tour guide. I flew as Navigator on various warbirds during the Cold War.
My first flight, that I can remember, was in a Luscombe 8A in the 1940s. Later, my dad bought an Aeronca 7AC and we BOTH learned to fly. We bought it from a flight school and they had effectively "used it up" before selling it.
Dad got his pilot's license that summer, then we went through the "annual inspection" and learned that it needed "fixing". Indeed, it was a complete restoration and we completed it in the winter of 1956-7. We learned about recovering wings and fuselage with grade-A Irish linen and 'airplane dope' (that's a story in itself). Then we learned all about the Continental 65 horsepower engine because it needed a "major overhaul". That was a great way to learn all the workings of a lightplane.
I finally soloed on my 16th birthday and got my Private Pilot's license on my 17th. In those days, learning to fly on a 'tail-dragger' was important. One of my main motivations for soloing was to get my dad out of the plane when I flew.
When I enlisted in the Air Force, they had too many pilots and there were no openings in pilot training. Soon after enlisting, I applied for Navigator training and was accepted into Aviation Cadets. After getting my wings and commission, I went to Nav-Bombardier school to train for B-47s. No openings in B-47s, so I took a voluntary assigment to navigate nuclear-laden C-124s...old shakey. After a brief stint in C-141s, I got a chance to volunteer for RB-57 Canberras...both 'short-wings' and 'long-wings'...that's another story. I also flew RB-57E recce birds in Viet Nam. I flew EC/KC-135s for a while (no story there).
After retiring from the AF, I worked for the DoD and NASA and several 3-letter agencies. Then I retired again.
Then I worked with exotic wild animals as a volunteer animal-handler/trainer doing eco-education shows.
Now I'm in my element as a volunteer tour guide and general go-fer at a Warbird museum (The Valiant Air Command) and restoration facility. We restore and fly several warbirds.
My current warbird love is a British Canberra that the museum acquired recently. We will be restoring it for static display. This is a very historic Canberra, thought to have flown British Project Robin flights in the cold war. (yeah, there is another story there).
My wife of 38 years also shares my love for warbirds (and wildlife) and is also a volunteer at the warbird museum.
Sorry for the length of this introduction, but I am an old guy.