GML Pics

[JimH]

Amazing weekend!








Clyde East

[Robbie Stuart]

THANKS FOR POSTING!
Robbie

[JimH]

More!!




Bob "Punchy" Powell 352nd FG


"51" well...kinda fell apart in the last mile or so but a great effort





Patty Wagstaff flying a show in the "Princess"



31 years ago at Rickenbacker...


man I'm old...same plane...kinda sorta...same airport

[JimH]

Dan Martin on the roll

[Steve Nelson]

Sure...just keep twisting the knife...


Seriously, though..fantastic pics! Keep 'em coming, everybody! Wish I could have made it.

SN

[gordonpagecolorado]

Well done JH. And yes, you ARE old... Glad I'm not...

[RickH]

Thanks, Neon , very nice !

I've actually heard airshow organizers say that one Mustang on the ramp was plenty ! THEY'RE WRONG , and these pictures prove it !

[daveymac82c]

Wow, that looks like it was quite exciting!

I wish I could have been there.

Those two p-47's with identical nose art... were they painted identically, or two airplanes from the same Squadron?

And, was the CWH's Lancaster just a fly-by or was it on static as well?

Cheers,

David

[Mike]

The 2 P-47s were 'Hun Hunter' and 'Wicked Wabbit' - same squadron, same badge on the cowl, different names. Both stunning restorations, and they looked straight out of 1944-45', unlike many of the glossy, chromed, polished and generally pimped P-51s present ('Princess Elizabeth' and 'Twilight Tear' excepted) - sorry if I've offended any of the owners of any such P-51s, but that is my over-riding impression more than anything else of the whole weekend. Why go to all the trouble of restoring the aircraft down to the last stencil, decal and 50 cal bullet link, only to lose the whole 'look' of the 1944-45 period by shining the thing up like a Learjet?

The Lancaster arrived on Thursday afternoon, and departed a couple of hours ago. It was open for walk-throughs in the mornings.

Oh, and great pics JimH - thanks!

[Ontario-Warbird]

The Lancaster arrived on Thursday afternoon, and departed a couple of hours ago. It was open for walk-throughs in the mornings.

Great to see the Lanc make the trip to such a big event. Maybe this year O'Leary can trash the crew again in his Mag.

Dave

[michaelharadon]

Thanks, real nice shots. They help me remember that World War Two was fought in color...

[Jack Cook]

Maybe this year O'Leary can trash the crew again in his Mag.

[FG1D Pilot]

Why go to all the trouble of restoring the aircraft down to the last stencil, decal and 50 cal bullet link, only to lose the whole 'look' of the 1944-45 period by shining the thing up like a Learjet?

Because it stays that way forever. It's much easier to maintain. Flat paint basically has talcum powder in it. It soaks up everything and has to be repainted every year, at least, due to fading. You can't really get a good paint job unless you take it completly apart and strip it. An annual inspection could take 6 months to get it looking right again.
As a Korean painter once told me. "That ugry. Rich man no like ugry."

How come no pictures of the "Shiney" C47?

[JDK]

Cracking photos there...

Why go to all the trouble of restoring the aircraft down to the last stencil, decal and 50 cal bullet link, only to lose the whole 'look' of the 1944-45 period by shining the thing up like a Learjet?

Because it stays that way forever. It's much easier to maintain. Flat paint basically has talcum powder in it. It soaks up everything and has to be repainted every year, at least, due to fading. You can't really get a good paint job unless you take it completly apart and strip it. An annual inspection could take 6 months to get it looking right again.

(With respect) Not true, as shown by numerous warbird schemes that are matt or semi-matt, and successful. IMHO, it's just an excuse for the 'gloss' or 'polished' guys. And having had Kermit Weeks (very nicely) ask me not to touch 'Ina' because of the fingerprints - who's got the work?

(Let's not even go near the polish instead of paint, or paint instead of metal on Mustangs.)

If you buy a Mustang and want an easy life...

As a Korean painter once told me. "That ugry. Rich man no like ugry."

Now that's true. Rich man like bling. Rich men like 'new looking'... Rich men certainly don't like their toys looking 'pre-loved' and second-hand from Uncle Sam.

[CAPFlyer]

I'm sorry, but I have to say something on this. I'm frustrated with the statements about how planes had a matte finish or that the metal didn't shine really high in the military. My Great Uncle, an Air Force pilot in WWII and Korea has an aircraft on display in Georgia and his best friend's airplane is on display at the NMUSAF. Both aircraft were restored in part using photos he took of the airplanes just after arriving in theater (i.e. brand new). Both aircraft had a very shiny finish - one a fully painted transport, one a metal fighter with painted stripes. Part of this reason is because it was painted with ENAMEL paint. Enamel paints only come in one finish - gloss. Any "matte" finishes are not pure enamels, they are hybrids. The reason so many pictures look flat is because of wear, not because that's how they were painted. Take a look at pictures of the CAF R4D-6 "Ready4Duty" back when she was originally painted back in the late 1980s. Then look at her now. She originally had a GLOSS finish because they used the exact same enamel paints that were used in the late 40s. That finish is now "matte" or "flat" because of weathering, not because that's the finish. The only reason they got dull was because they didn't have any clear coating to protect that finish. There is nothing unauthentic about owners then using the same colors and paints that originally adorned their aircraft, even if they do maintain the finish to a level that wasn't always maintained in the field. Dull finishes didn't become the "norm" for military paint schemes until after Vietnam. Even the Skyraiders and Invaders had a glossy paint scheme. The only airplanes that were regularly painted with a "flat" finish were night fighters.