back seat rides?

[eallen]

this may be beating the ole dead horse a bit and if so please forgive me and i will return to being a viewer!

i am curious about folks who have ridden in the back seat of a warbird...P-51...P-40...T-6...and the list goes on...? and if you want to say how it happened?

i noticed a few hand written signs in the pits at the air races this year offering rides and i saw the planes (P-38 included) heading out several times each evening after the days events were completed with riders in the back seats. i also know that there are several organizations around the country that offer rides and i am pretty sure the dough goes to keeping those planes in the air.

i am guessing some folks have paid...some folks know and/or knew an owner(s)...and i am sure there are other connections...cousin's uncle once removed...ex-husbands...former crewmembers etc.

just curious? thinking there are some good stories out there and probably some good pix?

[Mike Halbrook]

My first flight in a T-6 was later the same day as my first official hour of dual instruction towards my private license. I had left a note on the windscreen of the plane. I paid for the gas and I flew in that T-6 several times. The next time I flew a T-6 I was a private pilot. This was because I was helping out with the plane. I've gotten several flights over the years because I was willing do to what was needed, wiping up oil, handing up tools, and doing some wrenching. People need to be pretty comfortable with you before they will let you wrench on their planes. I was eventually invited to join the club (California Warbirds) that owned that T-6. I then was able to fly it from the front seat.
I paid for ride in a P-40M in the mid 1980's known unofficially as the "tuna clipper". I didn't feel I'd been clipped, it was great low level flight in formation with a well known mustang. Last year a did a "donation" and flew in a dual control P-40N, got to fly it around some myself and do a few rolls. I've also ridden in warbirds just by being in the right place at the right time.

[Mudge]

I rode the back seat in this in '05. It's owned by Bill Dause in Lodi, CA. Shortly after my ride, he ran off the runway and wiped out a landing gear. No idea if it's ever been repaired. Cost me $500 for an hour ride.



You say you saw a P-38 with someone in a back seat. I wasn't aware that there were any P-38s with back seats in them. Can you tell me who's it was?

Mudge the curious

[The Inspector]

Late June/early July 1966. Merrill Field Anchorage Alaska, my first boss in aviation was a guy named Red Dodge. Red flew for WESTERN as an L-188 Captain, owned the FBO/PIPER dealership I worked at and had his own air force. He had a pink P-51D contracted to BLM as a fireboss spotter. One afternoon Red shows up @ the field, checks the Mustang and says to me'climb in'. quite a buzz for a fresh faced 19 year old kid! A few weeks later I got a B-25 ride sort of around the patch with one of his crews. No photos remain due to lots of moves over the decades plus a couple divorces.

[dropctune]

[quote="Mudge"]I rode the back seat in this in '05. It's owned by Bill Dause in Lodi, CA. Shortly after my ride, he ran off the runway and wiped out a landing gear. No idea if it's ever been repaired. Cost me $500 for an hour ride.







Here's the video of Bill Dause's err.. mishap. It has a pucker factor of around 11


http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd24 ... anding.mp4

[RMAllnutt]

Vintage Wings of Canada have ride programs with a number of their aircraft, including the P-40 (which is dual controlled). They are an incredibly well run, professional outfit. Many/most of their pilots are actual test pilots, and have many, many thousands of hours in experience too. I had a ride in their P-40 a few weeks ago, and it was sublime. It was incredibly smooth, and the view was fantastic too! Check out their website for details.... http://www.vintagewings.ca

Cheers,
Richard

[dropctune]

Mudge,
Here's a pic of Steve Hinton with Planes of Fame's "SKIDDO" set up for a back seat ride. Looks to be a tight fit to say the least

[Mudge]

Mudge,
Here's a pic of Steve Hinton with Planes of Fame's "SKIDDO" set up for a back seat ride. Looks to be a tight fit to say the least

Well...there's a familiar sight. BTDT. You're right. VERY tight fir for anyone over 5' zip. I was in the fetal position in that very "seat" and I was still outside the canopy from the neck up. Steve thought that would not be comfortable at 300mph so the ride was aborted. Saved me $2,000.

Mudge the large

[Return_with_Honor]

I have been fortunate enough to never have had to pay for a ride in warbirds, but been treatd to the generousity of many wonderful warbird friends and owners. My very first ride in a warbird was in a T-6 owned by Mike Schloss. Mike was generous enough to offer rides in his airplane to the many warbird volunteers working the warbird flightline at Oshkosh ~ a great guy and a great pilot! My first ride in a T-28 I won in a "pick a number between 1 and 100" game between myself and six other warbird line guys. I won (picked number 1) and had an awesome flight with Pete Knox in his Trojan along with two other T-28s. We beat up a grass strip somewhere near Oshkosh and it was amazing formation flying and amazing acro - I believe Pete was an ex-Navy instructor pilot. My first ride in fighter came in a P-51 (LOU IV) owned by John Dilley. I was in Elkhart, Indiana helping Ray Stutsman with their airshow working the flight line along with Tim Savage (the good 'ol days - John is also an amazing Pilot and gave me the ride of my life in his mustang after I told him "don't hold back - I can take anything you want to do" - it was fun! I have been lucky enough to have flown with many great people and each ride was special to me, no matter what it was in. Great memories Dave

[Rod Schneider]

Since we are talking about "back seat" rides, I guess that leaves out several rides I've gotten on B-17s! (Aluminum Overcast in 2000, several Liberty Belle rides in the last two years)
My first warbird back seat would be in my friends T-6. I've ridden back there several times and have even ridden/flown in the front seat a few times. My other backseat ride has been twice (so far) in the P-40. No money costs, but lots of sweat equity

[Jack Cook]

Stearman 220/300/450 x lots, N3N, NP-1, V-77, BT-13, PT-22, AT-6 x lots, T-28B/C, P-51D x many, TBM, A-26, B-17, LB-30/B-24A, L-4, L-5, T-34B, CJ-6, YAK, Beaver, B-25 x lots, C-45. I've never asked for a ride (but I have worked a few deals ).

[Dave Lindauer]

Back in the early 1980s I had one awesome aerobatic ride in the back of an FG-1D owned/piloted by a friend's father. Since I was young, poor, stupid, ecstatic over the ride, and a little bit green around the gills by the time we got back on the ground, it didn't dawn on me until later that I should have offered to contribute something for fuel, not that such an offer would have been accepted.

[Ztex]

Got a T-6 ride at an airshow in Beaumont, TX in 95...An couple of trips around the patch. I got called out for pitching too much in the turns...got to do everything but the ladings.

Got a front seat ride in a Stearman...does that count? That was fun.

Some Huey rides here and there too.

All with the now defunct Texas Air Command Museum.

A couple of rides with the Collings guys...Huey and B-25

Gotta say the front seat (Bombardier) of the B-17 Chuckie has got them all beat...

[JBoyle]

I got a free B-17 ride while in the Air Force, the CAF was ferrying the plane from the base (where it was a focal point of a bomb squadron's 90th birthday dance) to Dallas.

I got T-6, T-6 Texan II, and B-1 rides (in the left seat!!!) for being in the media and knowing people.

You have to be in the right place at the right time...lucky.

[CAPFlyer]

Flew in the back of Marty Case's SNJ-5 for Veteran's Day a few years back in the formation over Wax (what a ride!) with 2 other T-6's (Carl Best and the guys out of Gilmer) and a FW-149A. Was great because I had no plans on going and Marty asked if I wanted to ride along. So glad I said yes.