Warbird Information Exchange

Funny, I can only find local news references to the T-6 crackup but nobody has photos. I know at least one guy in my group said he took photos of it “landing,” and I’m dying to see them. Someone told me the plane was wheeled off to the back hangars at the field and under wraps for the event. I doubt any spectators had a clue it’d happened at all. It appears that the plane in question is this one:
You wouldn’t have had time to say howdy anyway, I guess. That was my “ninja” photo, taken at the end of the show just before I loaded up my Willys on the trailer. Zip in, jump out, snappy snap, jump in and POOF, gone. Our group had around 8 WW2 Jeeps, four other larger WW2 vehicles, and about a half dozen post-WW2 vehicles in the other camp. Here I am sitting on my own ride earlier that day. I still can't get over how freakishly large I look in this photo!

_________________
Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

Most if not all of the information about the T-6 accident, how it happened, what happened etc... is not correct. Some of it isn't even close to correct. I've got pictures of it that I'll post eventually. About two hours or so after the accident, Me, Steve Swift and two others from the museum picked it up and moved it. It's not hidden or anything, it's just not easily viewable from public parts of the field. In fact, it other than the canopy cover, it's out in the open. Fortunately, due to where the accident happend, few people could see it and even fewer could get to it. I talked to the owner the next day and he asked me to take the plane apart in order to ship it home next week but I just didn't have time to do it. I wanted to but I had to get back to Oklahoma. I saw it this morning before going to Seattle and it was still sitting where I left it.

Al, I saw you once on Sunday but I was busy trying to keep some other individuals from running through the crowd line with Yaks and Navions. I was standing under the B-25 when it remarshalling plan that some others worked up didn't go quite as planned! In fact, I ran right past you while I was trying to get to the crowd line. When I went back to find you, you were gone. Although I haven't seen any so far, I may be in some of the pictures you were taking at the time! Next time we'll have to coordinate better and I'll get you out past the crowd for the show.

As for the smoke in the Zero, yes it is as bad as it looks in the picture. When you hit the button on the stick the cockpit goes IFR. Yes the pilot's O2 mask does seal up well enough to protect him. Opening the canopy just makes the smoke swirl around inside!

_________________
Brad

Okay...this is just my .02 cents worth...and if I offend anyone, including the owner, my apologies.

I find it interesting at all the ruffled feathers over the CAF decals, inaccurate paint schemes, and the hard feelings it causes...but not a word about that 'thing' in the right of the picture that is masquerading as something akin to an L-17.

This is kind of close to home, as I grew up flying a 'true' L-17B that had a documented history of serving in Belgium during Korea with the U.S. Army. There were only 83 A models and 158 B models manufactured by North American and Ryan.

That airframe in the photo that is painted up in red, white, and blue 'Air Force' markings has no business whatsoever being called a warbird or being passed off as an L-17. Just because it is a Navion, does not make it an L-17. And NO respectable L-17 had the big engines (they all had 185's or 205's in them), three-bladed props, pointy spinners, and there was no such thing as 'full' windscreens or side windows.

No offense to the owner/pilot...but it's a trend I've seen up here in the northwest with Navion owners painting them up in wild, inaccurate paint schemes and passing them off as L-17's. The only real L-17 up in this area belongs to Bill Lattimer, and it is at least painted halfway correctly. I know, because it used to be ours.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Brad

_________________
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......

I thought the Navion was painted to look like a T-6A Texan II not an L-17.

Thanks for the photos, looks like a great event. Is that big old English Electric, T55 Lightning still there? If so, does anyone have a current photo of it?

Brian.

It once again all comes down to if it's your plane you can paint it how you want. I can see how it can be frustrating to some though. On that note i'll give you these.

_________________
-Al Sauer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat