Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:55 pm
What's the history behind the new paint shceme that's been applied to the P-47?
Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:20 pm
Rob Mears wrote:What's the history behind the new paint shceme that's been applied to the P-47?
A little google search came up with this info.
Even before he could fly, Sandpoint resident Ralph Jenkins was a witness to aviation history when the Spirit of St. Louis landed at the naval station.
As he got older, his passion for flying only got stronger.
After learning to fly at Boeing Field, he took off to California to earn his wings in the Air Force.
After finishing flight school, Jenkins was sent to Europe to fly P-47s with the 510th Fighter Squadron – a squadron he later commanded.
Jenkins called his plane the "Tallahassee Lassie" after his wife whom he met while stationed in Florida.
But, unlike his wife, the P-47 didn't make much of a first impression.
Nicknamed "Thunderbolt," the P-47 was the largest and heaviest, single-engine plane built during World War II.
But while Jenkins and his men were firing below, the Germans were firing back.
Jenkins flew 129 missions during WWII, including on D-Day.
"We flew over the ships that were heading for the beaches," he recalled.
Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:53 pm
Anybody got any pull with the museum director, or Mr. Allen? I'd love to see some of these great airplanes at McChords show in July. Supposed to be over 100,000 folks per day at the show. It'd be a great place to advertise the collection while giving folks a taste of whats there.
Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:55 am
Just an observation, as I didn't want to start a new thread, but Paul Allen needs some better proof-readers for the official FHC website. If you go to the section on the website where you can make a custom postcard based off of one of their airplanes, they have a HUGE amount of mistakes. Not only do they misidentify their own airplanes, but they misspell them, and use incorrect designations. That is very embarassing for the FHC, as they pride themselves on authenticity and accuracy. The biggest, glaring error is that they identify their Oscar as a Japanese Zero. I know, of course, it has a "meatball", so it must be a Zero. 
Please, someone close to the Allen camp, tell FHC about that and correct the errors before FHC loses credibility!
Flashonyoursix, did you copy that?
Please, someone close to the Allen camp, tell FHC about that and correct the errors before FHC loses credibility!
Flashonyoursix, did you copy that?