Warbird Information Exchange

That's it Speedy, thank you!

Chunks

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Jack McDonnel

T-6/SNJ Hoarder

You must be talking about N286JB. I am not sure why the two 51s were registered to Fox 51 (Frank Strickler) as the owner was Lou Shaw. He sent me several nice photos of the pair back around 1986-87. Eventually both were sold, and when I was at Breckenridge in 91 he flew a Soko jet. However the need for a "wild horse" must have been too great and N6168C was bought.

T J

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Make my day, punk!

Iron Laiden Maiden is still around too.
Now on display at the Mid America Air Museum in Liberal Kansas:

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b25regis ... 30535.html

Vern's accident was due to injestion of significant amounts of water in the fuel, not a mechanical failure. The wreckage was kept at the hangar for a few days and then I moved it to Vern's ranch after the NTSB and other law enforcement agencies released it. There was less than 10% of the plane that could be used again. A family friend bought the wreckage a few years later with the intent to rebuild it. I'm not sure what happened to it after it was moved from the ranch.

Chunks,

About the Laden Maiden...when John bought her, the nose art had been removed, but all the other markings, including the tail code, was still on. Going to air shows, people recognized the plane from "Catch 22" and were always asking John what happened to the "blessed" girl on the side. John saw the movie, and being a big fan of really blessed girls, got a still and hired an artist to recreate the crudely painted nose art. I don't say crudely painted because it's lewd, but because the artist lacked artistic talent!

I've got a lot of old slides I need to get changed over to CD's. I'll post them when I get it done.

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Mike

CVairwerks - I am not sure where you got the info on Vern's crash, would be interested to know that. My dad was a close friend of Vern's (flew for him at American), and saw the accident report. Vern had told him what had been done to the engine prior to the crash. I'm not sure how water ingestion could cause the crank to break in multiple places ...

What was the approximate date of the crash and where did it occur? I can't find anything in the FAA accident report database which is unusual for a fatal accident. I must not be using the correct search terms.

Is it this one?
http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_i ... 9361&key=1

I can't remember the reason that the one bank was removed, as I wasn't involved in it. I want to say that there had been a small coolant leak between the bank and the head and the decision was made to go on and do the head after it was removed. I remember that she sat in the shop for a couple of weeks while the head was off being done. I believe that one of Mike Nixon's guys came in and did the install for Frank. I'm pretty sure she was flown several times prior to that day. Other than a carb problem and the bank overhaul, she rarely needed anything in the 7 years that I worked on her. Granted though, during late 1988 through mid 1989, I wasn't in the shop near as much as I had been, as my other job was keeping me pretty busy, so there may have been other work done that I am not aware of.


Yep, that's the report for Vern's accident. I would bet that the breaks were casued from the impact as the prop and gearbox were torn off the front of the engine. I know that when I hauled the wreckage to the ranch, there were several pieces of engine castings in the pile. Other than pictures of the scene, I don't remember seeing the engine or prop after the accident and don't know what happened to them.

When I worked out at NW Regional it was in the hangar I worked out of. I drilled out a few rivets from the tail cone back in about 1992. It eventually went on to be rebuilt as a TF-51D.

http://www.mustangsmustangs.org/p-51/p5 ... 3142.shtml

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Blue Skies,
Dan
http://www.flytoanothertime.com

Thanks for the update Dan. I know that Ray bought the remains with the intention of rebuilding it after he completed the T-33 and the Staggerwing. I haven't seen or heard anything on Ray since he moved out of NWR and Tony V. and his Waco had the hangar to themselves.

Yep, she had just been bought by Tom Thomas, but the previous owner (Ray Cunningham) was still flying her in 1984. Ray flies the C-47 "Boogie Baby" for the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team these days.

Regards,

Andy

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WWII Airborne Demonstration Team
www.WWIIADT.org

The nose art on THE "Laden Maiden" was on her when John Stokes bought her from Wayne Turner in New Mexico. Late Vernon Thorpe and John as copilot brought her to San Marcos with #2 engine pretty much shot. She sat for several months until Jim McDonough and myself replaced the engine. I flew her in the air shows until she was sold to Hawke for the movie Hannover Street. Was shown by J.K. West how to do the Doolittle take-off where could get her into the air at about 55 knots. Flying her to the Colorado Springs airshow in 1976 I was honored to have Dick Cole and Hank Potter onboard. I don't now remember the dates of the many airshows but they are logged in my logbook. The Maiden (N9494Z) was a great B25. I also flew the "Shady Lady" that John owned plus the two Dothan B25s, one which later became "Yellow Rose". I was also type rated in John's P38 N3JB.

Bill Gray

nice photos, was the p-38 trying to join the thunderbirds??

cheers

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenvox
http://www.jetaircraftmuseum.ca

That was Lefty Gardner's P-38...I never saw it painted any other way...It's now the ultra shiny Red Bull machine.

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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