Warbird Information Exchange

Anyone with contact info for Rene Francillon?

I just wanted to drop him a line to tell him how much I've enjoyed his work over the years.

From the epic Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War (1969) and McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920, Grumman Aircraft since 1929 and Lockheed Aircraft since 1913...all published by Putnam, through the recent Douglas Propliners published by Haynes (well worth getting a copy of) he's done great work.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

I once (3-4 years ago) tried to get in touch with Rene Francillon to discuss with him all of the technical/factual errors regarding McKinnon's various Goose conversions that were in the magazine article that he co-wrote with Gary L. Killion (a former DER and FAA powerplant engineer) called "Sauce for the Goose - Turbine Style" that was published in the July 1993 issue of Air International (Vol. 45, No. 1.) I never got a hold of him - at least he showed no interest in responding to me or discussing their mistakes. Go figure.

On the other hand, I was able to get in touch with his co-author, Gary Killion, and had several productive and insightful conversations with him. He was actually responsible for overseeing many of McKinnon's turbine engine Goose conversions projects on behalf of the FAA and he provided me with many "behind-the-scenes" photos of things at McKinnon's shop in Sandy, OR. At the time, Gary was actually based out of the FAA's engineering office in Los Angeles.

By the same token, Steve Ginter also never responded to any of my attempts to get in touch with him and discuss his similar mistakes regarding McKinnon's Goose conversions that he has in his book "Naval Fighters* Series No. 63 - Grumman Goose" (*and as always regarding that, wtf? Since when is a Goose a "fighter"? The "F" in the US Navy model designation "JRF" actually stood for "built by Grumman".)

I have talked to several other authors who have published "reference" books on aviation and who got details of the McKinnon Goose conversions wrong, but in all of those other cases, they always welcomed my much more relevant expertise and informed input and vowed to make corrections in any new editions of their books accordingly.

_________________
“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"