Warbird Information Exchange

Hi Doug,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but I'll post just one here and when you return from Wings Over Houston I'll post some more in the Aerobatics, Racers and General Aviation section. It's a 1954 Cessna 180 floatplane that I shot at the annual Catalina Festival on Lake Macquarie a few weeekends ago. I'll tell the story of the Catalina Festival in another post. This shot was taken just before engine shut down.

And an amphibian I couldn't resist photographing.


Cheers,
Ross.

ps. Have you heard of the Seawings website Doug? It's a comprehensive site about flying boats and float planes and is based in the UK. There are some great features including forums etc. Just google for Seawings and it should be the first site that comes up.

Ross, thanks for the photo and yes, I know the Seawings site. A white pelican? On the Gulf coast we have white ones, nice and kind of amusing and then we have Brown Pelicans that i have heard referred to as web-footed-vultures. Ill tempered things that bite and peck if you mess with them.
I find any boat or float photo interesting.
cheers
Doug

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Hi Doug,
Our pelicans are mostly good natured and will come right up to you if you have their favourite food and virtually take the fish gently from your hand, but like you said they are not a bird to cross. Mess with them and you're likely to end up in hospital as a group of drunken young lads on the NSW Central Coast found out one night several years ago.

They decided it would be fun to kill a pelican and find out what was inside it but obviously the pelicans sensed their intention. It was fun until the whole pelican colony of about twenty birds ganged up on them and put three of them in hospital with severe head, neck and upper body lacerations. It was reported at the time that the local nocturnal fishermen looking on, stood there and cheered the pelicans until the pelicans had had their fun and then moved in to bandage the wounds and call the ambulance service. On the other hand I've seen a photo of a little girl with her head inside a pelican's beak. It was a bit of fun for both and the pelican sensed no malice on the girl's part so he didn't hurt her. I just love the way they glide effortlessly around and use the thermals to climb.

Cheers,
Ross.