My Wife Flies a P-40

[Dave Hadfield]

Great weekend at Ottawa/Gatineau for the Vintage Wings Open House, then the Battle of Britain flypast event. Wonderful collection of warbirds and vintage aircraft.

Coming back from Rockcliffe (the Canada Aviation Museum), Robin rode with me. I was very glad to be able to fly with her, because for 3 years I've used this Kittyhawk as an excuse to ignore the house and yard, and she's been very supportive.

Suiting up.





There were 2 others coming back to the hangar, the Spit XVI and the Mustang, so we departed together.

[daveymac82c]

Wow,

that's great stuff!

-David

[Nathan]

I am JEALOUS!!!! Cool pics glad she got to fly in one.

Nathan the P-40 nut!

[Dave Hadfield]

Some of the photos are taken from her IPod, so they're a bit fuzzy.

Taxying out and lining up as a 3-ship.



Rolling...





And airborne. (My best side.)

[Dave Hadfield]

Heading down the Ottawa River, Rob and Mike formed-up, purely as a compliment to Robin.

Joining up...



And in. Spectacular day for it.



After a suitable period of mutual admiration (and me watching closely for the many flocks of geese, not wanting to be responsible for losing three valuable warbirds at once), they peeled off.

[Zachary]

Brilliant!

[Dave Hadfield]

Whereupon I said, "You have control," and did nothing but supply vectors and click the camera.

Happy Lady. (Though she prefers her own headset to the helmet.)



In fact, happy crew.



And who wouldn't be? A smooth-running Allison, an award-winning warbird, some gas left in the tanks, and a perfect Fall day. Here's the view out the front, past the mascot.



But these 2 were waiting for us (daughter Kelly and friend Matt in volunteer T-shirts),



So we brought it back. In one piece.

Last edited by Dave Hadfield on Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Dave Hadfield]

And then told stories! All truthful.

[retroaviation]

Dave, that shot says it all! That picture should be hanging in your house somewhere. Very cool!!!

Gary

[Jesse C.]

Very cool!

Thanks for sharing the experience.

[Holedigger]

Cool! What kind of time do you have to avoid a Goose Formation, about 5-8 seconds? Easier to see against the sky as opposed to rising up into "Your" airspace! On a Mooney flight here in Central Florida, we had some Turkey Buzzards that went from a speck to "WOOOH WHAT WAS THAT" real quick!! Really spoil you day quickly!

[Jack Cook]

[AIRIC]

Dave, that was one awesome weekend. Great weather, flying and people.

This is what the old girl looks like up in the air. I had the pleasure of chasing Dave around Ottawa when he gave Stocky a ride in the Kittyhawk.



Stocky giving a big thumbs up


At this moment I envisioned Dave’s finger on the trigger getting ready for a deflection shot at the Harvard.



Stocky poses with his wife, family and Michael Potter after an amazing day in Gatineau



Cheers,

Eric

[Airplanejunkie]

The very best part of that photo series was the smiles!!

[Ztex]

Great stuff!

Looks like a grand time.