Denton TX 1984

bluehawk15 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:03 am

Chunks,

You asked if anyone remembered the Laden Maiden. Did you mean the B-25 in the photo, the "Iron Laden Maiden", or the tan Catch 22 "Laden Maiden" that John Stokes once owned?

Also, for those of you who like the original Yellow Rose nose art, I can get you a good deal on a 12x36 print of the Yellow Rose with her ORIGINAL, UNCENSORED nose art! PM if you are interested. Fund raiser for the YR, thanks to Chris "Holedigger"!

Speedy · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:02 pm

I was going to respond to Chunks as well....

John Stokes Laden Maiden was one of the Catch-22 B-25's that flew as part of the Stokes/CAF fleet in 1976-77 time frame in a desert-tan scheme with the movie nose art. I THINK it was one of the B-25's ferried over to Europe for use in the movie Hannover St. If memory serves, the airframe still survives and is being restored for a museum in Belgium (?).

Iron Laden Maiden is a different airframe. I think it still flies as pictured in the thread.

Rob Mears · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:39 am

I remember B-25 "Big Ol' Brew and Little Ol' You" being a local resident in Denton for a long while, becoming somewhat weathered after an extended stay on the tarmac there. I also remember a beautiful polished P-51D that belonged to a local owner who kept the plane in a hangar at the N(?) end of the airport. Does anyone recall who owned that Mustang, and/or the plane's ID?

bluehawk15 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:21 am

Speedy,

Yes, John sold the Laden Maiden to the folks who made the movie Hannover Street. Those of us who flew and worked on her recognized her in the film by a crack in the plexiglass and also, when they painted the OD, they didn't lower the flaps, so when they are all heading out to take off, with flaps down 1/4, we could see the desert tan on the leading edge of the flaps!

Rob,

I don't know about the P-51, but the B-25 Big Ol' Brew, Little Ol' You is the PBJ "Semper Fi".

Ztex · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:31 am

Vern Peterson and Johnny Rutherford both had a P-51 at Denton at one time, but I don't remember either being polished. I think Frank Stickler kept his Mustang at Denton and it was polished...Maybe that's the one.

Here it is departing Oak Grove with Bob Hoover during the 1986 Fort Worth Air Fest. Those were the days!

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

Chunks wrote:

Love the pics thanks for posting. By far my favorite is the pic of the real yellow rose! I have a great pic of her in my hangar. When I get down there next week I'll scan it in and post it. Anybody remember "Laiden Maiden"? :shock:

Chunks

Yah, that is quite a shot of her.., looks like Mr. Jones was pulling up just a tad.,so did they scrape the tail on that one?

67Cougar · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:36 pm

Vern Peterson's 51, N6173D, was based at Denton for a few years. I flew in the aircraft back in the late 70s, while it was based in Greenville. Vern was Chief Pilot at DFW for American Airlines. He killed himself in the aircraft at Denton. He was on the first flight after having the engine partially overhauled - he didn't have the $$$ for a complete overhaul, so had one bank rebuilt - was going to have the other one done the next year. Anyway, on takeoff, the crankshaft broke in multiple places due to the uneven load. Rather than belly it in off the end of the runway, he attempted to turn back, dug in a wingtip, and cartwheeled. His passenger walked away with minor injuries, but Vern was killed on impact. The wreckage was sold to someone, but I don't know what happened to it - there weren't very many big pieces left.

Here it is, seen in its Denton hangar in May of 1986.

Fox51 flew two Mustangs out of Denton for a few years in the mid to late '80s. Mustang Mk.22 N286JB was the highly polished one, while P-51D N51DH was sprayed overall with silver paint. I don't know what happened to these two aircraft after they left Denton.

Here they are, seen at Denton on a late December afternoon in 1984.

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

Garsh, the P-51 is a FINE looking fighter!!!!

bluehawk15 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:48 pm

I'm not sure who was flying the Rose that day, but they did have the nose up a bit! Maybe she was just starting to rise up into the air. Someone, at sometime or two, did over rotate enough to scrape the tail bump. I repainted it about five years ago, and I'm proud to say the paint is still on it (even after I've done a few take-offs and landings!).

On my check ride, I had to do three landings. First was a normal landing, the second was a no-flap, the third was a single engine (simulated). The most difficult was the no-flap. You come in a little hotter, and the nose is really high. Sort of like landing a really big T-6 as far as not being able to see over the nose. I bounced just a little, but kept the nose gear off the runway at least. I didn't feel as bad after the next new copilot got his check ride (who has a BUNCH more hours and heavy time than I do). He didn't bounce on the no-flap, but also didn't get the rubber on the tarmac until he had used up about half the runway. Took a lot of brakes to get stopped before the runway turned to grass.

steve dickey · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:12 pm

N51DH went to Evergreen and as far as I know is the only mustang flyable(although it probably hasn't been exercised in long time)with a fuel injected engine. Be interesting how long it has been in the airplane, like was it installed during Denton days?

Lynn Allen · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:11 pm

bluehawk15 wrote:

I'm not sure who was flying the Rose that day, but they did have the nose up a bit! Maybe she was just starting to rise up into the air. Someone, at sometime or two, did over rotate enough to scrape the tail bump. I repainted it about five years ago, and I'm proud to say the paint is still on it (even after I've done a few take-offs and landings!).

On my check ride, I had to do three landings. First was a normal landing, the second was a no-flap, the third was a single engine (simulated). The most difficult was the no-flap. You come in a little hotter, and the nose is really high. Sort of like landing a really big T-6 as far as not being able to see over the nose. I bounced just a little, but kept the nose gear off the runway at least. I didn't feel as bad after the next new copilot got his check ride (who has a BUNCH more hours and heavy time than I do). He didn't bounce on the no-flap, but also didn't get the rubber on the tarmac until he had used up about half the runway. Took a lot of brakes to get stopped before the runway turned to grass.

In the old days it was who scraped it brought dinner for the crew that night......

Lynn

Chunks · **Joined:** Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:02 am **Posts:** 361

I didn't know it belonged to John Stokes, but yes the desert tan Laiden Maiden. It was amazing every time that thing got off the ground, considering the impressive load it was carrying :!:

I would love to see photos of it if anyone has them.

bluehawk15, consider 1 adult yellow rose print sold!

I love these topics from the '70s and '80s. It really takes me back. I never went to Denton, but it looks and sounds like the old days in Breckenridge and the early days of the CAF. I just don't think it gets any better.

Chunks

Sasquatch · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:05 pm

I was in Ft. Worth for work for several weeks in '86, living out of a hotel, and was thrilled to see that the CAF was running their AIRSHO! in Denton while I was down there. Drove down on a wicked hot day and spent a beautiful day watching all the warbirds fly and drinking beer from the beer booth. :drinkers:

And so many beautiful Texas women there in fine form--thanks to the uber hot weather--I'll tell ya...I thought I had died and went to heaven! First time I ever saw a full-bore CAF show. Got roasted, toasted, and went home smellin' like recip oil and airshow smoke...absolutely made my summer!

--Tom

Ztex · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:06 pm

Sasquatch wrote:

Got roasted, toasted, and went home smellin' like recip oil and airshow smoke...absolutely made my summer!

--Tom

Now that's funny!

:lol:

Speedy · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:24 pm

Some Laden Maiden pics

http://www.aerovintage.com/430925-2.jpg

http://www.bamfbamrs.be/B25/b25/b25-10.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... start%3D40

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Denton TX 1984

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