Warbird Information Exchange

Then 2 flights in the P-40, the first with Rob Erdos, me in the back seat, while he gets checked out in the airplane. Then another flight with Blake Reid, me in the front, rehearsing a simple air display for a show later this month. What a blast! Unfortunately I'm too busy when I fly that thing to take pictures. If Blake has some I'll post them.



More movements...

Very cool pictures. Was that Bollinger in the Harvard?

Thanks, and yes, Ulrich has been experiencing the Harvard. Old Home Week for him.

Anyway, I'd been having so much fun (I haven't even mentioned flying the Fox Moth, for which I have no photos), I forgot to watch the forecast, which changed, and I got stuck in Gatineau. Bad double-frontal system between me and home. And I had to get back to get to work. So, candidly admitting to chickenhood, I parked the airplane and rode an Airbus home.





Oh well, nice place, and nice company, and a fine young fellow came along and offered to clean it for me.

I passed him nice new rags.



Dave

Thanks for the pix Dave. Looked like you had a good time with some very nice looking warbirds and good to know you're a Waco type too.
I guess you got home safely....aluminum mailing tubes do serve their purpose.

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

Hey Dave, Wow! VWoC sure looks busy and set for another airshow year. Great to see all the activity.

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

Thanks, Canso. Yes, those "tubes" are what pay the bills. And Eric, yes, lots of fun in store.

Anyway, Blake sent me some pictures. It was a fine day for a first-flight in a fighter.

Here's the beast.



We taxi out.



On climbout.

I passed it to him until we climbed up (dual control fighter), then I took control and rehearsed a flat display at altitude. However, just because you don't go inverted doesn't mean you don't pull G, and he had to sit there while I yanked and banked. Poor bugger! But he kept all his cookies -- where I probably wouldn't have.



Then we ran in for a break.




And I found us the earth.



Some taskings are good ones!

Dave

..and to top it all off you're lined up on the center line. Good job Dave!

Jim

That is one fine view on final looking down the sleek nose. I’m looking forward to seeing the display at Tillsonburg in a few weeks. Hopefully we will see you at Hamilton on the weekend.

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

Busy times in vintage airplanes....

Took the P-40 to Hamilton, then Tillsonburg for air displays. Flew for the airline in between.



Then had a superb experience -- I ferried the P-40 back to Gatineau with my Dad (25,000+ hour pilot) in the back seat, did a static display at Rockcliffe (always interesting to land a fighter on that runway), and followed with a formation flight with us in the P-40 and my brother Chris in the Golden Hawk F-86 Sabre. All of that was so cool it was surreal. Dad enjoyed the fighter, the crowd enjoyed the appearance, and having three of us in the 2 fighters, formating on a Harvard (T-6) for photos, was supreme. (I can't post photos of that yet because they're going into magazines.)



I had to get Dad home, so I rescued the Fairchild (which if you recall had been left at Vintage Wings when the weather caught me by surprise), and flew him back to the strip on the Farm, then back to it's home hangar in Alliston. Four hours of flying and the Warner never skipped a beat. (I never knew it had that much oil!)

Then a follow-on trip to prepare for the Vintage Wings Airshow. We have a Fleet Finch in the hangar now, and I had a whirl at that.



Fine little airplane! The Kinner started and ran well, and the airplane has some very nice features. The tailwheel steering is excellent. Forward visibilty is quite good for the type, since you sit in the front seat, and have only 1 cylinder getting in the way of the view. Cockpit is quite roomy (although only a contortionist can reach the mag-test buttons). And it has the most benign stall of any airplane I've ever flown. Gentler than a Cub or Champ. (Too bad about it's loggy, loggy ailerons!)

Then a formation practice with the Taperwing, and the airshow. (Big one this year -- over 20,000 attended.)

Brought it back and the airshow groomers attacked it. (It does throw the occasion glob of grease.)

Good company on the flight line.





As soon as I get a photo from the ground of the two airplanes in formation, I'll post it.

Dave

Rockcliffe eh? Lone Star's Canso, ex RCAF9742 came to grief there on its ferry flight east in Jan '42 when new. Engine problems and they set down on the frozen river, broke the ice and tore up the hull. Thus began 'ol 740's long illustrious career of running into, running over and hitting stuff.

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

Canso, yes, the current moves quickly on the Ottawa river. The ice never gets too thick. But Rockcliffe was indeed a Seaplane base back then, so I can understand why they tried.

Have you read "North Atlantic Cat" by Don McVicar? Great stories of ferrying the Cansos across to England, via Bermuda, during the war.

I was watching the CWH Canso fly when I was at CWH with the P-40 2 weeks ago. Very stately airplane.

Dave

Dave, I sure missed being there on the weekend. I have seen Peter’s shots and all I can say is wow, what a formation to shoot. Very envious.

Cheers,

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

You talking about this?



Yeah, it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done in an airplane, sharing that experience with my Dad and a brother.

But all I saw was a Harvard!

Dave