I have a few pictures... see below. Tom, I thanked you on Canada Day, I'll thank you again for the efforts you put into that museum and the visiting aircraft. Thanks also to the Vintage Wings guys, friendly and knowledgeable. I have a tale that go with the pictures... bear with me.
A few days ago I heard the unmistakable drone of a piston engine flying overhead. Rushing outside I spotted a Stearman in bright yellow. I knew through the newspaper that our local
Alberta Aviation Museum was hosting
Vintage Wings of Canada and the Stearman belonged to them. An hour later, another droning sound, but different this time... much louder and forceful. Another warbird in yellow but a single low wing and the familiar silhouette of a Harvard. Yesterday, I was inside and another engine sound roaring overhead. This one more powerful, a sound that screamed speed. I raced outside and a Mustang ripped over my house. I could hear the throttle cut back and see the gear come down as it banked left towards our city centre airport.
Hmmm. My wife and daughter left moments before with a cousin in tow for the swimming pool. I was alone - a rarity. My conscious sides wrestled with each other. Mark, a Mustang! When was the last time you saw a Mustang in Edmonton? Ross Grady’s “What’s Up Doc?” What was that, 20 years ago? The other side debated. Mark, there are things to do, grass to be cut, chores to be done. What’s an aviation enthusiast to do? The answer was simple, grab your new video camera, jump in the truck and race to the airport.
With it being Canada Day and a long weekend, the museum was not busy. I came just in time to see Hawk One start up and roar away to make a brief appearance at an air show outside the city. I took a few pictures of the yellow trainers I saw the days before, but the illusive Mustang was out of reach. Chain link fence surrounded her and the public viewing area was too far away. Every time the area was about to clear, another plane or a piece of maintenance equipment would return and block my view.
I struck up a conversation with the Harvard pilot. He was very nice and informative. Said you don’t stop flying the Harvard till you walk away from it. Gotta love that kind of pilot expertise. I asked if I could get a closer look for pictures of the Mustang. Without hesitation, he called over the Stearman pilot Dave. An amiable young man who flies for Westjet and does this on a volunteer basis. The instructions were simple, take as many pictures as you want, get as close as you want but don’t climb on it. Fair enough!
I walked around this beauty and snapped a few pictures. Dave returned right away and mentioned that the pilot had a deal for me if I was interested. A t-shirt and a hat would get me a personal cockpit tour. I bit my lip. I wanted to dance around in circles like an eight year old yelling. “yes, yes, yes!” I simply said, “Deal!” Not being a hat guy, I bought two t-shirts... one for my daughter... and returned to meet Rick. He asked me how much I knew about Mustangs. Enough to be dangerous was my honest reply. With basic instructions to step on the distinctive diamond tread tire here, strut brace here, I was up on the wing looking in the cockpit. Hop in he said as matter of factly. Again, basic instructions of hold here and step here, my worries of breaking something were quickly alleviated. We spent about 20 minutes going over every dial and switch and I was your proverbial kid in a candy store. I gazed over the long nose and imagined s-turning down the runway with the Packard-Merlin rumbling away. Wow. One final thing to do, to capture the moment. A picture of me in the cockpit. I pulled out the new camcorder, set it to picture and was greeting by a red icon... low battery... then the camera shut off. The picture would have to wait another time.
Mustang MK IV
Stearman
Harvard MKIV
Canadair Sabre 5 “Hawk One”
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