Warbird Adventures...

[RyanShort1]

Well, my camera is currently kaput, so there are no photos but I had a really fun day on Tuesday. I transitioned myself to the back seat of the L-5 while slowly bringing a friend up to speed so he can fly the L-5 as PIC soon. This was a pretty big move for me to make, because he has a lot less tailwheel time, and the L-5's rear seat does NOT have brakes... and has almost no rudder authority once you get below about 40 mph. Thankfully, he did well, and I was happy with the progress.
While we were stopped to switch seats, I got a phone call, and headed up to Boerne to fly in the Cub with an older gentleman. On the way up there I called him again to get a better idea of what kind of flight it would be. Turns out he was none other than WWII fighter pilot Huie Lamb - of the 78th Fighter Group - who drove down all the way from Austin to fly with me to get checked out in the Cub so he could fly it as a Sport Pilot! So, I got to fly with him in the Cub for a partial checkout that I hope I will get to finish up in the future. I won't say he wasn't a little rusty on landings, but you could really tell that he knew what he was trying to do, and it was never so far that I had to take the stick. It was REALLY fun to hear him talk. I didn't know much at all until I came home and Googled it... Apparently he shot down an Me-262 also. At any rate, I told him I was extremely honored to fly with him. It was a really nice early Veterans Day reminder. I hope I'm that spry when I get to be his age!

Ryan

Last edited by RyanShort1 on Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

[the330thbg]

That is an awesome story Ryan.

Fantastic!!!

[JimH]

The year is slowly winding down...we did a three ship out of KISM today. Chuck was kind enough to send me photos. 364 days out of the year I have a camera on hand...today was the one day I didn't have it. Included are some shots over Kermit's earlier this week, the ramp was full of his airplanes gearing up for this weekend. We also managed to get the 25 back to Kissimmee thanks to American Aero.






the flaps to White 1 are just about completed...complicated yet simple structure...

jim

[Kyleb]

Well, I'm not quite prepared to profess a solid understanding of the 'floating rib' just yet (thanks for the picture, I'll study some more), but I will say this without equivocation: your photos are superb, and I hope you'll keep posting lots more! The CF has some of the coolest A/C on the planet, never get tired of looking at them!

-- And congrats on the Scooter prize, y'all!

A bit of a necropost by me, but this question about the floating ribs was never really addressed.

They built the wings this way so they could build a top wing half with good access for bucking rivets and installing system AND a bottom wing half with the same advantages. Then they fastened the top and bottom halves together.

This approach had a weight penalty, but made the airplanes easier to produce - a big thing during the war.

[kmiles]

Looks like Tondelayo left her mark at Fort Myers.

[JimH]

Ken, I bet if you "Google Earth" all the stops Tondelayo visited I bet you can find exactly where we parked it...

jim

[kmiles]

She just leaves the marks so you know where to park the next year when you go back (or 3 or 4 years later in some cases).

[JimH]

Took a trip over to KEVB today to take some photos for the upcoming ground school. Ended up being a really productive trip talking to the guys about whats going on with the annual inspections. Lots of good things happening here. We are still looking for an A+P Mechanic to travel with the tour this year. The "one filthy" ran great...lots of swamp between here and there!

jim

[krlang]

Tell us more about the gear legs in Betty Jane?

[JimH]

Sure KR, wish I had a more exciting answer for you but they are just out for servicing. We put ALOT of cycles on the gear and it was time for them to come out and receive some TLC. Its amazing how fast the Florida Tour is coming upon us...only a couple more weeks.

jim

[ronl]

Jim,

Really enjoying the pictures from your tour and the dialogue. Please keep them coming.

Ron

[JimH]

::

[Fouga23]

Love the camera MOD

[JimH]

[Django]

Outstanding photos Jim!