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Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 4:55 am 
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Location: The Goldfields, Victoria, Australia
Congrats!

But remember the real tough guys flew P-40s and Hurricanes, they were the ones that held the line until the glamour-plane was ready... ;)

More seriously...
Dave Hadfield wrote:
Surprisingly, it isn't as nice for aeros as the P-40.

Notably Ray Hanna, one of the doyens of warbird displays and aerobatics and with concurrent experience on these types regarded the P-40 as his favourite for team aerobatics and some other times. He often flew the P-40 when flying aeros in formation with the Breitling Fighters, in preference to Mustang and Spitfire.

His son, Mark's, report on the P-40 in Warbirds Worldwide was a popular feature - I may see if we can get that posted online.

You might want to have a dig around for Ray's quote/s, or I can have a look.

Regards,

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:59 am 
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James, yes, I remember reading Mark's article on the P-40 in 2009, before I first flew the airplane. It was useful, as I recall. But no article I've ever read in any aviation magazine has put proper emphasis on the P-40's biggest gotcha, which is the Landing Gear downlock indicator. (There isn't one.)

On another note, a friend of mine just sent me some photos taken a while back.

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We'd dropped into Ronan's and he had his lovely Model A truck outside.

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The day had a wonderful kind of time-warp feel to it. Even more when we were joined by a Fleet Canuck.

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Dave


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:20 am 
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Had some more adventures last summer at VWoC. I flew there in the Fairchild, then got up in the Foxmoth.

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It hasn't flown much in recent years, so it was great to make its aquaintance again.

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Then took up Mike Potter's daughter Lilly, and friend. They both had fun pretending to be princesses (this aeroplane of course once belonged to the Prince of Wales).

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Dave


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 12:09 pm 
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And then, on another trip, welcomed Rick and Trish V, who brought their Harvard, and we practised formation aerobatics. I didn't do too much of it -- mostly sat in the back and watched. Good fun!

Robin ferried me there in the RV6a.

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And then we briefed, thoroughly, and out we went.

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Joining up...

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For most of the aerobatics I had my camera on video, not stills, so I don't have much. There was lots of this, though.

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It turns out, as many others have discovered I know, that for Harvards to loop in formation it requires close formation so that the effects of acceleration and deceleration during the maneuver, and also when the prop changes pitch, happen almost simultaneously.

It really made me appreciate these guys...

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Man, you'd have to have Harvard on your DNA to do that!

Dave


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:31 pm 
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Ran across a website with an exhaustive list of F-24s in Australia. Very comprehensive, and lots of photos.

www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/fairchild-24/

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Dave


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:38 pm 
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A couple of photos...

I saw this yesterday at VW.

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It's a bit misleading -- we don't fly in winter, the aircraft came out of a heated hangar, the tail is tied down, and the run up is part of the Annual Inspection. But it's still not something you see every day.

Also, Robin came along with me on a flight to Barbados for New Years. This is taken in the cockpit after landing in YYZ.

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We had great fun: a party on the beach with fireworks at midnight... and rum punch galore...

Dave


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:48 pm 
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It's been a long, long winter, with almost no flying that isn't supported by an airline. No January Thaw. No February Thaw. And the Fairchild is sealed in its hangar by over a foot of solid ice locking the door in place.

But I did get an email from a friend-of-a-friend. He and his wife had just completed building an RV-7. He had no taildragger time to speak of, and was looking for someone with that, plus RV experience, to do the First Flights on it. Would I help?

I felt honoured, of course, so took advantage of a rare clear (but cold) day in January, and flew the RV6a to Kitchener.

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There was a theoretical possibility of flying the RV7 that day, but to be honest, a First Flight requires a full day of pre-flight. You need to examine the aircraft VERY closely to see if it's ready to fly, then the paperwork, and you need to learn all about it, and the engine, so that you don't do something stupid with it, and damage the new bird. So, we looked very closely...

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And found it was superbly made. Terry and Lou had done a wonderful job. The only change I requested was a re-rig of the tailwheel steering linkage, which seemed too loose to me, and was rubbing on the lower rudder when more than half deflected.

Glass cockpit, which I had to spend some time learning...

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:37 pm 
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Due to our endless winter, work schedules, and a cold, it was 7 weeks before we were able to get together again. This time the prep had been done and we were soon ready to attempt aviation.

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The goal of a First Flight is Simplicity. No fancy stuff. No exploring the edges of the envelope. You want to get the engine started, see how it taxies, evaluate the engine, get airborne, stay within gliding distance, evaluate the engine some more, climb up rather high, stall a couple of times to calculate a safe indicated approach speed, a couple of turns and sideslips, then descend while evaluating the engine, land -- and keep it in one piece. Then you shut down, pull off the cowls, and see what broke off, leaked, or came loose. And evaluate the engine.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:44 pm 
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All went well.

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It tracked straight, the engine ran, and it stalled at the speed it should have, with a moderate wing drop, and displayed no adverse handling characteristics. There was a strong whistling noise though, anytime the speed crept above 160 IAS.

The steering mod was effective -- it was easy to keep straight on landing. And then back at the ramp, shut down, there were some Very Happy Faces!

Post flight inspection, it seemed one thing had indeed fallen off...

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Perhaps that was the cause of the whistling noise. But it wasn't critical, so I took Terry up, and observed the classic "RV Grin" phenomena.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:54 pm 
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Back into the hangar, I had the pleasure of making the very first entry in the Journey Logbook.

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Then a few photos, and back into my own RV, and home.

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Great day!

And all I can say is that it was an honour to be a part of it, and I'm super glad that after 5 years of their work -- I didn't break anything!

Dave


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 6:11 pm 
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Sweet lookin' R.V. Dave!
Congrats on a great milestone.

I fully agree that this has been a beast of a winter. Ugh!!

I haven't flown since October! I'm totally hankerin'!

When the hangar door thaws, and the Fairchild escapes, drop by Watts place.
If you see a car by the shop we are either there or flying!

Andy


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:35 am 
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Will-do, Andy!

I had a look at the strip on my way back from YKF that day -- no one around.

Dave


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 4:27 pm 
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The snow is finally melting! Aviation is occuring! Events are happening!

We hosted a Battle of Britain Groundschool class at VWoC. It was well attended, with over 30 people learning how these aeroplanes actually work, from people who fly them.

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This instructor, Rob Erdos, has flown the "hat-trick" of all three, Spitfire, Hurricane and 109 in recent years. Plus he's a test pilot at the NRC, and call sign is "Spock". A lecture from him is priceless.

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After the class we pulled the Hurricane out and fired it up, just to enjoy the lovely sound. And smell...

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 4:49 pm 
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I chipped away at the ice in front of the Fairchild's hangar, and dusted her off. She started right up!

Flew up to Penetang and looked at the boatyard. Checked out the tarps on Drake, our boat. They looked OK, although it may be a few days before launch.

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A little different from this, Barbados, where I flew 8 layovers this winter. (Seniority wins.) (I don't like getting older, but I do like getting senority.)

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At VWoC we also ran a Yellow Wings course, teaching the details of the WWII trainers we fly. (This summer we will fly a large number of Air Cadets again.) The Peter A took the Finch out. But when he pulled the prop through before start he encountered a total hydraulic lock. The two lower cylinders were choked with oil. So he pulled the plugs and drained it, and then went flying. Big puddle on the ramp!

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Dave


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 11:49 pm 
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Wow! Very nice.

Very well. Thank you for share. :spit :spit :spit









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