History More WWII planes still flying

^^^^ No pics !! JW

 

Hooray!!---I did it!!
We were up for a 25 minute ride in the P-51 Mustang, burned 60 gals. of avgas, fuel cost was $400.00,---My son & the pilot split the cost, I got a free ride!!!---What a thrill!!

 

MORE---

 

You are making me jealous Don, so cool you get to do this, you deserve it. JW

 

Least I could do was to sweep the floor!!!!
I'm still excited!!

 

I was fortunate enough to take that ride ( 25 years ago) with the owner of the construction company I was working for at the time. You never forget it and will probably add it back to the "bucket list" just in case the opportunity comes around again.

 

I built this P-40E in my garage and back yard. It took 4 years of part time work and was built for the Buzz Wagner Memorial. Buzz was America's first ace after Dec 7th, and shot down 5 Japanese planes in the Philippines and 3 more over New Guinea. He was a Zero killer and demonstrated unbelievable courage at a time when the Japanese seemed invincible. Our pilots in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia fought the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force, the most elite group of pilots in the world in 1941. I became friends with a number of pilots who fought during those desperate times. Many of them considered themselves already dead when they strapped in. Some in our government and armed forces felt the war against Japan was a lost cause and kept much of the disasters in the Pacific out of the news. Buzz Wagner went up there despite the odds and proved America could win. It was such an honor to build this airplane for the new memorial so that he will no longer be forgotten by the public.

 

That's very cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JW

 

“I keep-em flying” with a 1942 3rd Army Air Force Badge on my Deuce
… I was given and honored by this gift from a Sargent Major Ret., an original 1942 US ARMY 3rd Air Force Porcelain Grille Badge, my Deuce will be patterned as what a WWII GI would have done after returning Home.
Ric

 

Lucky guy Don. Congrats

 

I'm SOOOO jealous!!! Beautiful airplane!

 

Best backyard project EVER, Captain Jack. I got to meet Tex Hill, and have an autographed P-40 model.

 

About 35 years ago or so, my neighbor and the owner of Miller Pipe Organs had a Staggerwing Beech at his home airstrip. It was an absolute thrill to see - and especially hear - that take off and land. I heard he had heart issues and could no longer fly, so the plane was sold.
About 10 miles away, the Air Force used to operate Richards-Gebaur AFB, which was decommissioned and became a Kansas City airport, but the hangars at the north end of the main landing strip were used for a short time by an outfit called Big Irons, which did airplane restorations. I was working at the local newspaper at the time and got to do a story about the P-38 they were working on. It was said that there were less than 8 airworthy P-38s in the world at that time. Don't know what authority, but knew it was rare.
You like airplanes? Go to the SAC Museum in Ashland, Ne. between Omaha and Lincoln. Everything from WWII to present day, including all the early jet fighters (F-80, F-86, F-90, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, U2, SR-71). Also, the C-119 Flying Boxcar, which flew the Berlin Airlift along with C-47s. The boxcars were common at R-GAFB in the early '60s, and those powerful radial engines and their massive generators interrupted television reception every time they flew over our house.

 

There is a group of guys up here (northern Alberta) restoring a Canso PBY (Canadian version of the Catalina). They've had the engines running, gone through all the hydraulics and most of the electrical system, repaired damage to the structure and skin. They still have a bit of work to do but hope to have it flying sometime in the not too far distant future. (They have their own website www.savethecanso.com)
http://www.fairviewpost.com/2016/08/10/canso-not-flying-yet-but-restoration-crew-making-progress

 

Regarding the former Golden Hawk F-86, if the wings pictured are for that airframe, it's an "E". Power plant was an Orenda. (Canadian built) I was an A&P for nearly 50 years including 22 years in the USAF. After leaving the Air Force I worked F-86's as a Civilian contractor with Flight Systems Inc. for 11 years. Our Sabre's were all Canadair built. We towed aerial gunnery targets for TAC. Loved the '86. Got to see the "Hawks" in 1960.