Who else loves old warbirds? Post here.

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From age 12 to 20 I lived walking distance (OK, it was a looong walk, but we did it several times each summer) from the USAF museum. 5 blocks to the fence, but another 2 miles or so to the gate.

We also had the Dayton Air Fair every year, which was everything the US took to the Paris Airshow plus all sorts of vintage stuff.

The mayor of Moraine, even did aerobatics in a B-17!

I likes me a B-17. They got all sorts of charisma.

I rode my bike on Huffman Prairie (Wright brothers test area) and I've had my finger on the button that dropped the A bomb on Nagasaki (when the "Bockscar" was a walk-through exhibit).
 
Dustdevl340 said:
At Pearson International waiting for a flight, I looked out the windows by the gate and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Avro Lancaster was making a full throttle low pass down a runway. So dam cool. It must have bee some kind of special occasion because Pearson is a hugely busy airport and nothing was moving while that happened.
The USAF did (does?) a heritage flight at the Canadian International airshow most years. A P-51 with an F15 on it's wing and an F22 on the F15's wing. So cool.
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Mean looking machine in the dark colors, with the shark mouths.
 
69_340_GTS said:
Mean looking machine in the dark colors, with the shark mouths.
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I haven`t seen it up close and personal yet but it is a sight to see in the sky. It is based out of Hamilton Airport and I've seen it a few times flying around. Quite a sight to behold with the 4 Rolls Royce Merlins snarling away.

As an aside I was walking my dogs 3 months or so ago. Right over my neighbourhood appeared a Canadian Forces C-130 very low, engines fiewalled with the rear hatch open. It was so low it was almost like you could reach out and touch it. Very cool.
 
Cousin Francis Baggs on the right with cap first Aussie Lancaster bomber to make it into Italy WW2 shot down 2 times killed on the second
3 of his Uncles were all killed WW1 & 2
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30-07-1944 • 24.50N, 95.55E, south of Chindwin, Burma
being attacked by Japanese fighters
 
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My grandfather as a Royal Flying Corps Cadet ca. 1916.



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Curtiss Jennys in Royal Flying Corps training. Photo by Grandpa.



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Grandpa as RFC Flight Lieutenant and pilot upon demobilization circa 1919. His commission was signed by King George V.



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My cousin on the right with his friend Jimmy Whalen and his Spitfire, congratulating him on his three kills. Jimmy later shot down three Japanese aircraft to become an ace, and was later himself killed in India by Japanese groundfire.



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Cousin in the Egyptian desert in 1942 with a Hawker Hurricane.


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JU-52 shot down by my cousin in Egypt 29 Sept 1942. German photo given to cousin by one of the survivors 70 years later. Cousin had 2-1/3 confirmed and 3 probable kills.


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Cousin with a Spitfire at Goodwood Festival 2010. He flew more than 70 years. Lost two Spitfires on combat missions. Captured twice and escaped twice. Ended the war in England at age 23 after having served more than six years. He enlisted at age 17 in early 1939.


Here's Cousin flying 72 years after first receiving his pilot's wings.
 
That’s one plane I have yet to be up close and personal with. Among a few more. Memorial Day, I was at the Rock & Roll hall of fame where there was an air show going on. Had I known..... I’d have brought a decent camera.

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Not to bust balls but the Germans compound and squeeze words together for one word. For English, it would be wrong. For German, it looks like this;

“Der Gabelschwanzteufel”

“The Forkedtaileddevil”

In English;

“The Fork Tailed Devil”

I studied a little German with my daughter. She is not to bad with it. Me? Back to the books! I can only remember some basics. About enough to get some food and beer and make a few passes at a girl, but not enough to get out of jail for getting to much food and beer. LOL!

One day I’d like to go to Germany.
 
Oh yea! Agreed! I did see one fly overhead many years ago while camping in NJ at a state park during the time the old MoPar Nationals were going on at E-town. Late May. Nice & cool weather!
VERY LOUD!
 
I've been working on jets for 17 years and still get a kick of the old warbirds. I had two great aunts who were actuall rosies and built the B-25's in WW2, and my grandpa's cousin was a pilot attached to the RAF and flew a spitfire
 
Great Uncle Charlie talking about the planes at the Front Ponziers 1916 died a week later.
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If I can upload the videos to youtube when I get home in a couple of weeks, I have videos of a B17 out of San Marcos Texas flying over the house.
 
Lots of good history and family involvements here. Thanks for posting. Yes, I love Warbirds and all kinds of planes. Made it all the way to multi-engine and instrument instructor in the mid 80's. in the first picture in the post, very familiar with the Mk 18 Spit. I took my instruction at Illini Aviation, later purchased by Rudy Frasca and became Frasca Field in Urbana Il. Rudy has or did have a P40 Warhawk, FM2 Wildcat and others. He bought the Spitfire in parts somewhere out of the States. The eliptical wings sat down in the simulator room where I often trained. Yes Griffon engine with 5 blade. Eventually got it back airworthy and flying. Couple of contribution photos.....the first one is me in the back of a slightly modified P51D. This guy lived in Danville, IL had 2 mustangs, one if I remember was a photo recon variant. He eventually ended up with a P47 Thunderbolt (Jug), because his father flew them in WWII. Second picture of my Dad on the carrier Bennington during Korea. He was an aircraft mech. Worked on a lot of things....Corsairs, Banchees, Skyraiders, Panthers, etc. He would also tell me that when he was in his early teens he would listen to the Forts and Libs leaving Chanute AFB (Rantoul, IL) for Europe for a good portion of the night as he lived just south of the air base.

Duffy in back of P51D Mustang-1.JPG


Dad on Bennington with Corsair.JPG
 
One of my favorite images I have done of when dogfights were a simple thing of just man against man...and only between the two of them.

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