Re: Doc, (B29) took his first flight this morning.
| August 02, 2016 02:49PM |
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Yeah, I think, if the crew didn't really think the nose gear was gonna fold up like that, they held their own in the landing.
Anyone well-versed in warbirds knows all too well how many people who used to buy them with not nearly the experience to fly them, then proceed to lawn-dart them somewhere. The most tragic I ever read of was the guy who bought a Mustang and had his wife and two kids in the added backseat and probably went way too high with no O2 masks. The plane came down so fast and hit so hard, they only found shredded pieces of the family's clothes, and nothing else. I cringe every time I think of if anyone in that back seat was awake for that long plunge, unable to do anything about it.
On my first (non-dual-control) Mustang ride, I wondered what I'd have done if the pilot got knocked out. The canopy release was way forward, out of reach from where I was sitting. I'd have had to unstrap the lap belt (I did have a parachute, though), climb partially forward, and pray the canopy didn't knock me out or kill me when it slid back on its rails. Then, I'd have had to jump, assuming I had enough air between me and the ground to do that. I just assumed that if the pilot was knocked out, I'd be riding it down with nothing do but wonder how my parents were going to take the news. At least with other WW2 and modern aircraft I flew in later, I had the chance to grab the yoke/stick or get out under my own initiative (via open window with a chute, or with an ejection seat). But that one time, the gamble was worth it, as I got to fly in formation with the Collings B-17, B-24, and a T-6, over water! Best 90 minutes of my life, no question.
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout
Anyone well-versed in warbirds knows all too well how many people who used to buy them with not nearly the experience to fly them, then proceed to lawn-dart them somewhere. The most tragic I ever read of was the guy who bought a Mustang and had his wife and two kids in the added backseat and probably went way too high with no O2 masks. The plane came down so fast and hit so hard, they only found shredded pieces of the family's clothes, and nothing else. I cringe every time I think of if anyone in that back seat was awake for that long plunge, unable to do anything about it.
On my first (non-dual-control) Mustang ride, I wondered what I'd have done if the pilot got knocked out. The canopy release was way forward, out of reach from where I was sitting. I'd have had to unstrap the lap belt (I did have a parachute, though), climb partially forward, and pray the canopy didn't knock me out or kill me when it slid back on its rails. Then, I'd have had to jump, assuming I had enough air between me and the ground to do that. I just assumed that if the pilot was knocked out, I'd be riding it down with nothing do but wonder how my parents were going to take the news. At least with other WW2 and modern aircraft I flew in later, I had the chance to grab the yoke/stick or get out under my own initiative (via open window with a chute, or with an ejection seat). But that one time, the gamble was worth it, as I got to fly in formation with the Collings B-17, B-24, and a T-6, over water! Best 90 minutes of my life, no question.
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.