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| A
Note From the Editor |
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| There
is just something about this time of year that leads to
reflection. Sometimes that leaves us with a warm feeling,
sometimes not. My hangar, like many of yours, is quiet, and
it's been a week since weather and work have seen fit to let
me fly. Heading into the holidays, the opportunity to fly
may get worse before it gets better. Time to polish, fix
what I can, bug my ever-faithful mechanic, and start
counting the days to seeing friends at the National Warbird
Operators Conference (NWOC). |
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| The
more I sit here and stare at idle aircraft, the more I find
myself thinking about the friends that these wonderful
machines have brought into my life. The stewardship of
historic aircraft is an important part of this reflection,
but the human relationships are what comes to mind this time
of year.
It seems
like a long way to Sun 'n Fun and certainly an eternity to
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, but looking back they're not that
far off at all. Ever notice how time compresses or stretches
depending on what it is we daydream about? So here is a
little prod to get through the winter doldrums, and a
blatant poke for newsletter content. Call your friends and
talk about the great times you, your pals, and warbird
squadron mates have had this year. Adventures, air shows,
trips - it all counts. Then write it down and share it here.
Hope to hear from you soon. Now where did I put that
registration form for NWOC?
Harold
Cannon
Editor, EAA Warbirds Briefing
h.cannon@eaa.org |
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| Safety
News and Issues |
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Brake
Dancing
Imagine having two brake failures in a two-week span.
Richard Hess had this happen to him several years ago in
separate L-39s. It inspired him to find a deeper
understanding of the brake system on a modern jet fighter.
He details his discovery in "Brake
Dancing" an article he wrote for Warbirds
magazine in March 2007. |
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| Maintenance
and Restoration News
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| Halifax
Progress Report
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| In
August 1945 while on weather patrol, this aging bomber
sprung a fuel leak and, while trying to return to base, was
forced to ditch off the Hebrides Islands west of Ireland.
After floating for 7 hours, the crew was rescued and LW170,
one of the last RCAF combat Halifaxes to have survived the
war and the scrap yard, sank gently out of sight into the
deep. Halifax 57 Rescue (Canada) was formed to eventually
raise and restore this bomber. Read
their latest progress report. |
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| Updates
on Government Issues and Advocacy |
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| EAA,
NAFI Submit Comments on Flight Training Certification NPRM |
| EAA
is emphasizing that new FAA pilot proficiency rule proposals
could be harmful to the warbird community if adopted as
currently written, as EAA and NAFI each submitted comments
to the FAA in the past week regarding a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) on pilot and flight school certification
rules. The deadline for those comments was Nov. 30. EAA
agreed with many of the proposals in the NPRM, but new
pilot-in-command rules that demanded proficiency checks for
single-piloted, turbojet aircraft could cause added
financial burden with no foreseeable increase in safety. Read
more |
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| December’s
Featured Stories |
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| Lightning
Strike in Texas |
EAAer
designs, builds his own two-thirds scale P-38
When a new homebuilt appears on the scene, it
usually creates a buzz in the aviation community. And then
along comes someone like Jim O’Hara, 81, EAA 464767, of
San Angelo, Texas. Over the past 15 years, O’Hara, who was
a professor in aeronautical engineering at Tulane
University, has been hard at work in his hangar at San
Angelo Regional Airport/Mathis Field designing, building,
and now, flying a two-thirds scale replica of one of history’s
most popular airplanes, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Read
more |
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| WWII
Aircraft Returned to Airfield 65 Years Later |
| In
1944, a PT-17 Stearman biplane came to Eagle Field, near Dos
Palos, California, and was stricken from U.S. Army Air
Forces records in June 1945 at the end of the war. It is
particularly interesting that Nancy Ginesi-Hill is the
current owner of this aircraft and has lived and worked at
Eagle Field for several years helping to restore the field. Read
more |
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| Florida
Air Museum Opens New Pearl Harbor Exhibits
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| The
68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor is this
month, and the Kissimmee Air Museum near Orlando, Florida,
is opening a new interactive exhibits that features some
never-before-seen photos of the attack. Read
more
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| Minnesota
Honor Flight Network Travels to Washington, D.C.
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Warbirds
Member Documents Trip
Every so often something comes across the Internet
that really grabs my attention. Sometimes it’s a flashy
air show video clip, sometimes it’s a news piece, and
other times it’s just a joke. One of our members, Max
Haynes, Warbird 552698, is doing great work with his camera
and website. Recently, his website photo essay grabbed my
attention. Read
more
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| Donations
Sought for Doolittle B-25 Reunion |
| The
Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association, in cooperation with
owners of North American B-25 Mitchell bombers from all over
the USA and Canada, are planning to host 25 of these famous
WWII warbirds April 16-18 during their 68th reunion at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton,
Ohio. Read
more |
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| EAA
B-17 Ride Spurs Bomber Vets to Share Stories With Squadron 4 |
| A
few years ago, my manager told me his neighbor was a B-17
pilot. At that time, the Aluminum Overcast tour visit
to Squadron 4 was a few months away. We tried to encourage
him to attend, but he declined. The B-17 tour the following
year got the same results from him. |
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| This
year, as the date of the B-17 tour approached, I asked my
manager if his neighbor would be interested in attending.
This time he accepted! When the day arrived, we finally met
Col. John Firlit of the U.S. Air Force. Read
more |
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| From
the EAA Warbirds Community
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The Warbird Island message forum at Oshkosh365 is as active
as ever. Have a look at the list below and follow the links
to read the actual questions and discussion topics.
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Issue 2,
December 2009 |
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| VIDEO |
| Tennessee
Museum Features Flying Warbird Collection |
| The
Tennessee Museum of Aviation has provided a nice video
teaser of its sterling collection of warbird aircraft.
Featured are an A-1H Skyraider, two P-47D Thunderbolts, and
a T-28 Trojan, based at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation in
Sevierville, Tennessee. The pilots are R. Neal Melton
(founder of the museum), John Shoffner (son of the late Roy
Shoffner who financed the final restoration of Glacier
Girl), and Jeff Sardella (full-time A&P mechanic for
the museum). The camera ship is a Beech 18, also based at
the museum. |
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Watch
the video
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| The
Underappreciated Constitution |
| The
troop-moving requirements of the Second World War spawned
the design of a number of large aircraft that came to
completion at the end of the war. The HK-1 Spruce Goose
was one example, as were the Convair XC-99, the Lockheed
Constellation, and the Lockheed Constitution. The latter is
the least known and is featured here. All flew, but only the
Constellation survived as a successful design. While all
good airplanes, they were approved when the war looked grim
and cost was not the main issue. Many orders were cut back
or canceled, however, as the war turned around. Although
these planes were test flown, there was no longer a military
need as budgets were slashed and the hoped-for boom in
postwar aviation fizzled. While the Constellation went on to
economical fame and glory, here is the story of a strong
runner-up. |
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Watch the video
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PHOTO GALLERY |
| Honor
Flight |
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View the gallery | Read
the story
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EAA RADIO |
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The
Misty Pilots
During the Vietnam war the United States formed a top
secret squadron that flew low and fast over the jungle to
disrupt troop movements and supplies moving south along the
Ho Chi Minh trail. The missions were dangerous and exciting
according to the pilots that flew them in F-100F Super
Sabres and went by the call-sign "Misty". Dick
Rutan, who served as a Misty, hosts this
program with other Misty pilots at Theater in the Woods
from AirVenture 2008. |
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FEB
18-21, 2010 - 16th National Warbird Operator Conference,
San Diego, CA. Visit www.warbirdconference.com.
APR
13-18, 2010 - Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, FL. Visit www.sun-n-fun.org.
APR
16-18, 2010 - The Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 68th reunion
at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in
Dayton, Ohio. Effort to host 25 Mitchell B-25 bombers at the
event - donations sought. tomcat911@comcast.net
JUL
26-AUG 1, 2010 - EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI.
Visit www.AirVenture.org. |
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If you were a
pilot of a US heavy bomber during WWII, which aircraft would
you prefer to fly in combat?
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