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A
Note From the Editor
Harold
Cannon,
hcannon@eaa.org |
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| Pentagon
Flyby |
| I
didn't know it going in, but EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 was
to be the start for one of my greatest aviation adventures.
If you've ever looked skyward during the opening ceremony at
an NFL game and wondered what it would be like to be in that
military |
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| formation
streaking overhead, I can now tell you I have a good idea.
On
September 30, Admiral Mike Mullen retired as chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. The only flyby was conducted by four
T-34s, all privately owned by members of EAA/Warbirds of
America. Read
more
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| Maintenance
and Restoration News
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Ilyushin
Il-2 Flies Again
Plane
to Join Flying Heritage Collection |
| Earlier
this month a restored Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik"
airplane flew for the first time in decades after a six-year
restoration effort by a Russian company. The Flying Heritage
Collection in Everett, Washington, has confirmed what had
been rumored since news of the |
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| flight
first broke: that the aircraft will arrive there in early
2012. The airplane, which was restored from fragments found
in the marshes near Pskov, flew in early October in
Novisbirsk, Russia. Il-2s were among the most-produced
military airplanes in history, yet no known flying examples
existed until the unveiling of this airplane. Read
more |
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| Fw
190 First Flight Video |
| Video
of the first flight of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 restoration that
we reported on this month was forwarded to EAA by aircraft
owner Don Hansen. N4190 flew on Sunday, October 9, and is
mostly |
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| a
Flugwerk restoration, but the original aircraft - Fw 190A-8
Werknummer 173056 - was produced in 1944 at the Focke-Wulf
Flugzeugbau AG in Marienberg, Germany. The
take-off-to-landing video features a unique perspective from
the tail-mounted camera. Read
more and watch the video |
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| Owning
and Flying a T-34 - Part 1 |
| Todd
McCutchan was enamored with the T-34, but it almost was an
unrealistic love as he longed for an aerobatic aircraft that
could also travel. The T-34 airframe had its challenges, but
thanks to the T-34 Association, Todd would find a path to
owning and flying a Beechcraft T-34A. |
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In
the first part of this two-part report, Todd looks at the
history of the T-34 and how he found his own Mentor.
Read
more |
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| Updates
on Warbird and Squadron News |
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| Firefighting
Torpedo Bomber Lands at Museum |
| "Hear
that?" Maurice Owen said to a reporter from the Missoulian
as he stepped outside the Museum of Mountain Flying hangar
in Missoula, Montana. "Do you hear a rumble out there?
That's it." A minute later, there it was. The |
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| proud
museum's newest addition-a retrofitted, single-engine World
War II torpedo bomber-roared out of the west, 500 feet above
the airport. Read
more |
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| Signature
Count on the Rise at Canadian Air & Space Museum
Petition |
|
A petition to
save the Canadian Air & Space Museum reached 1,091
signatures over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Simple
mathematics would tell us that if each supporter would
convince four other people to sign the petition, and they did
so within a couple of days, that the thousand-plus signatures
would become over four thousand in two days, sixteen thousand
in four days, and on and on. The museum and six other tenants
of |
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| Downsview
Park at Toronto, Ontario, are still on notice that they have
to be out in six months, but the volunteers at the museum
still hope for a miracle. Read
more |
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| B-17
Tour Sponsored by WOA Squadron 4 |
|
In early
September, Squadron 4 in Aurora, Illinois, hosted EAA's B-17 Aluminum
Overcast. The squadron has developed quite a following
among the veterans, a number of whom were in attendance. On
his 20th birthday, Bill Thorn flew his 19th mission as top
turret gunner on Fertile Myrtle in August of 1943. It
was
|
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| the
disastrous "Double Strike" raid on Regensburg and
Schweinfurt - 600 men lost and 60 planes down for the U.S.
8th Army Air Forces. Read
more |
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| Navy
Test Pilot to Enter Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame |
| Edward
T. Schneider, the youngest graduate of the U.S. Navy Test
Pilot School, who made history as a test pilot, will be
honored with induction into the Kentucky Aviation Hall of
Fame in Lexington on November 12, 2011. Read
more |
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| News
From Squadron One |
| In an effort
to highlight local squadron activities, Briefing will be
featuring a squadron newsletter each month. Squadron One,
based in Nashville, Tennessee, had a very active year
including training events, |
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| several
air shows, many fly-ins, and of course a strong presence at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Read the latest issue of Twelve
O' Clock High. |
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| Build
Your Own Aircraft - EAA SportAir Workshops Can Show You How! |
| Take
hold of your dream of building your own aircraft! Learn the
skills and techniques required at EAA SportAir Workshops.
These two-day workshops take place all over the U.S. and
cover a variety of aircraft-building topics. You could
master the basics of aircraft sheet metal, discover how to
weld, |
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| figure
out how to fabric cover airplanes, gain confidence with
composites, excel in electrical systems - and more! You'll
receive hands-on training and guidance from the experts at
EAA. We provide the facility and all the tools and
materials, so the only thing you need to show up with is a
desire to learn! To find a workshop near you, or to register
for a workshop, click
here. |
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|
Featured Stories |
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| My
World War II POW Experience - Part 4 |
| We
continue with Walter J. Nachtwey's story of when he was a
prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. In Part 4,
Walter shares his many memories of living at Stalag Luft
III, a German POW camp. At first, the lifestyle was
repulsive, but after months of getting used to it, |
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| Walter
and his fellow captives adjusted and learned to play the
hand they were dealt. Read
part 4 |
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| Parachute
Lines Save B-17 Tail After Midair With Me 109 |
| In
another feature highlighted in this month's Briefing, you
can read about the improbable adventure of Bruce Carr and
the stolen Fw 190. For another incredible tale of bravery
from our greatest generation, read below the story of the
B-17 named All American and her perilous trip home. Read
more |
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| Stealing
an Fw 190 |
| Recently
a friend sent along an e-mail of a young World War II
fighter pilot returning in a stolen Fw 190. Had to be Bob
Hoover, right? Well, no. The story was about Bruce Carr.
WWII had plenty of hard-to-believe stories, and you see more
than a few of them recounted here in Briefing. This one from
Airforce-magazine.com is outstanding. By the way,
Carr's P-51 was named Angel's Playmate because as a
churchgoing young man on his |
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| first
flight above 30 thousand feet he was sure that was where
angels belonged. Read
the article |
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| Glider
Restoration Project Update |
| Syd
Cohen of Wausau, Wisconsin, holds up models of a Waco CG-4A
and a C-47. A World War II-era glider, the Waco often would
be towed by a C-47. The owner of a real, life-sized version
of the glider used it first as a camper-trailer, then as a
hunting shack. |
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| Later,
relatives of the man donated it to the Menominee Range
Historical Museum in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Between 2005
and 2009, Cohen and other aviation buffs from the Wausau
area helped restore the glider. Read
more |
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| Webinars:
Gifts, Donations, Taxes, and Your Chapter |
|
This webinar
will teach you how to manage the tax and recordkeeping
requirements when your chapter receives (or is contemplating
receiving) cash, aircraft, partially completed kits, tools,
or other donations. Patti Arthur will walk you through the
basic rules, forms, acknowledgement letters, and
recordkeeping requirements for accepting donations to your
chapter.
All
webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT unless otherwise noted. To find out more about
upcoming EAA Webinars and to register, visit the webinars
page.
EAA
gratefully acknowledges the support of Aircraft Spruce and
Specialty Co. for their generous sponsorship of our webinar
programs. |
