Vintage plane crashes.

In reply to JoeyM:

How about a 1/2-scale WWII warbird? http://warbuddies.homestead.com/

JoeyM wrote:

aeronca65t wrote: I don't own (or want to own) a warbird. But I do own a warbug. ~Aeronca info~ Mine

gorgeous. I would love to build one of these http://www.airdromeairplanes.com/

That website is awesome. How much does one of those bad boys cost?

Edit: $12500 for a Pup replica. Awesome.

oldsaw wrote: In reply to JoeyM: How about a 1/2-scale WWII warbird? http://warbuddies.homestead.com/

I'm sure they're far beyond my price tag, but the guys are local....I may go visit just to see their toys

There used to be (might still be) a Mig at the Charlottesville airport. Saw it overhead once or twice, but just cruising along. Not far from the airport. Not sure it would be good for much else. No idea which Mig it was either.

There was an outfit down in the Florida keys that was offering rides in a 80s Mig. It was very tempting and $$$.

A B-17 does the summer war bird airshow circuit, and offers rides for about $350 for a half hour. Even if you don't go for the ride, just to hear those 4 engines..... And there's a guy with a Texan trainer who spends the summer giving rides out of an airport in Rhode Island.

triumph5 wrote: There was an outfit down in the Florida keys that was offering rides in a 80s Mig. It was very tempting and $$$. A B-17 does the summer war bird airshow circuit, and offers rides for about $350 for a half hour. Even if you don't go for the ride, just to hear those 4 engines..... And there's a guy with a Texan trainer who spends the summer giving rides out of an airport in Rhode Island.

Yea, they visited Pittsburgh this past summer. I did the ground tour of the B-17 and a B-24 but was out of cash for the half hour ride. I'm definitely doing it this summer.

Just a reminder to those who visit warbird shows:

Don't stand behind them when the engines are cranked after they've been sitting a while - unless you enjoy showering with petroleum products. There's a reason there are mounds of kitty litter underneath the nacelles.

Or wear your shop clothes, a hat, sunglasses, bring some towlettes and revel in a bit of history.

aeronca65t wrote: I don't own (or want to own) a warbird. But I do own a warbug. ~Aeronca info~ Mine

1300#, 65hp. That's a MkII Sprite with wings.

^^^ that is my idea of a fun plane. I love watching the Cub pilots land at the field near me.. they practically land sideways and then touchdown

motomoron wrote: 1300#, 65hp. That's a MkII Sprite with wings.

Exactly! LOL

In reply to aeronca65t:

That is a beautiful Aeronca.

Landing a light plane into a strong wind can be an adventure.

iceracer wrote: Landing a light plane into a strong wind can be an adventure.

In two weeks I'm going to start learning how to do it without an engine.

Really looking forward to it !!!!!

iceracer wrote: Landing a light plane into a strong wind can be an adventure.

Landing a tail dragger light plane with a strong cross wind is even more of an adventure.

even for the big boys:

I think some is about to suffer some serious gear damage.

We have a local air museum (Kalamazoo Air Zoo) with an AMAZING collection of these old birds. The sad thing is, they used to fly most of them until insurance costs got completely out of hand. They would fly a Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, Tigercat, Bearcat and (my favorite), P-47. Nothing like an R2800 at full trottle. Most of their pilots were retired military guys who really knew how to fly.

Unfortunately, my experience is that a lot of the people still flying them simply don't know what they are doing. At one of their last "fly in" events, one of the pilots (who was, ironically, supposedly a brain surgeon) removed one of the external tanks from his Skyraider without depressurizing it and made a four foot tall av-gas fountain. As much as I love seeing them fly, the list of people who really know how to fly 'em is shrinking daily.

In December, I read the autobiography of Eddie Rickenbacker and an English translation of the partial autobiography of Manfried Richthofen. (Text online at those links.) Those guys had guts.

914Driver wrote:

iceracer wrote: Landing a light plane into a strong wind can be an adventure.

In two weeks I'm going to start learning how to do it without an engine. Really looking forward to it !!!!!

And you don't get a second chance.

Remember what I said about the MiG behind the house?

Will try to get a better pic when I go to Austin in 2 weeks to visit. This was sent to me by my friend and his phone camera. LOL

....must visit austin with a trailer and a suitcase of cash...