Warbird Information Exchange

[quote="retroaviation]
What's interesting about all of these stories, is that when I used to show cars years ago, nobody would even consider touching someone's vehicle. I'm sure there are horror stories with the car guys, but I personally never saw one incident where someone had to run anyone off from their cars. But when those same folks are around airplanes, it's like Australian Rules Football or something and anything goes.

Gary[/quote]

You ain't been where I been. I got back to my jeep at a show once and it was loaded with people. I asked 'em what the F bomb they thought they were doing and they said "we are thinking of buying one".

I got real nasty at that point.

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It's you and me against the world.

We attack at dawn.

Was that at an airshow or a car show? Just curious. The reason I ask is that even though I still say the car show crowds seem to be better behaved than airshow crowds, that doesn't mean that vehicles pertaining to, or even around airplanes are safe.

Just last week, there was a family in one of the Jeeps here on display in the museum. When I told them to get out, their reply was "well it survived a War, I figured it could survive us sitting in it." I told them, "That is true, but YOU ARE IN A MUSEEEUUUMMM!!! Get. Out. Of. The. Jeep!"

It's a shame that these types of people are both our biggest supporters, and our biggest enemies.

Gary

Gary I hear you, sometimes I dono't know what is going through people's heads.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

It was a military vehicle rally Gary. At the car show mom and dad were letting junior use my fathers crash truck as a jungle gym. Lot's of nifty bars to grab on the back and you know if junior had fallen off the lawyers would have been there in a heart beat.

Be it an airshow, car show or just a local display there will always be a segment of the crowd that is suffering from H.U.A. syndrome. Dare I tell you about junior, the ice cream cone and my 52 Chevy??

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It's you and me against the world.

We attack at dawn.

Lets see...

There was a time when a big, I mean BIG lady was walking down the flightline and decided to have a seat, ON THE HORIZONTAL STAB OF A BT-13! That amazed me.

Like Mr. Paul said earlier about getting on the wing of an airplane. My dad threatened to do that in his golf-shoes to some guy's rag-top car.

Then there was a fly-in that my dog was up on a T-6, that's a bit different.

tc

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"There are two types of people here; airshow whores and airshow prostitutes. The whores, like you and I, do airshow stuff for free, whereas the prostitutes are paid" - Reg Urschler

My friend got in trouble for laying his hand on a PT-17 Stearman at my local airport, he asked later why the guy yelled at him and I explained to him that the planes wing was VERY fragile.

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"Keep 'em Flying!"

I was at the Cape Girardeau Airshow a few years ago with the Yale. Some fat guy in bib overalls with a "wife beater" T shirt and a John Deere hat comes up to the Yale and asks me what "kind of a T6" it was. I politely responded that it wasn't a T6, but that I could understand that it looks a lot like a T6 but the most distinguishing feature between the two types was that the Yale has fixed gear with wheel pants.

He procceds to tell me he knows all about T6s because he worked on them back in the day. Then he walks about 20 yards away, turns around and walks briskly right up to me and says, "I don't give a sh** what you did to the F****n gear, it's still a T6"!

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Eric

"I spent most of my money on alcohol, women and skyraiders....and the rest of it I just wasted."

Please do!

John

The classic... At various events, kids trying to swing themselves from the Harvard's pitot tube. That's why we tend to fence off our planes at events, much to the amusement of some of the friends here.



There was these kids beating the crap out of my Focke-Wulf flaps at Geneseo in 2001 or 2002 I think...

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Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

I have tons of these stories after 20 years

Sorted by aircraft type

T-34
Saw a 300 pounder getting into the aircraft with a full leg cast on. When I asked him why he was getting into the aircraft he responded that since he paid taxes and it said US Air Force on it he figured he could get in.

Soko Galeb
Jet truck starts up (when they were a new item) so my wife and I get on the wing to see better. We were followed by almost 12 people simultaneously. When we asked them to get down we were told that they had a right to get up on the wing and who were the two of us to stop them. It didn't take long for us to explain that one

The Soko has a lanyard as well for the canopy release although not explosive. So I walk up to a guy who is opening the door to it. I just look at him and he pulls out the handle and hands it to me. He turns arround and walks away without a word

90 degree day and the Soko is leaking fuel. I ask the guy to put out his cigarette explaining the fuel situation in hot weather. So he throws the cigarette right into the puddle on the ground and stomps it out.

P-51
Guy asks to get up and take a look with his 4 year old. I tell him to wait while we push it into position. When you push the tail it moves real fast and mine is waxed very well so it is very slippery. So I look around and they are on the wing getting in while it is going in a quick circle.

B-25
Every show we had to run people out of the airplane if we left the door open and roped off to avoid this situation.

Many more but the best are when they actually get in the aircraft and try to explain why they are doing this. The corsair and the round motors are at least a little satisfying as the evil doers usually get oil on their clothing.

Oshkosh certainly brings out the best and the worst in people! I guess part of the problem is the way these old aircraft can be immensely strong and yet incredibly fragile at the same time. Its something that is not very familiar to most folks. They may go to an airshow and see a couple of ground crew members riding the tail of a Spitfire while its taxiing but will get yelled at if they so much as touch that elevator trim tab. Thats why we have a blanket 'no touch' rule. The only decision required is whether or not to comply with the rule.

In the UK the visitor to an airshow will not get anything like the close access to the aircraft enjoyed by the American attendee so the 'no touch ' rule hardly even applies here as they will be at least thirty feet from any aircraft, even when its parked!

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Warbird Colour - Authentic historic aircraft finishes http://www.warbirdcolour.co.uk

An airshow at Biggs Army Airfield, Texas. We were letting people up in the flightdeck of an EC-130E (bad idea). Someone sitiing in the co-pilots seat got out, stepped backwards and puts their foot on the circuit breaker panel. Before I could get out the word "stop!", three breakers were snapped clean off. Not the persons fault, but... Fortunately I was able to cann breakers from dead/deactivated systems to get us home...

On another note I've met many respectful, interesting people at airshows who ask before touching...

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

reading these recollections is like watching a car wreck; I know I should stop but I just can't...

the Coke can down the F-18 intake so far gets my vote for the "needs to spend a weekend in jail" award, but honsetly they are all awful. I wonder why the ground crew wouldn't use the f.o.d. covers?

Keep 'em coming.

greg v.

I have one...it isnt that awful...And Gary might get a kick out of it...

At Reading last year my friends and I were near Diamond Lil' and a kid was sitting on his dads shoulders...and slapped "Lil" on her...um rear We got a good laugh out of that...

And now for a horror story...At the MUSAF I watched a miscreant reach out and touch the SR-71 (his favorite bird) ...This evil doer was my father and i was horrified I had to tell him and my older sister...no touching!

And on a car note...I was at a very large show...a nice old Model A hotrod was unattended...a kid on a bike managed to leave an awful scratch the width of the car...all across the back of it...

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

Well, I don't want to slew this off topic with my car and truck stories, but as I read these I could easily substitute Willys for AT-6. Crash truck grab rail for pitot tube. Same morons, different setting.

Junior, the ice cream cone and my 52 Chevy is not one of those stories, but it could have been. It was a very close thing.

I was on my once bi-weekly run to the drive in movies and I stopped off to get an ice cream cone. Middle of summer and a really hot day of course, so I had all the windows rolled down (A/C? Whats that?). I was sitting at a picnic table under a tree enjoying my cone when I look over where I parked the car.

Standing there on tip toes is junior. Head through the left window. Arms on the window sills. Cone overhanging my seat and tipping well past the vertical. My heart literally skipped a beat. I drew in a breath and opened my mouth to holler when I heard my words thunder across the parking lot and I hadn't said them.

"GET THE H#LL AWAY FROM THERE" the voice said. I looked to my right and here comes daddy sprinting across the yard towards junior. Junior had snapped his head, arms and cone out of the car at the very first syllable. Dad got there, turned him around and said "can't you see thats a nice car? I don't want to have to pay to clean it".

I just shook my head and chuckled a little bit. Dad was a little peeved, junior was a little chastened and my seat was dry and not sticky.

_________________
It's you and me against the world.

We attack at dawn.