Bill's Message For Randy and Others

[daveymac82c]

Hey Bill,

I think I can say on behalf of most people here that we have definitely learn a lot from you and your posts about flying your Spit. There aren't many of us who have flown a Spit, so anything you say, is tangible knowledge.

All I know about the Spitfire (roughly) is that it was a single pilot fighter, had a Merlin, looks awesome, flies fast, and I want one.

It doesn't matter if you're a true Spitfire fighter pilot, or simply a Spitfire owner/pilot. Your understanding of the flight characteristics and finer details of a Spit far exceed that of myself, and that of most people. Any piece of information pertaining to what it's like to fly a Spitfire is really exciting for me.

Like learning about glide ratios, stall speeds, roll rates, engine start procedures, whatever it is, it expands our knowledge of the type.

This sharing of knowledge certainly comes in handy for you at airshows byreducing the amount of people asking you silly little questions.

By the way, how many rivets are on the vertical stabilizer fairing of your Spit?

Cheers,

David

[treadigraph]

I enjoy having Randy and Bill posting here - they are both good blokes and I am glad it's all sorted. (OK, let's be honest, I'd prefer a ride in the back of Bill's Gentlelman's aerial conveyance... mind you Randy's bird is only 90 miles up the road... but, hey...)

Best wishes to all from the UK!

[RickH]

That place from 90 miles away ? There ya go startin' sh!!t again !!

[Robbie Stuart]

Glad to see you back around Bill!
Robbie

[fotobass]

Wish I could take everyone for a Spit flight.

*raises hand*

[oz rb fan]

Guys one thing that stuck me, was the number of people who say they have enjoyed or learned from things I have written about flying and the Spitfire. I was surprised by that, I am not a real fighter pilot, I only get to fly a real fighter and sometime I wonder if what I write has any relavance or interest to the average guy. Apparently it does. I think it is the well earned and well deserved reputation of the Spitfire that carries the day. Wish I could take everyone for a Spit flight. On the other hand, I really do have a brain, I really can read and write(forgot how to spell sometimes!) have a degree from U T (not a GED from that place 90 miles away) and I just might have an insight or two on something not just flying. And try and hope I can learn from other people.

bill
i for one think that your insite to how a spitfire is to fly is to me more relevant than most of the stories that i've read from war time pilots (not to take anything away from them, they did an awsome job at a time of need)it's good to read form modern pilots how these legends perform(still waiting on your opinion of the mustang),some of the best write ups of these warbirds i've read are from modern pilots like steve hinton,mark hanna and other's who've never had to fight for their life in these aircraft.
keep up the good work and welcome back.
paul beaufighter freak

[Bill Greenwood]

Rick, re that other place. I'll have to admit I am not fully confident about the upcoming Turkey Day. The Horns are still long, but not quite as sharp as they were. And as for this Sat in Austin, even though I am a pilot I am rooting for the anti-aircraft guys to deal with incoming Raiders.

[Bill Greenwood]

Paul thanks for the tip. But serious, no joking. The guys who have done it for real are in another category. As good as I'd like to be, or as good as Steve is or Kermit, or Patty Wagstaff, we are not in the same class as the real combat crews, because no one shot at us. And most of us, guys like Vlado would be the first to tell you that. Doesn't matter if you were an ace or ordinary, doesn't matter if you are like Gunther Rall or Johnny Johnson, or just a scared 19 year old gunner; if you put your life on the line you are something more. In football terms us civilian pilots are like the field goal kicker. You are perceptive that sometimes we might have a perspective that a combat pilot might not and many of us have more time in some of the planes. Glad you enjoy it.

[fotobass]

Paul thanks for the tip. But serious, no joking. The guys who have done it for real are in another category. As good as I'd like to be, or as good as Steve is or Kermit, or Patty Wagstaff, we are not in the same class as the real combat crews, because no one shot at us. And most of us, guys like Vlado would be the first to tell you that. Doesn't matter if you were an ace or ordinary, doesn't matter if you are like Gunther Rall or Johnny Johnson, or just a scared 19 year old gunner; if you put your life on the line you are something more. In football terms us civilian pilots are like the field goal kicker. You are perceptive that sometimes we might have a perspective that a combat pilot might not and many of us have more time in some of the planes. Glad you enjoy it.

Most. Relevant. Point. Ever.

That right there was worth the price of admission.

[Canso42]

I think Bill is secretly adapting a Merlin to the 152.

Doug Ratchford, 'Canso42'