Warbird Information Exchange

I did a similar project like this in the last year or so and now I got my hands on my parents albums with more pics so i've been scanning them as well. All pictures were taken by my mom or dad as you can see in a few of the shots, I was a little too young to be shooting these. There will be more to come when the time permits.

Enjoy!!!

1980

That's me in front of this menacing looking Texan. I just turned 4.


My sister, me and my dad


Me, dad and Chuckie


Blue Angels T-28 (Any idea who's and where it is now?)


1981

Modified BT-13


Texas Raiders


Mystery B-25


FIFI


T-Birds T-33


Unknown T-33


Duane Cole


Crickets flight team


1982

Miller Skytypers






White Lightnin'






Ju-52 and I believe a Taifun


Last flight of the XP-51


FIFI in movie paint




I'd love to see this again


Diamond Lil


Aluminum Overcast


A Sanders I assume?


Not sure what they were dropping


T-6 EAA formation


AD-1 Scissorwing thing


Bob & Pat Wagner


1983

Mom and I in the nose of Aluminum Overcast


A combination of the bare metal then and the restoration work now would result in a real beauty


Little Friend, Medium Friend


Boom!


Boom! 2


I always thought this was the coolest Avenger




Grumman Flight


Little Demon


6's


34's


Lightning


Panther


Little friend of the little friend


The man at work




Snowbirds


Bill Barber & Eddie Green


Leo Laudenslager


Corky Fornof's BD-5


Jimmy Franklin (a.k.a. Zar)'s Starship Pride


Marchetti Team


Eagles Aerobatic Team


That's all for now!

_________________
-Al Sauer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat

That T28 belongs to the Airzoo, I have a current picture somewere i will post.

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane, Al.

Those early '80s shows were when my high school buddies and I could chase girls and old airplanes all at the same time. Seeing Lefty and Bill Ross fly together was about as good as it could get back then, as well as seeing the XP-51 with air under its wings one last time.

Your mystery B-25 was based in Cheeseland back in the 80's--owned by a fellow from Milwaukee named Crosby. Here's what she's doing today:

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b25regis ... html#thumb

I wasn't much of a photobug back then, so thanks for sharing your folks' pics.

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Memory lane indeed...Many of these were regulars at the late lamented Hamilton shows during the same period. I have very similar shots of Bill Ross' P-38L taken at Mt.Hope in near-identical lighting in '81. That was the first P-38 I saw fly; and "Aluminum Overcast" was the first B-17 I saw fly. The XP-51 visited Hamilton at least once, too, but I did not have a proper camera then...

The Thunderbirds-marked T-33 was an ex-RCAF Silver Star, owned and flown by Ray Mabrey; sadly he lost his life in that aircraft when it crashed at Selfridge AFB a few years later. The grey and blue one would have been an active service machine, with the Montana ANG ("taxi" aircraft belonging to the Montana ANG F-106 unit).

The Royal Navy TBM was Bob Pond's from (at that time) Minnesota.

Ray Stutsman's restoration of that P-47G as Walter Beckham's "Little Demon" really raised the bar...that's still my favourite Jug restoration. Saw it fly at Mt.Hope in '82 at the head of a diamond-four otherwise comprising three A-10As...so cool.

The F9F would've belonged either to Jack Levine or Art Wolk, depending on the year (it passed to Wolk after Levine was killed in a P-51 crash). It, too, was--and remains--a benchmark restoration, especially considering the ruinous condition of the Panther airframe it was based on. Sadly this F9F was heavily damaged in an accident a number of years ago; its remains are reportedly stored at Kalamazoo MI.

Thanks for the memories!

S.

thanks for the info/updates.

_________________
-Al Sauer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat