Warbird Information Exchange

Been awhile since I'd been to a proper airshow...so the wife and I set out for Madras yesterday. Here are some highlights...
Jim

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www.spiritof44.com

sorry to see in news, a stearman went down killing the pilot.

http://katu.com/news/local/madras-air-s ... ilots-life

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Remember, the propeller is only there to keep the pilot cool.If you don't believe me, have it stop and watch the pilot start sweating!

Tragic about the crash...looks like he almost recovered from the loop.

RIP.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Nice photos

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Marcus flew for wing walker Carol Pilon, She recently lost her friend Bill Gordon when the P-47 went down in the Hudson.

https://tswingwalking.wordpress.com/abo ... n-command/

I am so sorry for the loss.

My deepest condolences to friends and families.

Andy Scott

I've tried to focus on the positive part of the day. The Stearman accident is still sinking in. The announcers, the emergency staff, and management reacted professionally and swiftly. Really surreal. Here are a few more.

jim

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www.spiritof44.com

Great photos of a magnificent collection. Thanks for sharing.

So sorry to hear about the accident.

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Who owns the PBY I don't think I've seen that before?

And since I'm not an expert on what looks to be a pre-war paint scheme (top of wing yellow), is the yellow band on the rear fuselage a group/squafron/wing color or is it a post-war ARS stripe?

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Erickson Collection, is based at Madras.


edit; corrected and embarrassed.

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remember the Oogahonk!
old school enthusiast of Civiltary Warbirds and Air Racers

Excellent pictures, thanks for posting. Neat to see so many Navy types at one place. That may be the shiniest Corsair in existence. Also appreciate the shots of the AD-4W Skyraider and the PBY in flight. The pre-war paint scheme looks great with the early style nose turret and side blisters.
Too bad about the accident. That's the worst part of this passion we all have for aviation.

Yes, thank you for posting. Great photo essay.

As for the PBY, so is this an amphib version that has been semi-backdated with paint, older style blisters and nose turret, or are these items correct for this airframe sometime in it's warbird life? Please not a criticism, rivet-counting or otherwise- just a question of what has been done. I am fine with tribute aircraft and she looks fantastic.

This PBY was originally BuNo 46522 and from photos I have in my files it appears never to have had its bow turret and hull blisters removed. So, they are correct for the airframe which is generally still more or less 'stock'. The main external difference between now and then is the horn-balance rudder which was installed after it was retired by the military. The colour scheme is not genuine and seems to be something that has been cobbled together to represent a pre-WWII PBY (which 46522 was not, having been accepted by the US Navy in Feb44).

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David Legg
Editor, The Catalina News
The Catalina Society
Author: Consolidated PBY Catalina - The Peacetime Record

By saying "what's left of it", I believe you're thinking of the Evergreen Museum. The Erickson Collection, for which these warbirds belong to, has quite a large and varied collection of warbirds, most of which fly on a regular basis. They also have never sold any warbirds in recent years without replacing them with other flying examples of the same type (like the B-25 and P-47). In recent years they have continued to expand by buying the B-17, Fw-190, and having their P-39 restored (to static) and the Bf-109 they currently have nearing completion to fly. They're in the unique position of operating one of the only 4 flying SBD's (though Erickson's is actually an Army A-24 in disguise), one of the few flying PBY's, one of the only 8 flying P-38's, and the worlds only flying Japanese Oscar.

I think they own the Zero going together at Legend Flyers?

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www.spiritof44.com

That one was owned by Evergreen, and I think you'll find it is currently owned by Legend Flyers themselves and it is up for sale (or at least it was earlier this year). It would seem to be on-track to completion next year.