This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
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warbird first love ?

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:15 pm

OK ~ today is February 14th ~ it's :heart: Valentines Day !

So the question is ~ what was the thing that got you hooked on warbirds ?

For me I think it went from "interest" to passion when they were making the movie Memphis Belle at Duxford.
I took the week of work and drove the 100 miles up there every day to soak up history being made.

The B-17 had been my first love ever since !

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:17 pm

First and only love is the Fouga. Although it's still in active service here, many fly as warbirds in the US, so... :-) Oh, and the ones overhere are 47 years old :shock:

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:34 pm

mustang mustang mustang first airshow in 1976...5 years old...Gunfighter was her name.

JimH

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:34 pm

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

The warbird that got me hooked was the Dehavilland Mosquito. It seemed so elegant and powerful. It kinda matched my personality too. It seemed "sneaky." I guess a reason I love it so much is because my Dad had an old video documentary on the Mosquito. It was a fantastic black and white film that went over the development of it and its wartime uses. As a little boy I used to watch it all the time.

At the same time, the plane that constantly reminded me of how much I loved warbirds was the Harvard. Those seemed to be the only warbirds in the Vancouver area for a while and my Dad would take me to a small airfield called Delta Air Park, and we'd watch the Harvards take off and land.

Ok, I'm droning on....

Cheers,

David

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:39 pm

Reno Air Races, 1976, six years old, with my Grandfather.

Gary

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:41 pm

I'm the son of a Fighter Pilot. (P-51s) :shock:
Robbie
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Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:42 pm

Mine was the B-17 because of the TV series 12'Oclock High. When it was time for the show to come on, I would change the channel on the TV at the baby sitters house from cartoons and make all of the other kids cry :lol:

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:51 pm

P-51...
here's dad

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Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:51 pm

My father took me to airshows back in the late 60's at Scholes Field in Galveston. The good old days
Last edited by Tim Landers on Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:54 pm

Grandfather's Hawker Sea Fury. I was too little to fly in it at the time so I went home and built models of it to fly on my own.

-WC

Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:03 pm

I fell MADLY in love with the Corsair when Black Sheep first came on in the 70s -- Yes, I'm old........

Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:09 pm

Grew up as an Air Force brat, son of a career pilot who flew P-40's, P-47's, P-38's in CBI WWII.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:19 pm

Jack Sandberg's racing P63 was based at the airport near my home growing up. Seeing that bird both up close and howling over he house really got the blood pumping. This was mid 1970s.

I'd been hooked on WW2 aviation since the mid 60s with the 12 O'Clock High TV show. I must have been 5 or 6 when I saw that for the first time.

Model building started about that same time and the old Monogram 1/48th scale P51B "Ding Hao!" made me dream of having a real Mustang. And of course the in parts P51C that sat next to Sandberg's hanger only fed that fire. That Mustang is the CAF Red Tail now.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:29 pm

Wow, great question!

I fell head over heels for the P-40E when I was young... Dr. Bill Anderson's P-40 in Geneseo specifically!

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It was funny... when I had to get braces, I DEMANDED to my parents that I get them at Dr. Andersons orthodontic practice... to support the P-40 of course! My appointments were always 45 minutes longer than the regular ones because Bill used to chat with me about warbirds while I was there...

It killed me when she crashed in 1995... and I have yet to see AK940 since Tony Banta got her.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:29 pm

My Dad bought my first model in '75 I think. It was an F-4, cause Dad was at Da Nang with the Gunfighters. Next was Baa Baa Black Sheep and Tales of the Gold Monkey. And Martin Caiden. And Flying Tigers with John Wayne ( and all the other WWII movies shown on Channel 4 every sunday at 10am in Indianapolis). I don't think I've been quite right since... ;)
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