Airshow Horror Stories

[RyanShort1]

If you have any further comments on the reenactor side of things, lets put 'em over here: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=38663. I apologize for the thread hijack.

Ryan

[ZRX61]

I think there are two kinds of "dress up" at airshows. On one hand you have the people who own, operate, work on or merely babysit the aircraft who I have no problem with, they can wear whatever they want....... & on the other hand you have the clueless muppets who get in the bloody way of the first group of people...

[RyanShort1]

I think there are two kinds of "dress up" at airshows. On one hand you have the people who own, operate, work on or merely babysit the aircraft who I have no problem with, they can wear whatever they want....... & on the other hand you have the clueless muppets who get in the bloody way of the first group of people...

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=38663

Ryan

[rwdfresno]

I don't see much differnece in flying around in a WWII airplane or wearing a WWII uniform in a theatrical sense. You wern't in WWII so why fly around in the airplanes and paste a million pictures of yourself working on them. Get over yourself.

Ryan

Well Brad after fixing airplanes in the Air Force for 27 years and dealing with fighter jocks most of that time I decided to portray a WW2 crew chief to help educate the public that pilots don't fix airplanes and ground crews do. I don't feel that "I look like an idiot" but am attempting to tell a story of all the 16 plus hours that the fellows in WW2 on the hardstands did to keep the airplanes flying. I actually take STRONG offense to your comment as I am NOT "play acting" but actually DO the job and want the public to see how hard the ground crwews work so YOU can get "the glory"


Tsgt. Scott Dunkirk

But here's the deal Scott. You certainly will get no argument from me about your motives, but you are playing dress up, no matter what your motives are. Because you are not a WWII crew chief. You are dressed up like one and doing the stuff they do. I can ride a horse and rob a bank dressed as Jesse James and that still doesn't make me an old west villian.

I'm sorry you take strong offense to my comments but that's ok. I doubt it's any stronger than the offense I take when I see people wearing uniforms they never earned. I don't see what glory you think I'm getting. I actually work on old planes as well, far more than I ever get to fly them. So don't get any splinters while you are crawling down off your cross.

[EDowning]

You wern't in WWII so why fly around in the airplanes

To respond directly to your foolish statement, It doesn't HAVE to have anything to do with history. They are fun to fly and that's enough. If others wish to make something more out of it, it's thier perogative to do so. No requirement on the rest of us to do anything more than have fun, unless we choose to do so.

[rwdfresno]

Eric,

I couldn't agree more. So the sarcasm of the statement may have not been apparent but trust me it is there! The point I was trying to make is that flying around or working on a WWII airplane is no more or less dishonorable than wearing WWII vintage military uniforms for display purposes. You don't have to "earn" the right to fly your airplane anymore than anyone has to "earn" the right to display a WWII uniform by wearing it. They are simply artifacts to be owned by people to be used as they please. The military sold uniforms, equipment, and airplanes for pennies on the dollar to civilians and they certainly didn't think anyone had to earn them.
I won't trivialize the efforts by the glorious men who fought the war becuase they are super heros in my book but plenty of civilians spent plenty of their hard earned tax dollars to buy the stuff and plenty of oil rig drillers, ship workers, machine operators, steel workers worked pretty darn hard in dangerous jobs to get the war won as well yet we don’t hold a hard hat to this mystical place of honor that nobody can wear without “tarnishing” the efforts that these folks made. By the way you don’t earn a uniform, they give them to you in boot camp, I know I’ve been there, and all I had to do was pass a physical and sign on the dotted line. Anyone that thinks you are tarnishing the sacrifices that veterans have made by wearing a uniform has a pretty low opinion of what those folks did. What they did can never be tarnished.

Ryan

You wern't in WWII so why fly around in the airplanes

To respond directly to your foolish statement, It doesn't HAVE to have anything to do with history. They are fun to fly and that's enough. If others wish to make something more out of it, it's thier perogative to do so. No requirement on the rest of us to do anything more than have fun, unless we choose to do so.

[EDowning]

Eric,

I couldn't agree more. So the sarcasm of the statement may have not been apparent but trust me it is there! The point I was trying to make is that flying around or working on a WWII airplane is no more or less dishonorable than wearing WWII vintage military uniforms for display purposes. You don't have to "earn" the right to fly your airplane anymore than anyone has to "earn" the right to display a WWII uniform by wearing it. They are simply artifacts to be owned by people to be used as they please. The military sold uniforms, equipment, and airplanes for pennies on the dollar to civilians and they certainly didn't think anyone had to earn them.
I won't trivialize the efforts by the glorious men who fought the war becuase they are super heros in my book but plenty of civilians spent plenty of their hard earned tax dollars to buy the stuff and plenty of oil rig drillers, ship workers, machine operators, steel workers worked pretty darn hard in dangerous jobs to get the war won as well yet we don’t hold a hard hat to this mystical place of honor that nobody can wear without “tarnishing” the efforts that these folks made. By the way you don’t earn a uniform, they give them to you in boot camp, I know I’ve been there, and all I had to do was pass a physical and sign on the dotted line. Anyone that thinks you are tarnishing the sacrifices that veterans have made by wearing a uniform has a pretty low opinion of what those folks did. What they did can never be tarnished.

Ryan

Point taken.

[N3Njeff]

One thing that makes me do this is 2 years ago a WW2 vet who worked B-25's in North Africa and Italy came by and stayed with us for over 3 hours. When he was leaving I asked him why he stayed so long talking and laughing with us and he said that it felt like he was 19 again and we were acting and looked just like they did and he felt young again and felt better physically. If I can make ONE vet enjoy himself for a few moment remembering his or her past endevors then I have suceeded. Oh, and as I am a crew chief I don't get splinters.

Scott

Dam good reason!!!
Brad I just hope that 50 yrs down the road, maybe someone would have the interest and can fly a C-17 around the USA dressed up in a flight suit and tell your story to future generations.

[SPANNERmkV]

My most recent Air Show Horror story is that the girl from Warbird Pin-ups drove by in a Jeep at Wings Over Houston and and I didn't have time to go personally thank her for her contribution to my morale!

Happy Veteran's Day everybody!

Keep Flying 'em!

[N3Njeff]

My most recent Air Show Horror story is that the girl from Warbird Pin-ups drove by in a Jeep at Wings Over Houston and and I didn't have time to go personally thank her for her contribution to my morale!

Happy Veteran's Day everybody!

Keep Flying 'em!

Don, wait until you fly that N3N to a airshow and they just put you with the rest of the stearmans!!!

[Fouga23]

Don, wait until you fly that N3N to a airshow and they just put you with the rest of the stearmans!!!

Is there a difference?

[warbird1]

Don, wait until you fly that N3N to a airshow and they just put you with the rest of the stearmans!!!

Is there a difference?

Nope, they both make good boat anchors.

[mustangdriver]

My most recent Air Show Horror story is that the girl from Warbird Pin-ups drove by in a Jeep at Wings Over Houston and and I didn't have time to go personally thank her for her contribution to my morale!

Happy Veteran's Day everybody!

Keep Flying 'em!

There is just something hot about a girl driving a Jeep.

[RyanShort1]

Nope, they both make good boat anchors.

I'd really love to have one of those boat anchors...

Ryan

[T-28mike]

I'd really like to have the girl driving the jeep. I did not see which one it was, but I am not picky...