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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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:07 pm

Boys and Girls, we missed out on this one. It's an ORIGINAL XB-70 FLIGHT MANUAL!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

I apologise for not seeing it sooner and letting you all have a crack at the auction!

Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:17 pm

My XB-70 story:

I met 'Fitz' Fulton one time at Barksdale - didn't know him from Adam at the time, but he was coming to fly the museum's B-57 out to another museum - the AF Museum determined that it didn't fit in at Barksdale.

He made quite the impression with his gold NASA flight suit, gold "Test Pilot" helmet, and a gold jacket with all kinds of NASA-this, SR-71-that, Shuttle Chase team-this, Been There/Done That, blah blah blah . . . Don't You Wish You Were Me patches all over the darn thing, and here he was climbing into an old and somewhat ratty looking jet. I'll never forget that "contrast" as he did his thing and eventually taxiied out.

It wasn't much later that I saw him on the news flying that "remote" 707 during the crash/flame pattern tests. Neat guy, and I remember not a hint of "attitude" - just there to do a job. He just happened to have on the coolest flight gear I've ever seen.

Wade

Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:20 pm

Wade, have you ever considered doing some "Heavy Iron" like the B-70, B-52, B-47 or the B-36? Those babies just fill up a frame!(No, this isn't a commission, although it would be nice!)
Don

Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:31 am

Yes! I'm already thinking about a B-17G piece - that will be my "transition" into the heavy world. After that, who knows?! :lol:

Wade

Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:44 pm

Here's my XB-70 story:

My father's close friend was a flight medical tech at Edwards for awhile. He was responsible for suiting up and helping the pilots into the SR-71 and U-2. One day some senior officers came into the office and told him and his friend to come with them. They were outfitted with flight suits and gear for the XB-70! They then proceeded to film he and his partner in the cockpit of the Valkrye going through the "motions" of preflight and takeoff!

He told me he'd love to get a copy of the film but has never heard of anyone who has seen it.

Tom P.

Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:39 pm

Dream a little!

Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:05 pm

That's me and Fitz in my avatar picture. I met him in the Air Force Museum a few years back, naturally right in front of the XB-70. I recognized him and waited for him to finish a conversation with a young couple and their kid and then started talking to him. I asked him if he was in town for the weekend's Dayton Air Show and his wife said that they were and that Fitz liked to come over to the museum to visit "some old friends." Took me a minute to realize that he meant some of the planes that he had flown.

We had a 10-minute talk and he was humble and nice as can be.

Dave G.
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