Recent content by chuckn49

I'm afraid I don't remember Link trainers at Wolters, but that doesn't mean much; sometimes I can't remember what I had for breakfast, either. I was there some time before you, so it may be a faulty memory (highly possible) or the Army made changes. The OH-13 was fully instrumented and we...

Thank you. For a while I was 19 again when I was writing it. The "old guy" in my class was 28. Most of us were 18 - 22 or so. It was a great time to be an Army Aviator or so we all thought, anyway.

Things sure do change and, from what I've read here, for the better, too. I went through Army flight school in the late '60s. From beginning to end, it was approximately 9 months. After graduation, you went to your unit in country or, if selected, to one of the transition training schools for...

At the risk of being laughed at and though it is not listed, I would put in a vote for the OH-6. It was a wonderful, tough, maneuverable and very crashable little bird loved by its pilots.

My information says that this alleged "Church" is primarily made up of members from one family, many of whom are lawyers. Their "minister", Mr. Phelps, is a disbarred lawyer according to what I have been told. They appear to be very litigious. I just get the feeling that this is not some...

For me, it will always be the P-38 Lightning. I grew up listening to my brother talk abouit it with great affection. It also looks really cool on the ground or in the air. If I had a second choice, it would be the Mosquito. Once again, an unconventional aircraft doing an incredible job...

I find this thread to be interesting both as an aviator and a fan of the P-38. I do have some small amount of time in several tail draggers from an L-5 to BT-13 and all of them offer unique challenges to any pilot. Most of us modern pilots are rather spoiled by the landing, takeoff and taxing...

"The Messerschmitt Me 262 Combat Diary" by John Foreman and S. E. Harvey claim it was an Me 262 according to the gun cameras from Col. Zemke and Lt. Benoit's planes. I know from talking to him that Lt. Benoit believed he had shot down an Me 262 but, and, once again from conversations with Lt...

It is clear from this site and other research I've done that a P-38 could not have broken the sound barrier as my brother thought, though there were lots of claims, apparently, that it had or had come close. I did learn, however, that in a dive wind did go supersonic over the upper wing...

No disrespect taken -- I know my brother would not have disagreed with you on any of what you say. The story of the P-38 student pilot diving the P-38 beyond its envelop was one of an aeronautical engineer believing it could be done and be recoverable when some pilots of the day who exceeded...

I have no proof one way or the other and, from my own experience in the military, I know how legends get started. I am trying to recall conversations I had with him from 30 or 40 years ago so, it is possible that my memory is faulty but, somehow, I don't think so as to what he believed because...

For what it is worth, my brother frequently talked about a P-38 pilot who put a 38 through sound barrier in a dive and lived to talk about it. The plane was a total loss because of structural damage to wings and tail. Also, instrument panel was pushed in due to pilot's feet on it. He was an...

Drgondog, again your superior knowledge has me at a distinct disadvantage. After all, I was just a dumb pilot and all the mechanics would start my day by telling me: "I told Orville and I told Wilbur and I'm telling you; it'll never get off the ground." Well, they were wrong. Getting it off the...

I did, indeed, fly the Mattel Messcherschmidt, the OH-6 by Hughes. It was a wonderful flying machine and very, very crashable (a big plus when you find yourself hovering over a quad-fifty at 30'). I irreverently call it the Mattel Messcherschmidt because it reminded me so much of the ubiquitous...

Charles, I am just a young whipper-snapper at 59 having been born in 1949. I was, to say the least, a very late in life child. I had an older brother born in 1922 to give you an idea of the spread between us. He was a WWII P-38 P-51 pilot with the 8th. He is since deceased. My father was...