Timeless Voices Of Aviation

[seesul]

Great idea on my opinion!
EAA - Timeless Voices of Aviation

 

[MONDARIZ]

Yes, it seems like a great idea.

 

[seesul]

I got in touch with the coordinator of this project. Friend of mine Joe (mentioned in my siggy) will be interviewed soon as well...

 

[bobbysocks]

bumping this thread. found this site was going to post it until i did a search and saw it had been posted years ago. dont know if there were that many interviews of vets when seesul first posted but this a wealth of info from the "horses mouth".

 

[renrich]

I am kind of tying on to this thread because I thought that you members who have an interest in historic aircraft might be interested in an experience I just had.. I have a brother who lives in Texas who loves airplanes. He has had a Saratoga for a number of years and recently acquired a beautifully renovated Stearman.It is a Navy N2S (?) but not in original paint job. In fact the airplane won a prize at Oshkosh. He has spent a lot of time learning to fly the airplane safely and while I was down there last week, he took me for a ride. I was in the front seat and it was a beautiful day, around 70 degrees with light winds. I have about ten hours solo in an Atlas Skyrocket, (Cessna 172 with 180 Lycoming and constant speed prop) that I owned a piece of many years ago. Just sitting in the cockpit was a great experience. We took off from a grass field and flew about ten miles north and buzzed his house. Then he flew back toward the small town nearby doing some gentle maneuvers including some roughly 2G turns, about sixty degrees. The airplane has an electrical system added and a radio with intercom( airplane was built in 1941 and had none of that originally). He told me to take over and shook the stick. I shook it back and gingerly began to try to stay straight and level. We were about 1000 feet AGL and my front cockpit had only one instrument that works, a turn and bank indicator. I tried a few gentle turns and found the control forces quite high. Much higher than the 172, the Saratoga or an L39. I was trying to keep the ball centered and the airplane turned much easier one way than the other. Flying straight and level requires a little constant right rudder and the airplane need a little rerigging of the vertical stabilizer. I got my fill of being command pilot and shook the stick and raised both hands. There was a big event in town with a golf tournament and rodeo and we went over and flew around giving them a view of history, including a low pass down a river about 500 feet AGL. Back to the grass field with two touch and goes and a third to full stop. He only attempts wheels landings and has already had one ground loop with very minor scrape to one wing. He learned that the airplane requires the pilot's constant attention and must be flown all the time. I could go on and on but that may have been the most fun I ever had with my clothes on.

He has a great book which I am currently devouring. "Flying Through Time", a journey into history in a WW2 Biplane, by James Doyle. I recommend it to all who are interested in first hand experiences in WW2.