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Was a plane capt. on one of these, many years ago!

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PAUL161

PAUL161

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Used to preflight one, check the hydraulics and cycle the wings for it's first flight of the day so the skipper could breeze through his preflight with no glitches. I loved this aircraft, built like a tank. Later models had more HP. PJ
My favoite bird-F4-U.jpg
 
Very, VERY cool Paul! :cool:
 
Saw a couple of them in the hanger deck on the Midway last week. Think I’ve got pics in my camera.
 
The F4U was an aircraft you wore like a suit! Not the easiest to get out of quickly unless inverted.

F4U Pit.jpg
F4U instrument panel.jpg
 
Ah yes, thanks Basil, that's nice! Looks like a 1D model with a higher HP engine that had water and alcohol injection with 4 blades, plus the droopy chin. We didn't have those. They were fast. They were so powerful that given too much throttle too quickly on takeoff, they could flip right over on its back! Not a good day. Stories about training in those got around very quickly! :rolleyes2:
I don't know for sure but I think a few of those were used in Nam, maybe I'm thinking of the AD? :unsure:
 
-4 actually if I remember the features correctly for the 4 blade, note the chin scoop on the cowl. The earlier models, 1, 1A and 1D didn't have that, see the first picture. Then the -5 had the two cheek type scoops to the lower sides of the cowl. I have spent way too much time learning these things over the years....
 
Well, Mike, after 60+ years ago of being around them, I tend to forget a few things. :thumbsup2:
 
Paul, if you'd only been a year or two older you may have encountered my old granddad. He was an AD and the F4U was one of planes he was in charge of over the years. I remember you once said that one of your first duty stations was Norman, and it was his last back in 52.
 
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We get to see old reruns of "Black Sheep Squadron" and see both three and four blade versions. Often wondered what lengths S.J. Cannell had to go to, to get those aircraft. Air-to-air footage is sparse and the same gun camera shots repeat a lot, even reversed. Still fun to watch tho.
 
DrEntropy said:
We get to see old reruns of "Black Sheep Squadron" and see both three and four blade versions. Often wondered what lengths S.J. Cannell had to go to, to get those aircraft. Air-to-air footage is sparse and the same gun camera shots repeat a lot, even reversed. Still fun to watch tho.
Click to expand...
That used to be one of my favorite shows - haven't seen it in years!
 
Plays on H&I Saturdays, 6pm eastern I think for a couple hours. Recall reading at one point they had I think 6 flyers and a couple ground sitters. Most were the post WW2 -4 and -5 models with the chin or cheek air intake scoops. And one was pointed in the Navy tri color scheme while the rest were overall dark blue of the end of war and postwar period. I still see it for the flying, although I know that they were guys from the unassigned pool he put together, not the guys waiting for courts martial the series used. Greg Boyington I read lost most of his Marine buddies because of his being "technical consultant" on the series because they didn't like being portrayed as a bunch of drunken guys who had nurses spending the night as the last season had it.
 
Works for me. You can tell I've been an amateur historian of the period much of my life. Inherited a love of history from my dad and maternal grandmother who taught history for decades at Westerville high school in the Columbus OH area. I was one of those kids when young that actually read the newspaper, when a daily was pages of local, national and international news unlike so much print today. Plus a model builder who wanted to get details right so studied books and photos and film to try to understand. And I got my grandmother's desire to explain, which sometimes works out, sometimes gets me a knock upside the head, metaphorically speaking...
 
DrEntropy said:
We get to see old reruns of "Black Sheep Squadron" and see both three and four blade versions. Often wondered what lengths S.J. Cannell had to go to, to get those aircraft. Air-to-air footage is sparse and the same gun camera shots repeat a lot, even reversed. Still fun to watch tho.
Click to expand...
You mean you don't own the box set?
 
Always loved aircraft. Grew up near Lockbourne AFB, Groveport Ohio near-ish to your grandmother. Always planes in the air, sonic booms (in the early days), later in my teens North American or Rockwell in Columbus had Broncos in the air testing all day every day. Now called Rickenbacher, still has a reserve re-fueling unit there but mainly a warehousing hub. My father was full-time air national guardist, SMSgt, weapons specialist. Loved all the photos and memories he had of P51's. All I seem to remember are the F84's, F100's, and I think A6's? The latter were digital and he entered a whole new world screaming and kicking. A couple occasions I got to with him on a weekend and sit in the truck on the runway to watch while he'd run out to the plane and pull the safety pins on the missiles seconds before take off. He and the pilot saluting is one of my favorite memories!
 
Grew up in rural Ohio about an hour south of there. During that time period that was Lockbourne, then Rickenbacher training airspace. We'd see jets all the time chasing each other round the skies. One I remember from the 70s I came out and there was an F-15 with a group of A-7s. they circled for a minute or two then they split in all directions while the F-15 kept going round. After another couple minutes, he went a huntin….
 
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