April 2024 Articles

• When warbird pilot Mark Todd pulled back on the stick and left the runway at Chino Airport on November 30, 2023, it was the first time that “Fatal Fang,” the P-63A-7 acquired by Yanks Air Museum founder Charles Nichols in 1977, had flown in 40 years. “Overall it flew great,” Todd reported, noting the extensive restoration work done by the California museum’s Flight Team led by Frank and Casey Wright to make “Fatal Fang” airworthy again. The Kingcobra was first restored in the late 1970s and flew sporadically between 1979 and 1983. Thereafter, the airplane was on static display as […]

  

  “Fatal Fang” Flies Again

  When warbird pilot Mark Todd pulled back on the stick and left the runway at Chino Airport on November 30, 2023, it was the first time that “Fatal Fang,” the P-63A-7 acquired by Yanks Air Museum founder Charles Nichols in 1977, had flown in 40 years. “Overall it flew great,” Todd reported, noting the extensive restoration work done by the California museum’s Flight Team led by Frank and Casey Wright to make “Fatal Fang” airworthy again. The Kingcobra was first restored in the late 1970s and flew sporadically between 1979 and 1983. Thereafter, the airplane was on static display as […]
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• The increasing numbers of MiG-15s based just north of the Yalu River in the fall of 1950 caused great concern with the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), and when these sweptwing fighters started coming south of the river in November 1950, air superiority and safety of UN ground troops were threatened. The call was made to bring the new F-86 Sabres to Korea to counter the Soviet-built MiGs. The 4th Fighter Wing was the first to respond, but that is not the end of the story. At the same time, there was also a need to bring in a newer […]

  

  Straight-Wing heroes – F-84 pilots battle—and beat!—the MiG-15

  The increasing numbers of MiG-15s based just north of the Yalu River in the fall of 1950 caused great concern with the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), and when these sweptwing fighters started coming south of the river in November 1950, air superiority and safety of UN ground troops were threatened. The call was made to bring the new F-86 Sabres to Korea to counter the Soviet-built MiGs. The 4th Fighter Wing was the first to respond, but that is not the end of the story. At the same time, there was also a need to bring in a newer […]
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• Editors’ note: this article is a compilation of I-was-there stories gathered by two of our main contributors: Warren Thompson and Jim Busha You had to be better than just a good stick as an Army aviator to be selected to fly the Mohawk in Vietnam. The enemy on the ground was bad enough to contend with, but the ever changing weather, mountainous terrain and political infighting between military branches on how the Mohawk would be utilized and armed was a never-ending battle for its crews. The Grumman Mohawk to some, at first glance, was thought of as a “bug-eyed” hideous […]

  

  The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly – Flying the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk in Vietnam

  Editors’ note: this article is a compilation of I-was-there stories gathered by two of our main contributors: Warren Thompson and Jim Busha You had to be better than just a good stick as an Army aviator to be selected to fly the Mohawk in Vietnam. The enemy on the ground was bad enough to contend with, but the ever changing weather, mountainous terrain and political infighting between military branches on how the Mohawk would be utilized and armed was a never-ending battle for its crews. The Grumman Mohawk to some, at first glance, was thought of as a “bug-eyed” hideous […]
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• The year was 1928 and the concept of the airplane was changing radically. While barnstormers still landed rickety surplus biplanes in pastures to hop passengers, those days were waning fast. Utility was driving designs to be faster and sleeker. But, when the Lockheed Vega flew in June of that year, it was as if a spaceship had landed. Its lines and performance were a quantum leap forward, especially as it continued to be improved to keep up with the rapidly changing times. The Vega was born into the equivalent of the Space Race: every aircraft manufacturer was trying to establish […]

  

  An Icon Aloft – A rare Golden Age DL-1 Lockheed Vega

  The year was 1928 and the concept of the airplane was changing radically. While barnstormers still landed rickety surplus biplanes in pastures to hop passengers, those days were waning fast. Utility was driving designs to be faster and sleeker. But, when the Lockheed Vega flew in June of that year, it was as if a spaceship had landed. Its lines and performance were a quantum leap forward, especially as it continued to be improved to keep up with the rapidly changing times. The Vega was born into the equivalent of the Space Race: every aircraft manufacturer was trying to establish […]
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• Vlado Lenoch flew reconnaissance P-51A “Lil’ Margaret” while being shot from the tail of a B-25 bomber. Note the camera in the side of the fuselage, in the right side of the star and bar. An EAA Airventure Grand Champion, “Lil’ Margaret” is now owned by Silvia Sorlini of Carzago, Italy. (Photo by Paul Bowen) Earning my wings I was faced with a dilemma back in 1940. I wanted to become a fighter pilot, but the Army Air Corps wanted me to get a college education first. Thankfully, a rather simple situation presented itself to me in June 1941. The […]

  

  Killer cameras – Recon missions in the ETO

  Vlado Lenoch flew reconnaissance P-51A “Lil’ Margaret” while being shot from the tail of a B-25 bomber. Note the camera in the side of the fuselage, in the right side of the star and bar. An EAA Airventure Grand Champion, “Lil’ Margaret” is now owned by Silvia Sorlini of Carzago, Italy. (Photo by Paul Bowen) Earning my wings I was faced with a dilemma back in 1940. I wanted to become a fighter pilot, but the Army Air Corps wanted me to get a college education first. Thankfully, a rather simple situation presented itself to me in June 1941. The […]
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• The tropic air thrummed with the pulsing drone of Pratt & Whitney radials as 34 Grumman F4F-4s descended into the traffic pattern of Guadalcanal’s grass field known as Fighter One. It was April 26, 1943, and the Wildcats of Navy Fighter Squadron 11 landed less than three months after the strategic island was secured by American forces. The Sundowners squadron was part of [carrier] Air Group 11, previously slated to board the aircraft carrier Hornet (CV-8), which had been sunk in the October 1942 Battle of Santa Cruz. Thus, “CAG-11” went ashore, operating under Commander Aircraft Solomon Islands, ComAirSols, which […]

  

  double ace! – Navy pilot chalks up 16 kills in Wildcats & Hellcats

  The tropic air thrummed with the pulsing drone of Pratt & Whitney radials as 34 Grumman F4F-4s descended into the traffic pattern of Guadalcanal’s grass field known as Fighter One. It was April 26, 1943, and the Wildcats of Navy Fighter Squadron 11 landed less than three months after the strategic island was secured by American forces. The Sundowners squadron was part of [carrier] Air Group 11, previously slated to board the aircraft carrier Hornet (CV-8), which had been sunk in the October 1942 Battle of Santa Cruz. Thus, “CAG-11” went ashore, operating under Commander Aircraft Solomon Islands, ComAirSols, which […]
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• Major Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson, who served as the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Demonstration Pilot until the end of 2022, described the first time he flew the Raptor in formation with a P-51 Mustang as a part of the USAF Heritage Flight as “surreal.” “You pinch yourself,” he says. “You’re like, ‘Holy cow! I’m here flying a Raptor next to this Mustang.’ You can hear the Merlin from the cockpit of the Raptor which is wild!” The highly popular Heritage and Legacy flights pair WW II, Korean, and Vietnam-era warbirds with today’s Air Force and Navy jet fighters in tight formation […]

  

  The Mission, the Honor, and the Thrill – In the cockpit with the pilots who fly the USAF Heritage Flight and U.S. Navy Legacy Flight Demonstrations

  Major Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson, who served as the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Demonstration Pilot until the end of 2022, described the first time he flew the Raptor in formation with a P-51 Mustang as a part of the USAF Heritage Flight as “surreal.” “You pinch yourself,” he says. “You’re like, ‘Holy cow! I’m here flying a Raptor next to this Mustang.’ You can hear the Merlin from the cockpit of the Raptor which is wild!” The highly popular Heritage and Legacy flights pair WW II, Korean, and Vietnam-era warbirds with today’s Air Force and Navy jet fighters in tight formation […]
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