October 2021 Articles

• In 2019, I went to the EAA’s AirVenture fly-in in Wisconsin for just the second time. The first was back in the ’80s when I flew there in a friend’s Piper Arrow. This year I took my Stinson instead. But this is not about the trip but about one of the planes that really caught […]

  

  Fleet Finch The classic WW II Canadian trainer

  In 2019, I went to the EAA’s AirVenture fly-in in Wisconsin for just the second time. The first was back in the ’80s when I flew there in a friend’s Piper Arrow. This year I took my Stinson instead. But this is not about the trip but about one of the planes that really caught […]
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• One hundred feet above the Mojave Desert, Lyle Shelton fought to control his famed F8F-2 Bearcat. “The Spirit of ’77,” as the racer was known at the time, was on a qualifying lap, rounding the 8.5-mile racecourse at close to 420 mph. Mac McClain, flying the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered “Red Baron” RB-51, had already qualified ahead […]

  

  Rare Bear – The wrecked F8F-2 Bearcat that became Air Racing’s winningest Unlimited racer

  One hundred feet above the Mojave Desert, Lyle Shelton fought to control his famed F8F-2 Bearcat. “The Spirit of ’77,” as the racer was known at the time, was on a qualifying lap, rounding the 8.5-mile racecourse at close to 420 mph. Mac McClain, flying the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered “Red Baron” RB-51, had already qualified ahead […]
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• With thousands of late-model P-51s available at the end of WW II, the Mustang became the predominant airframe in active and guard units into the 1950s until they were supplanted by jets. Consequently, redesignated F-51s and F-82s were available in sufficient numbers from bases in Japan and Okinawa to help stem the initial North Korean […]

  

  P-51: The 18th Fighter Bomber Group

  With thousands of late-model P-51s available at the end of WW II, the Mustang became the predominant airframe in active and guard units into the 1950s until they were supplanted by jets. Consequently, redesignated F-51s and F-82s were available in sufficient numbers from bases in Japan and Okinawa to help stem the initial North Korean […]
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• In July of 1943, it was the same as now: sunshine was a treasured commodity in Oxfordshire, England. So, even in the middle of a war, when the sun came out and the guns were quiet, young men would do the natural thing and enjoy it in the most natural of ways: with an afternoon […]

  

  The Sleeping Pilot

  In July of 1943, it was the same as now: sunshine was a treasured commodity in Oxfordshire, England. So, even in the middle of a war, when the sun came out and the guns were quiet, young men would do the natural thing and enjoy it in the most natural of ways: with an afternoon […]
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• P-40s in the Pacific When the U.S. entered WW II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, George Preddy was completing his flying training with the USAAF at Elgin Field, Florida. He graduated as a qualified pilot five days later. He was assigned to the 9th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Pursuit […]

  

  Mustang – Ace of Aces

  P-40s in the Pacific When the U.S. entered WW II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, George Preddy was completing his flying training with the USAAF at Elgin Field, Florida. He graduated as a qualified pilot five days later. He was assigned to the 9th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Pursuit […]
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• In the fall of 1950, the increasing numbers of MiG-15s based just north of the Yalu River caused great concern with the Far East Air Force (FEAF), and when these swept-wing fighters started coming south of the river in November 1950, air superiority and safety of United Nations (UN) ground troops were threatened. The call […]

  

  Straight Wings vs. Swept Wings

  In the fall of 1950, the increasing numbers of MiG-15s based just north of the Yalu River caused great concern with the Far East Air Force (FEAF), and when these swept-wing fighters started coming south of the river in November 1950, air superiority and safety of United Nations (UN) ground troops were threatened. The call […]
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