What planes would you want to fly.

I have been worried that I have been making too much noise on this forum and getting my name in print too much. I am looking back at so much flying life that I loved and lived, though not as successfully as others, that I have started putting it all down in print. I will be eighty this year but I'm not impressed by that BUT I do look back at so many things and people that I enjoyed. I hate to sound like a know-it-all-braggart but i have to pass on so many things in which I was involved. That Mosquito pilot was named Clip Collard and he was my neighbor in Friday Harbor, WA. and his stories were absolutely amazing. I hope that what I'm writing will somehow get finished if only for my children and with luck maybe somebody would like to publish it.
Switches

 

POST AWAY!!! Nobody is complaining

 

I didn't ignore you, Sparky. I have 60 pages and almost 50k words down. It's the same word but it's easy to type over and over. Finally learned to spell it after 25 pages.
Switches

 

A well written book by someone in their eighties, nineties, or even Centurians,
ia far, far better than drivel, written by a 20 something, 30 something, 40 som...........

You listening grand older one?
Fear not the spreading of your wisdom, and / or anecdotes.
Those that choose NOT to read it, have lost a piece of history, never again to be repeated.

And worry not about the repititous display of some nickname, or the fraudulent shame, of passing on information to those of us that choose to read it.

I'm sure I speak for all here and participating, when I say:
You are in our domain, and we want to hear it all!

The only shame, is in keeping those wonderful stories in cobwebs.

Charlie

 

You see - not only will we miss out on your stories, but the stories of those "Clip Collards" who didn't, or haven't preserved those unique experiences for future generations - that you can pass along as well!

And keep up the posting too between chapters

 

He ignores me too.

 

I paint every day for as long as my eyes and nerves hold up. I diddle around with things like honey-do's, have a scotch, then dinner, chat with Judy, and then I write for 2 or 3 hours and cave in to bed. Forty thousand words are sitting in WORD cyber space and thousands more to be put down. What I have put together is for my kids and grandkids first and isn't totally about flying but about life from 1926 until ...Most of it deals with flying in my journey but a lot of it is just plain living. I did a lot of things because " I had never tried that" sort of attitude and there were cars, motorcycles, boats, WW2, commercial fishing, working in the Everglades, mountain climbing, deer hunting, Boeing, antique airplane restorations, airshows, and some flying. The most important thing of all was the people that I met along the way; WW2 Aces, famous writers, crop dusters, stunt pilots, race pilots, plain ol' pilots, and most of all the unsung flyers who nobody ever heard of who took such terrible punishment during the war. And now I'm meeting a new generation of the same ilk, and not all of them are military. I have done nothing of note. So, all I did was to lick the lolly-pop of life and I enjoyed every taste. It would be nice to share it with all who are interested so I keep puttin' it down while there is time and a clear mind......and that's debatable to some, including me when I think of riding back to the airport in the hopper of a Travelaire from a dusting operation ....that had been laying down an arsenic application on celery.

 

A clear mind, a relative term, and we know how we feel about relatives.

 

They both start to stink after three days.

 

Oh that's good. Haven't heard that one before.

 

I've always had a soft spot for the LTV F8 Crusader........but to add a few more........B-52.......CF-101 Voodoo.......Tupolev Bear........and obviously the Concorde.

 

Citation Eagle. Buddy of mine just got one, and he claims that I'm going to get a few hours in it. Will need the type rating though.

Art

 

no surprise here... CONCORDE!
After that:
XB-70 Valkyrie
SR-71

Do you sense a theme developing?

A few more:
Beech Starship
Piaggio Avanti
BD-5 (the mini jet James Bond flew)
Javelin

 

Wy not!

 

The Wright Flyer.

 

I think I would have fun in an RV4

 

Ya got enough room in that shop. Build one when your 'catch up' is caught up.

 

F14 Tomcat; it's not modern and retired, but if you insist on no fighters...

Concorde
SR-71
B17
Mustang
Super Constellation

In no particular order.

 

Don't tempt me!!
I have enough room with the wings attached or two! I just can't get them out the door.

Testatrossa comes first, cheaper to own.

 

Bob:

You WW2 guys are leaving. If you don't put down what happened, no one will know, nor remember after you guys are gone. It isn't bragging, it's keeping a record. Not only is it interesting, it's history. Please record your memories.

Art

 

Art, I write every night for about 2 hours. I have 57,400 words and 190 pages of double spaced lines on paper and I have a lot more to go. It is not just about WW2 but all that I remember from 1928 ( I was born at a very young age in 1926 ) through the depression, pre-war, service experience ( which wasn't anything imortant ) ,my days in college, and 42 years of working for the Boeing Company from the 367-80 to the 777. I am very proud that I was on the original team that started the 777 design process after working in Preliminary Design on the 767 and derivatives that led up to the 777. I still offer ideas to the guys in my old group who are working on the 787 and some of them are taken seriously. I'm nearing 80 but I still feel the desire to pull at the old harness and design airplane stuff. So, I'm writing everything that I can think of mainly for my children and grand children and I'm putting it in book form in hopes that someone will be dumb enough to publish it. Never mind, it will all be readable soon one way or another.
Switches

 

Don't forget to save it to disc. Much easier to reproduce.