https://vimeo.com/101647637

When I was a kid I saw one of the twin fuselage planes over Lansing. I think the sound made me look up. Never seen one since.

 

that was a neat video... my uncle flew a p38 he was an air force major and my old man who died in 1972 was a b24 bombardier

 

Thanks for the link Chris. I hadn't seen that one yet.

The P38 was one of the many aircraft installed with .50 caliber guns built by Oldsmobile during the war effort.

This aircraft was used mostly in the pacific because of its long range. I've always considered it dual purpose, both fighter and bomber.

I not sure if I remember correctly, I think an expedition in the frozen tundra recovered one of these planes frozen in a glacier many years back. I'll have to look back into that story.

 

There is a Warbird Museum less than 4 miles from our home, and a couple of times a year they break out a few of the planes and actually fly right over our home. P-51's, P-38, T-3, B-17. Those big recips are so loud that you can almost feel them when they fly over. Very cool!

 

Last summer I scratched off an item from my Bucket list when I took a ride in the B17 "Texas Raiders".

 

Way to go Ed! I remember reading about your ride. I would love to do that.

These war birds always bring a tear to my eye. So do the steam powered locomotives of their time.

I hope further generations understand just what brought about their designs and purposes.

Its up to them to process that and understand.

 

Please rember that EAA Air Venture will be going on during the OCA Nationals in Oshkosh. If you have never gone you will be impressed and you never know who will be in the crowd.
Chris most likely most of the military plane you saw came from the 110th Air National Guard in Battle Creek.

 

Texas has a large collection of old war birds. They are an awesome site to see.

 

That was a really good movie. Those vintage planes are so cool. It's easy to see how vintage car guys can appreciate vintage planes as well.

"The P38 was one of the many aircraft installed with .50 caliber guns built by Oldsmobile during the war effort. " ~don71

I recently discovered an entire marketing campaign designed around the production of these guns by Oldsmobile. The ads were actually intended to get people to buy "War Bonds" to support the war effort. Just look at the graphics and content... can you even imagine this type of an ad in modern times?
I bought about a dozen of these ads and they're on the walls in my garage now. They look pretty cool too.

 

Great video thanks for posting.
My favorite warbird was there , the F-4 "Phantom" (the big green jet flanked by two smaller white jets). I was a mechanic on them from 69 to 73 . I worked on all the USAF versions , F-4C, F-4D, F-4E, and RF-4C's.

 

Thanks for sharing those photos! kpl70sx

Here is a little info on what I was referring to in my earlier post about the frozen P38.

 

Very cool hands on knowledge of History, and Thanks for your service Charlie.

Brett

 

Did anyone see the story/documentary a few years back where a group tried to remove the "Kee Bird". It was a B29 that was abandoned in Greenland also. The crew had to set down because of engine failure back in the late forties. They group replaced all of the engines, replaced tires, checked everything else out and as they were taxing it to their makeshift runway it caught fire because of a gasoline powered generator that had overturned and set fire to the rear of the plane. All was lost, time, labor, money as well as a preserved B29.

 

Great video, we had an annual air show here for twenty years, those machine are just great. I would like to get to the Air Zoo down in Kalamazoo in the near future (1 1/2 hours away). When I went to Ferndale, Mi. to visit my 90 year old aunt, last fall, I found out the my ex uncle (they divorced when I was a kid) was a mechanic on a B25 crew during WW2, and helped get one "in tune" at the Willow Run air museum, so it could fly a few years back, and found out that my older cousin whom I have not seen in about 50 years, flew on a B52 crew during the cold war, replete with nukes!

 

The P38 that was recovered from the ice is appropriately named Glacier Girl and is one of 6 that are in flying condition. You could buy one for $1,250 after the war. The P38 has counter rotating engines which eliminates most of the yaw problems.

I did see that documentary about Kee Bird. That is a heart breaking story. If I remember right, the head mechanic actually got sick and died. I wonder how much that guy spent on that effort. I do love these old planes. We are fortunate in the Dallas area in that the CAF is moving to Dallas.

 

Thye entire doc is available. Just Google Kee Bird and get the whole story.

 

Ed, every time I think I'm doing something hard or tough when working on a car, I think about those guys changing out those 4 engines outdoors north of the Arctic circle - 400 miles from the closest building. Makes everything else seem so easy.