Oh, this was fun!

A couple of weekends ago, I was down in Galveston/Houston for the Wings over Houston airshow.  During preparation, I got the opportunity to fly in Lone Star's P-51.  The pilot was Cousin Gumby.  The flight was some formation work with the museum's P-47, flown by Tuna, out over the beach in preparation for their performance in the USAF Heritage Flight.  Way cool.

(Actually, it was way hot!  It is very warm with the sun beating down through that canopy, and this thing doesn't have an air conditioner!)

  

 

The Heritage Flight during the show, with Gumby in the P-51, Tuna driving the P-47, Ichi in the QF-4E, and Shadow sticking the F-22A.  Beautiful job, guys!

All photos by yours truly, except the top one, graciously provided by Outlaw13.

We Remember

This is the song that plays during each and every USAF Heritage Flight.

A Hero Passes

The last surviving original crew member of 'Thunderbird', B-17G 42-38050 assigned to the 303rd BG, passed away on Dec. 1.

S/SGT Walter E. Hein was the ball turret gunner on the aircraft's original crew during 24 missions over Europe.

'Thunderbird' is the subject of Keith Ferris' huge mural painting in the Smithsonian, and the namesake for Lone Star Flight Museum's B-17.

Thunderbird went on to fly 112 total missions over Europe with multiple crews, survivng the war only to be scrapped.



Godspeed SGT Hein ...

Gal and Hal do the Heritage Flight

Lone Star Flight Museum's Galveston Gal and Tarheel Hal both flew Heritage Flights at Randolph AFB during their show on the last weekend of October. Gumby flew the P-51 and the P-47 (not at the same time, obviously) with Rider, in his Shaw AFB based F-16.

Beautiful weekend, great weather, very large crowd, the only negative points were lots of engine oil and antifreeze to deal with. Most excellent fun!

Photo Credits - yours truly

Tarheel Hal Visits Sheppard AFB

Cousin Gumby brought Tarheel Hal to Sheppard AFB for their airshow a couple of weekends ago. The massive Thunderbolt is one of a handful of this WWII veteran fighter in the world that are still flying. This airshow found Gumby horsing it around in the company of Rider, flying a 20th Fighter Wing F-16C from Shaw AFB, performing the USAF Heritage Flight.

I had the priviledge of spending a lot of time underneath the P-47 over the weekend, cleaning oil from the massive radial engine off the belly.

Thanks to aztec01 and Outlaw13 for use of the photos...

Nice TOT - For a Plane Full of Aggies!

LSFM's B-25 performing a flyover of Kyle Field in College Station, before the A&M/SMU game back in Septamber. Cousin Gumby and btother Larry are flying, with Cousin Me and a few others on board. All are Aggies (they actually found the field, and on time - a feat that had to be an accident, I assure you!).

First shot is from the stands, second is from inside the nose. (Sorry for the noise level in the second one, and the vibration - it really is that loud and shaky inside of the airplane!)

Lone Star Flight Museum On The Move

The folks at Lone Star Flight Museum and the City of Houston have announced that LSFM is moving. The devastation the museum suffered at the hands of Hurricane Ike convinced the museum's staff and directors that it needed to be moved to a location that was on ground higher than sea level. So, beginning in about 18 months, construction on a new facility at Ellington Field will begin.

The museum is currently located in Galveston, right on the coast. Ellington Field, a former Air Force base, is about 45 miles north on the south side of Houston. The move is estimated to take 3 years.

Uncle Jack and Thunderbird

I ran across this video over at Warbird Information Exchange. It is kind of long (16 minutes), but is well worth the view. It details TV actor Gary Sinese's efforts to get his Uncle Jack a ride in a B-17. Jack Sinese was a B-17 navigator in WWII. Gary's friendship with the folks at Lone Star Flight Museum worked out, and surprise - Jack finds himself on a ride in Thunderbird.

This is pretty neat ...

www.sleepingdogtv.com/reel/Uncle-Jack.aspx



p.s. - Cousin Gumby flew the Fort during this flight, his is the voice you hear asking Jack if he wants to go flying.