I've never been an active plane spotter, but I've been goofy over airplanes for
as long as I can remember. There was a time when I knew ALL of the military
airplanes & who flew them. (nation, service branch, ...)
When I was a child (around 1955 or so) the Air Force still put on flying
demonstrations on Memorial Day.
They would fly formations of aircraft around the state and there must have been
some kind of press release giving a schedule of when they would be passing over
certain points because I remember knowing what time & which direction to look
for them.
Around here it was mostly C-47s & C-119 Flying Boxcars (because Ft Bragg & the
82nd). I don't think the Air Force started using C-130s until after the DoD
phased out those aerial power demonstrations.
And what looked like B-29 bombers, which I now think might have been KB-50
tanker aircraft and KC-97 Stratotankers along with C-97 Stratofreighters (all
developed from the B-29 air frame).
I also remember formations of propeller driven fighters, probably P-51s, but
might have included A-1 Skyraiders. I believe the Air Force Reserve still had a
few P-51s in the mid-50s.
The other thing I remember is B-52 bombers coming in low over US 70 east of
Goldsboro, NC (landing at Seymour Johnson AFB).
They'd have been about a mile from their touchdown point on the runway and they
are *HUGE* when you see them up close only a couple hundred feet off the ground.
The impression from seeing them in the air like that is even more dramatic than
when you see them on the ground when they're on static display at an AFB open house.
And just a bit farther down the road you passed by Cherry Point and there were
often various USMC or Navy aircraft passing low over the highway on their way to
the runway (4,000 ft from the threshold on 5R).
The other one that is amazing to see in the air from that vantage point (close
up under the flight path when they're landing) is the C5 Galaxy, but they
weren't around when I was a child; first introduced in 1970.
On 8/19/2021 20:49:40, [email protected] wrote:
I remember plane-spotting for Vampires and Venoms flying out of the FAA base in
Hampshire - and Spitfires (Mk19) were
the first I ticked off in my spotter's book.
First actual air show I went to was at Biggin Hill: the sight of Spitfires
coming up out of the valley in a low pass was
something else!
John in Brisbane
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cottrell <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, 20 August 2021 6:10 AM
To: pentax list <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: ADVICE PLEASE
Holy Moses!
Cot
On 19 Aug 2021, at 19:41, John <[email protected]> wrote:
I remember when they flew the Grumman F-11 Tiger.
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