No Motorcycle Pictures

[vintagemxr]

Woke up early this morning for some reason and couldn't get back to sleep so I hopped on the bike for a little ride. Lovely, wonderful, perfect weather for riding. Wildflowers along side the road and the currently green desert made for nicer than usual vistas.

I stopped by Coolidge Airport, something I do frequently, but this time I stumbled upon the Coolidge Lion's Club pancake breakfast and fly-in. Not a huge event, not even close, but there were a handful of very nice airplanes to be seen. Not often in that I get to see two P-51 Mustangs parked together.

Here's some pictures. Link to the rest at the bottom of the post:


http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/17705/2871713520028267445S600x600Q85.jpg
P-51 "Cripes A' Mighty"

http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/45188/2188072750028267445S600x600Q85.jpg
Seemed like a redundant name

http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/3359/2346882720028267445S600x600Q85.jpg
Ryan PT-22 Recruit AKA "the widowmaker"

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/47334/2617149520028267445S600x600Q85.jpg
Waco YMF

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/32286/2765905530028267445S600x600Q85.jpg
Aero L-29 Delfin. The owner's other plane is a MiG17


A few more here. (http://rides.webshots.com/album/577211354tCgoJT)

the other Doug (who got his camera back from Nikon and is happy now)

[DarthRider]

The planes are great, thanks!
How were the pancakes...?

I'd loved to have been there to hear the P-51s taking off.

[jamming]

I'd loved to have been there to hear the P-51s taking off.

Dave, IMHO the most beautiful music in the world is a 12 cylinder Rolls Royce Merlin or an Allison 1710 with takeoff power set. The ground shakes, the smell of 110 octane Avgas fills your nose and if that doesnt make you smile....nothing will.

Doug, I need to head out there. Great pics.

[DarthRider]

Rog, I'll take a radial anytime, but I know what you're saying.
Jets just...suck!

[vintagemxr]

Didn't get to try the pancakes, Dave, as I'd had my usual bowl of cereal before leaving the house. Good thing too because the turn out of people at the event was very good and the line for the pancakes and other goodies was quite long.

Sadly, I did not get to hear the big Merlin's run or the two or three operational radial engined planes that were there. Time pressed in and I had to be off before anything too cool flew. I'm not sure if the Mustangs even flew in or are kept in one of the hangers out there. One of the interesting things about the airport is that you never know what will be sitting out. Sometimes there's nothing at all, other times just a generic spam can, other times there's a mini-fly-in. Certainly, if you take a ride out there, Roger, I recommend going the first Saturday of the month because I think that's a regular roll-out day for the people who keep planes out there.

the other Doug

[Capt. Blackadder]

Yeah, I saw those two Mustangs too... flying in close formation over my house. I was in the yard, just doing the usual Saturday maintenance work when I heard that oh-so-melodious Merlin duet overhead... made me drop everything and follow those two lucky bastards for as long as I could. Took me right back to WWII, and I was born in 1967. Man, I would love to have a warbird... with about a million bucks or so to care for it and treat it properly.

[Tassie Devil]

A wonderful report Doug....
Thanks for sharing...

Cheers,

JQ.

[Sir Limpsalot]

Great pics Doug. Simply great.

For those who've never heard a "Merlin", go here..

http://www.spitfireassociation.com.au/spitfire-aircraft/sounds-of-rolls-royce.aspx

Si.

[Deans BMW]

Outstanding, those airplanes are the definition of beautiful.

[1MPH]

Love the old warbirds. My favorite is the Vought F4U Corsair or as our enemy in the Pacific called it "Whispering Death".
Thanks for taking the time to post Doug.

[vintagemxr]

Man, I would love to have a warbird... with about a million bucks or so to care for it and treat it properly.

Very cool to see them fly over! We have a couple of fly-in's a year here in Casa Grande and sometimes I'll see something interesting fly over the house.

I used to have a customer at my hobby shop (late '70s) who had been just a tad too young to get into WWII. He was mad to be a fighter pilot but the darned war ended just as he turned 18. He set about getting his pilots license and A&P certificate anyway and proceeded to buy some of his dream birds as war surplus. First was a Stearman in flying condition for $500. He had to pawn his watch to buy enough gas to get him home. Next came a Grumman Wildcat, also for $350. Later he and his brother each bought a Corsair in flying condition for $700 (the plane's value as scrap aluminum). Then about '55 he bought his dream plane, a P-51 for $2000 which he got by selling the other planes. His airplane friends told him he was nuts, the plane was dangerous and a gas hog, and would kill him. He told me that in '62 he sold the Mustang for $7000 and laughed all the way to the bank with all the money he'd made from it. Lo those many years later he told me how sorry he was to have let the plane(s) slip away as they were by that point well beyond his financial reach. I might have been tempted to call BS on the stories but I'd been to his house and seen all the old pictures and his Type Ratings running up through the B-25 bomber. Interesting character, difficult man, but with lots of great stories.

I'd guess these days to own a Mustang and fly it that you'd need maybe $100k a year or more for insurance, basic maintenance, and lots and lots of fuel even if you didn't fly it much.

the other Doug