Aircraft

[mestiza letty]

The Reno Air Races haven't even started yet...not for another 2 weeks

[yeti76620]

You'd think we had a "Burmuda Triangle" here or somethin'

Yep.... that's how I'm seeing it.....  Guess I better drive around the Reno area and keep a look out for those UFO's shoot'n bright lights down toward the ground!...  LOL  

Origional story still does not make sense... I feel it's half the story......  will keep and eye out for the "Paul Harvey" of it...   

[mestiza letty]

The Sierra Nevada mountain range does have an usual weather pattern...There have been many experierenced pilot lose direction in the winds and the ranges claim them as you know
The meteorologists don't do better than guess 'round here during the winter

Yep.... that's how I'm seeing it.....  Guess I better drive around the Reno area and keep a look out for those UFO's shoot'n bright lights down toward the ground!...  LOL   

Origional story still does not make sense... I feel it's half the story......  will keep and eye out for the "Paul Harvey" of it...   

The RGJ "bird cage liner" is know for givin' up only 1/2 the story

[Leo Tanner]

No, you have a bunch of stoned hippies.  Especially right now.  If that is passing judgment I apologize.

[mestiza letty]

No, you have a bunch of stoned hippies.  Especially right now.  If that is passing judgment I apologize.

I agree on that....The 2 crashes are about 100+ miles from each other and different "time stamps"

[yeti76620]

Speaking of "Stoned Hippies" and Aviation Pilot License......

I'm in the "Trucking" Industry and I've heard it on many occasions that it is easier to get a license to fly planes then to drive Big Trucks....  I get UA'd and/or hair analyzed at least I'd say every other month if not more often with a Medical Exam every two years.....      

This is NOT the case to fly a plane?


On June 1, 2011 3 dead........      

[Leo Tanner]

Once a guy logs his training hours and gets his license he isn't required to anything but pass a written test every once in awhile.  If he is flying commercially it is a different story.  It's the same with motor vehicles, I don't need to get tested to drive my car but those who hold a commercial drivers license do.  Same game in the air as it is on the ground.   

[Texas Lawdog]

It was only in the 90s yesterday for our AirShow. Ol 927 did not make an appearence, but we had several fighters and a Stearman show up. A lot of reenactors on hand, especially WW2 and Viet Nam. We had a good turnout, it was a little windy, I'll take windy over HOT anytime.

[mestiza letty]

R.I.P. Jimmy Leward you were a hero in your sacrifice to spare more lives from hitting the bleachers...
Too early yet to tell how many casulites but from seeing the video there wasn't a prayer he'd survive it
There are You tube videos and AP news to see for yourselves.
Jimmy will certainly be missed from every fan, Reno Air Races have been cancelled..the area is in total shock still

[mestiza letty]

Here's a little more local info from what happened...sometimes a "local spin" is good to get more news than a general view that the AP or Rueters would have...http://www.rgj.com/article/20110916/EVENTS05/110916036/Update-Three-confirmed-dead-Reno-Air-Races-crash-12-critical-condition-Renown?odyssey=mod_sectionstories
I saw the Thunderbirds buzz the city over head too late as usual with the dang camera...They are based to the south of us at USAF Nellis...

[Texas Lawdog]

It had been a xouple of years since they had a crash at Reno. The course is small and the planes fly too fast. It's a air race that has held for many years and there is a great fan following. The pilot did a great job to steer the plane out of harm's way as much as possible.

[Texas Lawdog]

We've got a WW2 reunion over at Addison this weekend. They are honoring a B-29 outfit. "FIFI" will be there for tours today and tomorrow. They will be giving rides to the veterans tomorrow. It is neat to see these guys get in the plane for the first time since the War was over.

[Arcey]

FYI for the 'cross-trained'

Jack Roush remembers close friend killed in Reno air race crash

 The pilot killed in Friday’s crash at a Reno air race was a close friend of NASCAR car owner Jack Roush and had helped Roush through his two plane crashes.

Roush said he met Jimmy Leeward in the mid-1980s. Roush said Leeward was racing in one division of IMSA and Roush in another. As Roush worked on his car, Leeward came over and introduced himself. Roush knew of him and heard that Leeward had a P-51 airplane.

“I’ll have one of those one day,’’ Roush told Leeward.

When Roush bought his P-51 Mustang in 1994 and began flying it, Leeward joined him at Daytona and they flew together.

Their relationship grew.

Roush was severely injured in a plane crash in 2002 after hitting a wire and crashing into a Troy, Ala., lake where he was pulled out of the wreckage and water by a retired Marine trained in underwater search and rescues. Roush was flown to a Birmingham hospital.  “(Leeward) was the first person outside my immediate family that I saw,’’ Roush said.

After Roush’s plane crash last year in Wisconsin that cost him the vision in one eye, it was Leeward who supported his friend.  “I’ve got a trainer, a World War II aerial trainer that has two sets of controls and Jimmy was the first one to climb into the backseat of my P6 when I got back in the air,’’ Roush said. “We’ve always been that close. We’ve been very, very close.’’

Roush said he had talked to Leeward multiple times this week as Leeward competed in the events in Reno. Roush said he last talked to Leeward a day before the fatal crash that also killed at least four spectators.

“I’m doing all right,’’ Roush said of how he was handling the tragedy. “ I’m doing all right. I’m very sad.’’

Credit: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/jack-roush-remembers-close-friend-killed-reno-air-race-crash

[Texas Lawdog]

I didn't know the pilot was that old, the news is saying that he may have blacked out. I am a big aviation fan, but the idea of watching planes flying 500 mph overhead really scares me. I'll watch them on TV, but not in person.

[mestiza letty]

Thanks Arcey for your link to Jimmy's story....'tis true of his character from what I've heard from here in Reno. True gentleman and willing to help anyone, and personable to his fans. Jimmy Leeward was in "perfect health" for flyin' yesterday..... He was 74yrs old. NTSB is all over this backround investigation as reported immediately from the scene, there were 3 reps from NTSB on site. He'd been a contestant of the Reno Air Races since '75 and loved the competition. He'd planned his strategy from early week and made his adjustments. He has a Facebook page and encouraged his fans to see he was up on technology.
The crash scene was horrific as the box seats lining the tarmac from the "east" side were mostly affected. We believe Jimmy was headed "straight for the bleachers" and pulled up to compensate. "The Ghost" didn't respond and took the fateful nosedive.
There are pics that the tail was coming apart at the seams which could have been the cause. We may never know....Officalis here believe it was mechanical and so does his family.
'Tis true Reno has the most challenging race course because of the speed...500MPH for Unlimilited classes we do have the mountain ranges to also consider, and yes they are tight. I watched the races from my sisters' front porch last year as they made their heats. I live on the "other side" of the mountain now and miss alot of the action.
I am 15mi away from the airport with Peavine mountain seperating my sis and I.
We grew up in a drag boat racing family...dad only racing 155mph but in a 18' flatbottom boat...V-drive and a 496 Chev and dry stacks and dual carbs. We were "child hired" pit crew...lol
I have witnessed many a horrific crash....blown fuel being the most unpredictable without "capsules" sometimes landing on the beach and sometimes coming part over water. Hitting the water at 200mph+ you hit the cement...it isn't forgiving.
NASCAR can have the same trials... some tracks are better than others as you know... I'm an ignoramous and freely admit it.

[Texas Lawdog]

At the AirSho, when it was still held at Harlingen, I witnessed an Air Chase in person.  The CAF's plane, an A-10 Havoc(only one in existence) crashed with a full load of fuel. It ws simulating a bomb run. The pilot, who was in his 80's had a heart attack and crashed the plane. The plane burned. The pilot was doing what he loved. No spectators were injured. We have lost 2 other aircraft with crew members lost. A PBY Catalina in Matagorda Bay and the only B-26 near Midland.

[Major E A Sterner]

Here's an interesting airshow,It was recorded sometime in 1945, it shows both American and German aircraft being flown. See how many you can identify...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAV6v0XKue8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAV6v0XKue8</a>

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Wow!  Thanks for posting!

I'm just guessing, but the airfield DOES remind me of Wright Patterson A.B. near Dayton, Ohio.  And if that's true, some of those planes are STILL there in the US Air Force Museum!  (Of course, in 1945 it was still an Army Air Forces base - and no red stripe on the star 'n bar insignia.)

I also noticed that no-one had the cojones to tell the 4-Star (I can't remember his name) that there was ... and still is ... a No Smoking on the Flight Line rule!

And no, I wouldn't have told him, either!

 

 

Great airshow!  I'd like to have been there!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

SHB, Did you notice the B-32 in some of the shots? Today, NONE of them exsist

Could that 4-star have been Hap Arnold?.................Buck

[Major E A Sterner]

Good Eye Buck, that's him

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I wasn't sure about Gen. Arnold.  That fellow didn't look like him to me, but it could be.  It would make sense.  But I still am not sure.

B-32 Dragon?   Yep, I saw it.

I also saw the Italian Macchi MC.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt).  It was one I referred to as still there at Wright Pat.  It's hanging from the ceiling in front of a great, nearly full-size painting of a bomber formation.  It's an awesome sight!!

VERY interesting bit of history!!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Freeman was a foreign evaluation field. There were a lot of low production Axis aircraft there.  There's a companion site for the Freeman Field Recovery team. They're looking for burial sites in the field area in hopes of finding parts of some of these aircraft that were destroyed after eval...............Buck

[Steel Horse Bailey]

4 eyed Buck - where was that Freeman Field?  I asked Mr. Goofle for help but the best "Freeman" info I got back was for Drug Addiction Recovery!
 

I doubt that's it ...

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Not sure myself. Most of it is farmland now. I'll try to dig a little deeper

[Four-Eyed Buck]

SHB, It's in your area, Seymour, IND.