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Detroit, 4:01 AM
Fri Nov 27
1 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/23/09
But let's be very real - if Ken screws up, he doesn't fall out of the sky. Engine quits, you just step out, swear a few times and flip open the phone for AAA. If O'Hara has a sudden headslap moment - I tied a granny knot in the throttle control cable! - stepping out of the vehicle doesn't happen right away. There may not be time to flip open the phone.
If I could have my druthers I'd want full-scale but that may just be sour grapes talking - I haven't done anything 1/10th this awesome, ever.
Mad props, Jim - counter-rotating ones!
11/23/09
So he flew a P-38 trainer, a two-seater like the ones pauljones and Ash78 have posted below, and his job was pretty simple: Take the new guy with him for a couple of days while the rest of the class/squadron played "Follow The Leader", then move that guy to his own P-38 at the back of the line. Take the guy that had moved up all the way to right behind him over to HQ, where they would make up a squadron of the other instructors graduates, who would then learn formation flying while getting the last of their hours ferrying themselves and some new planes to the Pacific or European meat-grinders. Grab a new guy, put him in the seat behind him and go scare the hell out of him while trying to ditch the rest of the class. Get him into a plane at the back of the line, and repeat, for one war. Since his bosses didn't really care where he went as long as he got some flight-hours into the guys, he'd just go exploring, all over Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada (he was based in Kingman and Yuma, AZ), even taking his row of ducks deep into Mexico a few times. All this helped a ton when after the war he got a degree in mining engineering and was sent out into the middle of BFE on mining explorations and prospecting trips for Phelps-Dodge.
11/23/09
If the he didn't like such an agreeable chap, I bet he'd think Bob Lutz is a pussy.
You hear that Bob?! Your next A4 Skyhawk better be built by your own hands in your shed out back.
11/23/09
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11/23/09
Mad respect yo.
11/23/09
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11/23/09
Was he able to use Bondo or did he have to use P38, you know, for authenticity?
11/23/09
On the other hand, Jim O'Hara is the man for building something so awesome by himself. A home-built hero, indeed.
11/23/09
@pauljones: They had some official 2-place P-38 models back in the WWII/postwar era. I seem to remember a bubble canopy on the rear. For example, the P-38 Night Fighter (see pic).
11/23/09
@Brimful of Ash on the 78: This is true.
The one in Chino, though, didn't have the bubble canopy in the rear; it used the standard, single-seat P-38 silehoutte, which was handsome, but uncomfortable for the passenger.
The picture above is the one that I flew in.
11/23/09
But the man served as an officer on PT boats in the South Pacific, so I never doubted his balls.
11/23/09
riding along while sitting on a little metal box with a lap belt, pull 4-5 Gs with the pilot.
That about sums it up. It's scary and uncomfortable, but also the most fun you'll ever have.
They don't do too many fancy moves with the P-38, considering that it's one of about six flyable examples in the world, but they will have some fun with the P-51s and the P-40 that they have. Flying inverted in the P-40 with my helmet against the canopy was a blast.
11/23/09
11/23/09
#tips
11/23/09
He once had an awkward moment...just to see what it was like.
He sweats cologne.
He travels with his wife in a two-thirds-scale P-38.
His wife's name is actually "Mitzi."
He doesn't normally drink beer, but when he does, he drinks it...with a straw.
11/23/09
11/23/09
That's right: a magician.
11/19/09
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11/19/09
Unless you're flying AirTran.
/ba-dum chhh
11/19/09
11/19/09
[www.instantrimshot.com]
11/18/09
Wonder if it can handle these?
11/18/09
Not sure why we need a STOVL, but it seems very useful for countries who need flexible manned air defense but don't have the cash for a carrier fleet.
11/18/09
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11/18/09
By this point in time, they've damn near got it mastered, so they may as well finish the job.
11/18/09
[www.aviationweek.com]
I'm not calling for it to be cancelled, but the way I understand it, the other two types have been hamstrung by the need for THIS type to work. Considering the numbers needed for each type, I think it's more critical for the standard Air Force version to be the focus. But that's just how I read it...I could be wrong about prioritization.
11/18/09
I had thought, though, that the prototypes had long since demonstrated the ability; I was at a hover demonstration for the F-35 a few years back.
11/18/09