On the Ramp Right Now!

Had this fellow stop by yesterday for some 100LL on his way from Rockford, Illinois to Memphis, Tennessee.

Flown by a former Phantom Driver, it's a privately-owned T-28, unlike some of the more common "Foundation-Funded Planes" we usually see.

An interesting detail is the tiny light fixture on each gear leg (most visible in the photo of the nose strut).  This allowed night-time confirmation to LSO's and instructors that the student pilot did, indeed, have his landing gear extended.

Had this Navion stop through today.  Didn't get any info, other than it's a 1951 model built by Ryan.

Pretty Classy Ride.

Was it a Berkley Kit? Pretty sure they had one...but don't remember it''s span. I'll try to remember to check when I get home (Old Magazines)...

Found this one by Berkley in the February 1956 issue of Model Airplane News. It's designed for R/C, but maybe he did a conversion on it? A good-sized scale plane for the time.

Also spotted this color back-cover ad for a T-28....Cleverly disguised as a Jim Walker "Fire Bee" !

You're very welcome !

I just KNEW I'd seen that sucker somewhere, and it wasn't going to leave me a lone until I tagged it!

Yeah...as far as I'M concerned, a guy had to be a SERIOUS modeler to build something like that...and THEN trust an early radio not to re-kit the thing!!!

Heck Yeah! Load whatever lead you got to in order to get that CG where it belongs and crank that sucker up ! If possible, get some stills and video for the Forum !

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Lake "Buccaneer" !




A man after my own heart..."Engine on a Stick"  !!!!!!



The little "bump" with air intake just forward of the pylon is a 100 octane-powered heater for the cabin.





The nose gear castors...steering by differential braking of the main gear.



"Trailing Link" Gear...prefered by F-18's and Buccaneers !!



The up-turned surfaces are trim tabs.  Monstrous in size, compared to the ones seen on Cessnas and Pipers, they are needed to off-set the pitch-down-on-power tendencies brought on by the pylon-mounted engine.



Gear in transit...heading for Florida...

Yeah...the Buccaneer, ain't a speed-demon!  The young airline pilot/owner, who also flies Cessna 185's on floats, told me that, "The Lake is one of those planes that does several things fairly-well, but no one thing REALLY well.  The useful load and speed make it basically a 'standard-wheeled Cessna 172 in the air'"

Of course I refused to accept this heresie, and countered with a highly-technical response, "Yeah...but it's SO cute!"    Durn young whipper-snappers don't know what's cool.  I was "imprinted" as a kid by some T.V. show that featured a scene where a guy and his girlfriend landed one in a lake, popped the canopy and dove out into the water for a swim.  I decided then, and still believe, there WAS nothing cooler!  Even approaching 60 years of age, I STILL resent it when real world numbers encroach on my fantasies...

My first "REAL" R/C model (one that I could steer with a stick, rather than a push-button) was a Jetco "Navigator".  Granted, the lead-heavy EK Logitrol Radio kept it from ever flying off water, but it was STILL cool anyway!  

"Engines-on-a-Stick Rule" !!!!!!



Paducah Airport 1976

Not a really big deal...we got A-36 Bonanzas all over the place...this one's paint just caught my eye, parked on the back ramp in the late-afternoon sun. A nice break from the standard white-base-with-color-trim scheme we see so much:

Rolled into work this morning to find this VERY nice De Havilland "Twin Otter" parked on the ramp.

It's Canadian crew is delivering it to St. Martins !!!

I dunno Rusty...these little rascals seem more than happy to hop off the ground, and climb like they're silly !!!