On the Ramp Right Now!

Maybe...but here in the US, for what ever reason, outhouses have historically included a crescent moon on their doors or sides:

Well THERE you have it !!!

Once again, the vast data base also known as the Cox Engine Forum comes through in a clutch!

My own long-term employer has caught crap for a century because of it's use of the 'Moon and Stars' logo...which originally began as a method of ID for shippers and hadlers who might not be able to read!

One of my heroes, John Ellis, an incredibly tenacious builder, restorer, pilot, and human encyclopedia of all things Ranger powered, finally got time to work on his own baby, his silver PT-19.

He's a walking example of a better mouse trap making the world beat a path to your door, and in his senior years, now finds a career where his calendar is jammed with aircraft owners wanting his time.  Ranger engines are his specialty, but just about anything throwing pistons back and forth can show up in his little shop.

The Ranger in his own PT-19 had a cylinder leaking oil, and so was removed and hauled home.  He had it back on the plane, ready to run, on Sunday, and made some laps over the airport to test it.

Saying on return, "it's doing better than me", in reference to the cold air in the open cockpit, he'd found the oil leak and it's attendant fouling gone.












In 2012, John was flying the PT-19 on a 'Flour Bombing Run' in practice for an upcoming airshow event, when he allowed the old trainer to stall, and spin into the ground.  Amazingly, he and his reporter passenger were banged up, but not badly injured.

The plane was owned by a group at the time, and was totaled by it's insurance company.  John bought the wreck from the insurance company, and almost immediately began it's repair back to it's former glory.









Like I said, "Tenacious" !!!

RknRusty wrote:Ditto, Bravo, thanks for the followup.
So, do all PT-19s have Ranger engines? And Fairchild is the manufacturer, right?

Again, I know I could google that, but Skynet's answers are not as nearly fulfilling as sharing information with my network of brilliant friends. So I'll check back.
Rusty

There's a radial-powered variant, called a PT-23, and some Canadian versions with T-6 type canopy enclosure...not sure what they were tagged.  Could include more if my computer was a bit faster!

crankbndr wrote:It had to be extraordinary piloting skill that kept that low altitude stall  from being fatal, going in with nose or wing down would have been much worse.
I looks like the aircraft "pancaked" the ground, does he talk about how he survived that crash?

Yeah, John took all responsibility for the crash, calling it the dumbest thing he'd ever done.  He simply let his attention stray from flying the PT while it was low and slow, and had almost no time to react when it stalled and snapped to it's left.

It's left wing actually saved it from being worse...hitting first and crumpling, while pushing in the left longerons, snapping the gear and helping absorb the shock.  The plane ended up 180 degrees from it's original heading.  If it HAD hit straight-on, it would have been MUCH worse.

What DID make it worse (for me) was all the local 'Chuck Yeager Wannabe's' coming out of the woodwork with their smirkish summations of the crash.  Aviation-wise, these sorry worms weren't fit to tie John's shoes, and I said as much.  John made a mistake, no doubt, and had owned it...no excuses, and went through the hoops dealing with the Feds afterward.  You can get a real gauge of people's inner character in a deal like this, and I still have plenty of contempt for these losers.

We even had some politics come into play afterward, as John needed extra hangar space hauling the broken PT around while he recovered and finished his other projects.  Somehow, there was an implied 'liability'  in our helping him relocate some of his stuff in city-owned hangars.  Several other local pilots quickly stepped up, volunteering hangar space, and we played a game of 'musical airplanes'...doing whatever shuffling we had to do, on the clock or not.

But now here we are, great times and all, and an honor to have this guy to call me his friend.

Headed down to the airport for our annual Christmas Party, and was REALLY surprised to see one of our local billionaire's DC-3's making a high-speed run out on runway 20.  He owns two of them and neither has been started for several years, languishing with several other aviation jewels he has tucked into his big hangar at the end of the ramp.

I was told that a crew had showed up to get the old hangar queen airworthy again, and had been working on it for a good while.

The old airliner made it's run, sans cowlings, and taxied back down the ramp to be checked over.  One of my coworkers was fueling the plane as I headed home, and I swung by to get another photo as the crew was pouring oil into the right engine.

Beautiful from a distance, it was always rumored to be the more 'troublesome' of the two based here, but that all may be airport urban legend.

Apparently, the guys working on the plane are not real forthcoming with information, but I'll snoop around to get some details, and maybe it's route to it's new home 'across the pond'...

happydad wrote:

Kim wrote:Headed down to the airport for our annual Christmas Party, and was REALLY surprised to see one of our local billionaire's DC-3's making a high-speed run out on runway 20.  He owns two of them and neither has been started for several years, languishing with several other aviation jewels he has tucked into his big hangar at the end of the ramp.

I was told that a crew had showed up to get the old hangar queen airworthy again, and had been working on it for a good while.

The old airliner made it's run, sans cowlings, and taxied back down the ramp to be checked over.  One of my coworkers was fueling the plane as I headed home, and I swung by to get another photo as the crew was pouring oil into the right engine.

Beautiful from a distance, it was always rumored to be the more 'troublesome' of the two based here, but that all may be airport urban legend.

Apparently, the guys working on the plane are not real forthcoming with information, but I'll snoop around to get some details, and maybe it's route to it's new home 'across the pond'...

I flew to South Korea in one of those when the USS Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans in 1968, ( I think). Oh what fun in freezing Korea.

Happydad

Appreciate your service H.D. I read the book written by (I think) the Pueblo's captain, but can't remember it's title. I DO remember the "Hawaiian Good Luck Sign" the crew used to mock North Korea's propaganda photos !

Sort of a side note, but this made me think a of a young man who was part of the group that brought a C-47 to our airshow back in 2010.

We got a kick out of his relay of fuel orders and his totally serious attitude toward his chores with the Dakota. Figure that, by now, he's probably working toward flying these old warhorses...