Table of contents for September - October 2021 in Flight Journal

*A new Unlimited class race record speed. **A new Unlimited class race record speed and the fastest race flown to date with Bill Destefani’s “Strega” in 2nd place at 478.680 mph and Skip Holm in “Tsunami” 3rd place at 478.140 mph. Some consider the 1991 final the best Unlimited race ever.…

In 2019, I went to the EAA's AirVenture fly-in in Wisconsin for just the second time. The first was back in the ’80s when I flew there in a friend’s Piper Arrow. This year I took my Stinson instead. But this is not about the trip but about one of the planes that really caught my eye. I clearly have a thing about old airplanes; after all, like me, mine is over 70. But what caught my eye was a beautifully restored Fleet Finch 16B powered by a 5-cylinder 160 hp Kinner engine. And I love the sound of that fine old engine. The first time that I sat behind a Kinner engine was in a Ryan PT22. It was one of those great summer days when everything goes just…

“George Preddy was one of the greatest fighter pilots who ever squinted through a gunsight; he was the complete fighter pilot.”—General John C. Meyer, commander of the 487th Fighter Squadron and the 352nd Fighter Group in England during World War II and the fourth highest-scoring fighter ace in Europe. P-40s in the Pacific When the U.S. entered WW II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, George Preddy was completing his flying training with the USAAF at Elgin Field, Florida. He graduated as a qualified pilot five days later. He was assigned to the 9th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Pursuit Group and on January 11, 1942, the unit sailed from San Francisco on a troopship bound for Australia, where the squadron began training on the Curtiss…

In the fall of 1950, the increasing numbers of MiG-15s based just north of the Yalu River caused great concern with the Far East Air Force (FEAF), and when these swept-wing fighters started coming south of the river in November 1950, air superiority and safety of United Nations (UN) ground troops were threatened. The call was made to bring the new F-86 Sabres over to Korea to counter the Soviet-built MiGs. The 4th Fighter Wing was the first to respond, but that is not the end of the story. At the same time, there was also a need to bring in a newer fighter bomber that could easily range up to the Yalu and take care of itself in a fight. The F-80Cs were doing a good job of this,…

A derivative of the A-12 and YF-12A, which was designed in the late ’50s, the amazing Blackbird remains the fastest ever jet-powered aircraft in the world today. These “speed demons” last belonged to the Air Combat Command’s 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California, with the last two examples having been based at Edwards AFB, California (Detachment 2, 9th Operations Group). Often referred to as “Det. 2,” they also operated T-38A Talons that were used as companion trainers to keep the pilots and Reconnaissance Systems Officers (RSOs) current. Both the T-38As and the SR-71As had the 9th RW markings and sported the “BB” (Beale’s Best) tail code. “THE ENTIRE AIRFRAME, SYSTEMS, AND FLUIDS HAD TO BE SPECIALLY DESIGNED TO COMBAT EXCESSIVE HEAT—A RESULT OF ITS INCREDIBLY FAST OPERATING SPEEDS. The…

Consequently, redesignated F-51s and F-82s were available in sufficient numbers from bases in Japan and Okinawa to help stem the initial North Korean surprise invasion of South Korea in June 1950. Better suited to low-level flying than the F-80, the Mustang took the brunt of close-air support missions throughout much of the Korean conflict. Still, its liquid-cooled engine was quite vulnerable to ground fire, and nearly 200 were lost in operations. F-51s were also called on to escort B-29s and B-26 Invaders into North Korea and perform aerial cover for ResCap missions. Four Fighter/Bomber Groups, the 8th, 18th, 35th and the 49th, and one Tac/Recon unit (45th) operated alongside units from Australia, South Africa and, later, South Korea during the conflict. In this view, the shark-mouth F-51Ds are from the…

During WW II, the 352nd Fighter Group was part of the 67th Fighter Wing, VIII Fighter Command of the USAAF Eighth Air Force. The Group consisted of three squadrons: the 328th FS, the 486th FS, and the 487th FS. In June 1943, the 352nd FG began to arrive at Bodney, an ex-RAF airfield in Norfolk, England, which was to be its base for most of its time in Europe. By September it was fully operational with the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. It flew numerous escort missions to cover the Eighth Air Force bombing raids against industrial areas, factories, V-weapon sites, submarine pens, and other targets in German-occupied Europe. The first aerial victory for the 352nd was scored by Maj. John C. Meyer, CO of the 487th FS, on November 26, 1943,…

One hundred feet above the Mojave Desert, Lyle Shelton fought to control his famed F8F-2 Bearcat. “The Spirit of ’77,” as the racer was known at the time, was on a qualifying lap, rounding the 8.5-mile racecourse at close to 420 mph. Mac McClain, flying the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered “Red Baron” RB-51, had already qualified ahead of the rest of the field for the 1976 California National Air Races at over 418 mph. But Lyle wanted the top spot. An oil line not suitable for the modified 3,200 horsepower Wright 3350 radial roaring in front of Shelton had been installed in a thrash to get the Bearcat ready. Suddenly it ruptured and the big engine seized. Already a two-time national champion in air racing’s Unlimited class with thousands of hours as…

IN JULY OF 1943, it was the same as now: sunshine was a treasured commodity in Oxfordshire, England. So, even in the middle of a war, when the sun came out and the guns were quiet, young men would do the natural thing and enjoy it in the most natural of ways: with an afternoon nap. The war be damned. So, what does a 21-year-old pilot, in this case, Capt. Thomas B. O’Bannon of the 13th Photo Sq., 7th PRG at Mt. Farm, dream about while snoozing next to his mount? Does he think of his next mission? Does he see himself and his F-5A Lightning “Dim View” flying high above the action, photographing other young men dying far below? Is he thinking, as others do, how unwise it is…