J.

 A Letter from Harold,

  I was out in the garage working on a rebuild of that old 1940s playboy Jr. when the trouble started. I had the tail section hanging over the edge of the table, and eased my way past it to get something off a shelf, but on the way back to the table, I tripped on a wooden box, lost my balance and crashed my back side into the planes' back side and had to listen to the crunching sound of old balsa and glue. By the time I regained what ever composure I had in the first place, I found that the old balsa as well as the old glue joints were both too brittle to be airborne, and best be laid to rest. After I cleaned up the area for a new project, I left for the night, but strangely thought I heard my planes talking to each other like a couple of kids at bed time. The Playboy Jr. said to the Duster "did you see that? I just busted my tail for that guy and he just walks away!" Duster said " yep, he does some odd things every once in a while. He flew me around the field once without extending his antenna. He really cracked me up." The little sea- plane piped up that he was really ready to fly but zoomed down the length of the field without being able to get off the ground. " I think he painted me with too many coats of Dutch boy White lead' and that stuff is heavy!" He is now trying to give me a complete make over with out any wheels this time, and covering with tower coat instead of Dutch boy. I sure hope that tower coat is waterproof!

  "That Dutch guy has a lot of ideas but none of them seem to work out too well. He is even giving me more wing area and flaps to boot."

  The Lazy Bee buzzed that if he wasn't recovered from a warped wing soon, he'd be more of a buzzard than a bee, but being a buzzard might be better anyway.

  As I walked back to the house, I thought they were being a little hard on me, but if they didn't like it I would start on that Super Cub and or the Seamaster III and that would keep the whole bunch captured on the shelf for another year. ----------Oh Boy! Another year of listening to "How come you never come here with an airplane??"

  I'd better get busy!

Harold

Back to top


A P51 story

This has been posted on RC Universe. I haven't read anything that better explores the meaning of the fascination of flight we all enjoy. The post is by GPutt33 as follows..........................

This is an e-mail sent  in regards to the story. Tom

Hello, My name is Lea MacDonald and I'm the writer of the story you have
posted on your site at:
http://www.twistedsticks.org/twisted_sticks_february_2006_new.htm

While I don't mind at all that you have it posted, I'd appreciate it if
you'd post the correct title of the story: P-51 An American Ambassador
Remembered, along with my name, Lea MacDonald. The original story can be
found here for teh news service I write for:
http://www.rense.com/general69/p51.htm

You'll also be able to confirm this email address and my name.

In advance, thank you for your help.

Kindest regards,

Lea MacDonald.

================================================================

P51 An American Ambassador by Lea MacDonald

  It was noon on a Sunday as I recall, the day a Mustang P-51 was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night from some US airport, the pilot had been tired.

  I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her, it was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by. The pilot arrived by cab paid the driver then stepped into the flight lounge. He was an older man, his wavy hair was grey and tossed . . looked like it might have been combed, . . . say, around the turn of the century. His bomber jacket was checked, creased, and worn, it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac.

  After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up . . just to be safe." Though only 12 at the time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire point then pull this lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story.

   The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge, we did. Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds, we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway, we could not. There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" Said the controller. In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze. We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. "Kingston radio calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment. The radio crackled, "Kingston radio, go ahead." "Roger Mustang. Kingston radio would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show! The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking . . . I couldn't forgive myself!" The radio crackled once again, "Kingston radio, do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, Kingston radio, we're coming out of 3000 feet, stand by." We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze.

  The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream. Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze . . her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air.

  At about 400 Mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with an old American pilot saluting . . . imagine . . . a salute. I felt like laughing, I felt like crying, she glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded . . . then the old pilot pulled her up . . . and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory.

  I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest projecting an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will.

  Until that time, I'll just send off a story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's stayed a lifetime.
 

Back to top
 

Meeting is at Dales house February 8th Thursday 7p.m. If you haven't attended a meeting lately or if you've never attended on please feel free to stop by. We always have a good time - the more the merrier.