Phound a Phantom (and other things with wings)!

So a brief visit into the Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, MI, brought me into contact with this:

F-4 Phantom II, McDonnell-Douglas's finest creation--and proof that even a brick will fly if you give it big enough engines.

Hey Juvat, this button you told me about--it don't do anything. (I made sure to stand well off to the side when checking it out though.)

Yo, Old AF Sarge...Any of this look familiar?

I wonder why they would paint something like this on the aircraft?

This was in there, too.

Be still, my heart. It's a Cessna O-2A.

This humble warbird may not have had the power and punch of a Phantom or a Thud, but then again, it was the brains of airstrike, telling the fast-moving heavies where to put the bombs and rockets.

Two engines, centerline thrust. And three hundred pounds of radios allowing a very busy pilot to talk to units on the ground, fighter-bombers in the air and ATC and command back at base, all while trying to spot targets and dodge ground fire while flying low and slow right over the enemy.

Twice now I have seriously contemplated buying one. And someday perhaps...

They have a heckiflopter, too.

Bell UH-1D "Iroquois", better known as "Huey".
(Look familiar, Old NFO? I seem to recall a few of your stories revolving around these.)

They just got this one in:

A-4C Skyhawk! Cute little sucker, ain't it? Introduced in the mid-1950's, it could carry more bombs that a World War 2 B-17 and deliver them more accurately. It was also the smallest aircraft that could deliver a nuclear weapon at that time.

They did it up as Paul Galanti's bird. That's an honor well-deserved. (Hey Sarge, you might want to consider this warrior for your blog Honor Wall too.)

More later. Stay tuned.

Police Helicopter Coolness

Since this week is Police Week, I figure some pics of Fairfax County, Virginia's Bell 429 helicopters are in order. So here's "Fairfax 1", coming in for a landing.

Fairfax Co. is the first law enforcement aviation unit to fly the 429, and their three-man crews handle all aspects of law enforcement and medivac rescue work. The pilot flies and the other two officers are also paramedics who handle the radios and searchlight/infrared systems when not treating critical patients.

And because "two is one and one is none", they have two. Six million dollars each, plus the cost to operate them, but money well spent to provide for the safety of the people who live in or travel through that part of Northern Virginia.

And Fairfax County is pretty open about what their helos do, having both a FAQ page and listing the reason for every flight on their website. They'll even tell you why the helicopter is flying over your house in the middle of the night if you want to call up and ask them.

Hey, you folks who think that because you bought a Glock, you can do anything that a police officer can...can you equal this?

I'll bet not.

A day surrounded by things with wings.

This week-end, I was blessed to have a good friend, Tom, and his young son Damien come to visit. And on Sunday, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex at Dulles to see some vintage military veterans.

Old NFO was waiting for us when we got there.

What? What did I say?

Anyway, the four of us spent a few nice hours walking among the warbird collection.
Here's the SR-71 that greets you when you come in.

Off to the right of the observation platform is this Chance-Vought F4U-1D Corsair.

Here's another shot, because who doesn't love Corsairs? (Old Japanese pilots excepted.)
I need this Corsair.

Ryan PT-22 trainer.

Northrop P-61C "Black Widow" night-fighter.

Republic F-105D that could not be more awesome if you...covered it with awesome sauce, I guess.

It's awesome.

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was America's first truly supersonic jet fighter.

Next to the Super Sabre sits a Curtiss Helldiver.

And just down the way sits a Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

Admit it...you're humming the song from Top Gun now...or at least thinking it.

North American's F-86 never stopped being cool.

This Cessna O-1A "Bird Dog" did just about everything that a light plane could do in the skies over both Korea and Vietnam.

And this Hawker Hurricane once kicked German ass in the skies over Britain.

Old NFO told us about how he used to fly on these Sikorsky H-34s.

He also had some great stories about his time on these Lockeed Super Constellations.

I'm pretty sure that he logged some hours on this Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny", too (snicker).

And what visit to this museum would be complete without a minute to reflect on one of the two Boeing B-29s that ended the Second World War seventy years ago?

A great day with great people surrounded by great planes. Who could ask for more?

Wop! Wop! Wop! Wop!

The sun was just up this morning when I heard the rotors.

A low-flying helicopter was making passes over the Lair's AO.

What the hell? I looked at Murphy and Belle. "This has to be because of you guys. What did you two do now?"

Turns out they're just spraying for canker worms.

Right over the top. You'd think that he was spraying for German Shepherds. Murphy barked at him.

Back again. Now Belle's barking at him, too.

Does he even know that I have an M-60 with an anti-aircraft sight down here? I'm thinking probably not, or else he wouldn't give me so many straight and level passes.

Going back again, right down the road. And when I fly this low, I get in trouble How is that even fair?

They sure messed up my morning movie time, but it was fun to watch.