In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou Makes Top Secret Visit to Yanks Air Museum in Chino, Calif.
By Donia Moore
(Courtesy of Yanks Air Museum)Most people love surprises. The people at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, Calif. received a double whammy of a surprise when officials recently arranged a top-secret visit of Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou to the museum. A fan of aviation history and vintage aircraft, Ma came to meet with 92-year-old retired Lieutenant Colonel Harold Javitt, USAF. Javitt is a former member of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force. Nicknamed the Flying Tigers, the group consisted of three squadrons with approximately 30 aircraft each. It was composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC), recruited under presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The fierce shark-faced nose art of the Flying Tigers remains one of the most recognizable images of any individual combat aircraft or combat unit of World War II. The Flying Tigers were responsible for defending China against Japanese forces during World War II. Javitt and his family members have been invited to participate in Taiwan’s military parade held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan.
EAA Clears Confusion Over Training in Restricted Category Aircraft
Uncertainty surrounding flight training in restricted category aircraft, and potentially experimental exhibition aircraft, has been clarified following EAA efforts to reach out on behalf of those who own these unique aircraft and train pilots to fly them.
EAA received reports from specialty aircraft examiners of restricted category aircraft that the FAA was considering policy changes that would prohibit the aircraft from being used for initial type rating exams, recurrent proficiency exams, and other flights necessary to operate as pilot in command of the aircraft. The restrictions would have put owners in the awkward position of not being able to qualify pilots to fly their unique airplanes.
While aircraft in the restricted category are generally not associated with EAA members, such as agricultural and firefighting aircraft, any policy change could have an unintended effect on experimental exhibition category aircraft, including warbirds and unique vintage airplanes.
Geneseo Airshow 2013
By A. Kevin Grantham & Stan Piet
The Museum’s C-47 dropping paratroopers just as it did 69 years ago in support of the Allied invasion of France. (A. Kevin Grantham)So, you want to be a warbird airshow coordinator, eh? Then what would you do if – in the 11th-hour – your major event headliner is a no-show? That is exactly what the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group was facing when Jerry Yagen’s much anticipated De Havilland Mosquito was scratched from the show’s line-up.
Most vintage airplane fans and enthusiasts know very well that these old World War II airplanes can be cantankerous, so it is not unusual for a warbird to miss a scheduled appearance. However the problem with the Mosquito was not mechanical or lack of pilot, it was simply grounded while Jerry Yagen dealt with some financial difficulties. Undaunted by this setback, the airshow organizers took a page from the old barnstorming days of the 1920s and put forth an affair that was worthy of the title – “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
The Dot Lemon Saga
Who was Dot Lemon?
For EAA.org by Richard Kinsman, EAA 1074330
(Reprinted with permission from EAA Vintage Airplane, Nov. 2011)
Dot Lemon (Courtesy of EAA)Mystery woman, barnstormer, pylon racer, gold-mine owner, Whitney family orphan … take your pick.
The history and mystery of this compelling woman (1907-1986) will be the subject of an exhibit at the International Women’s Air and Space Museum, from Oct. 3 to Jan. 3, 2012, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dot Lemon never publicly identified her birth parents as members of the wealthy and prominent Chicago Whitney family, although the Whitney name appears on her birth certificate and passport application, signed by her. While she often alluded to the fact that she was the adopted daughter of the parents who raised her, Pastor and Mrs. Albert Martin, she maintained that her biological father was a wealthy and prominent man from Chicago. Her response to further inquiries on the matter was that her past was “private.” In spite of her obscure and controversial birth origins, she lived a colorful and amazingly successful life.
Tips From the Pros - December 2011
Aviators Helping Aviators
By Doug Combs
The Luscombe Endowment, Inc.
Those of us who own airplanes and fly them for recreation find the fleet is generally 30 to 70 years old. Few mechanics nowadays are familiar with these old birds, and many shops will turn away maintenance on these vintage airplanes unless that owner can provide the mechanic with reasonable technical data or parts support. This is where we find aviators helping aviators through organizations called “Type Clubs.”
Type clubs usually offer newsletters and shared owner/mechanic technical expertise. They often have rare or lost manuals needed for maintenance, or they have a tribal knowledge of problem areas in different “types” of vintage airplanes. Some have websites and blogs where one can access help in a timely fashion. A thorough listing of such organizations can be found at http://www.vintageaircraft.org/type/index.html.
Lyon Air Museum Hosts Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson at Book Signing Feb. 20
Famed Tuskegee Airman and author Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, 90, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who currently resides in Southfield, Mich., will be signing copies of his book Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW, on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Lyon Air Museum, located on the west side of John Wayne Airport.
The Tuskegee Airmen, the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought during World War II, were the first black military aviators to serve in the United States armed forces. Jefferson’s book is a personal memoir about black soldiers who served their country during and after World War II.
Return of the Harpoon
By Jim Dunn
With the help of Vintage Aircraft in Stockton this World War II era Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon will begin a new career as a flying museum. (Jim Dunn)The odds against it ever flying again were long. It had been 16 years since it was last flown, and it was no longer useful for its civilian role as a fire fighting aircraft. The final nail in its coffin was about to be hammered with the sale of the property that it was stored on, and the new owner wanted it gone. Now!
The aircraft that was facing this uncertain fate was a World War II era Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon. Much too large to be taken apart and trucked away, it was either going to be flown out or cut up for scrap. And it had to be done soon.
Built as a fast long-range patrol/torpedo bomber the Harpoon could wreak havoc on any enemy surface ships it sighted. With the ability to carry 4,000 pounds of bombs or torpedoes in its bomb bay, another 1,000-pound bomb under each wing, and fitted with up to 12 0.50-inch machine guns, the Harpoon was a valued asset for the U.S. Navy. When the war ended there were still more than 900 Harpoons on order for the Navy.