Day 195 & 196- October 28 & 29

October 29, 2024

DAY 195
October 28
We spent most of the day touring this incredible museum.

No question, this is one fabulous Air Museum!

These holograms were really realistic and cool.

A yellow shirt guy showing his moves in this hologram.

It's a Bamboo Bomber!! I have many hours futzing and quite a few flying in one of these that is in a whole lot nicer condition than this one!

A cut-away example of the famous Catalina Flying Boat.

A school orchestra was playing. Lucky us, they were good!

The Link trainer. Cheaper than crashing real planes. It's worth reading the information below about how realistic this little contraption was.

Another view of the Bamboo Bomber. It got its name because the wing spars and frame are cedar, with a steel tube frame fuselage, covered in fabric. Built during WWII, it was a Utility airplane that did not need scarce resources, like aluminum. Originally powered with 245HP Jacobs radial engines (Shaky Jakes), this is a plane that you need to fly all of the time. And, if you lose an engine, the operating engine just takes you to the crash site.
Ask me how I know...

Just to keep folks confused. This is a Navy R4D. The Army called it a C-47. The Brits called it a Dakota. The rest of us humans called it a DC3. But this little gem, with skis, was the first to visit the South Pole in 40 years in 1946.

The A-6 Intruder. Some may recall a book and movie called "Flight of the Intruder" This is that plane. It was in one of these that my dear departed friend, Ned Shuman, got shot down in and he spent 5 years in the Hanoi Hilton. A genuine hero.

What is this??? Look at the next picture for a better idea.

The next picture shows most of the plane with the folded wing.

"And you light the fuse here..."

Now we're in trouble.
WHAT???? Why do you say that????

"Houston, we have a problem." Jim Lovell, Navy guy.

Looks like an OLD tractor seat to me.

You can run, but you can't hide. Old shipmate Master Chief Bill Huesmann and his bride, Jean, treated us to dinner!

DAY 196
October 29

Grady, happy to be home from a trip to the vet.

The Naval Air Station Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels.
They will be doing their Homecoming Show this weekend. As a special treat the Air Force Thunderbirds will be joining them. I was fortunate enough to catch a few of the Thunderbirds coming past the Marina. We took the rent-a-car and went over to the Air Museum, which just happens to be at the end of the runway, to watch the Blue Angels practice.