I’m honored to have known two old-school pilots in my time, one Marine and one Army Air Corps/Air Force. In the same way that we can sit and listen to the greats of drag racing sit and tell the stories of what went on back before any of the three of us were born, I could listen to either one of these gentlemen explain how the roar of the engines of the magnificent planes that they worked with and flew left a deeply lasting impression on them. Both of these men had left farms to join into the service, neither one of these men had seen anything more interesting than a Model T Ford before they shipped out, and suddenly they were surrounded by Allisons, Rolls-Royces, Packards and Pratt & Whitney radials, the kind of engines that breathed fire and roared with thousands of horsepower at the ready. These were aircraft that produced speed in the proper sense, the likes of which a farm boy from Iowa was most certainly not accustomed to.
It’s one thing to go to a museum like the Pima Air & Space Museum or the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB and see the planes sitting in situ. It is another altogether to see them in action. If you ever get the chance to see one of the traveling World War II shows that criss-cross the country, go. If you are able, go for a ride. Enjoy the speed that is the reason why GIs returned from warfare and immediately went to work on racing machines…after you get the taste of over a thousand horsepower and several hundred miles an hour, you can’t really go back to mundane, now can you?
Once you’ve heard the sound of a radial, you never forget it.
Great footage, McT! I figure this is New Zealand, “Warbirds over Wannaka” or something like that. It could be Planes of Fame in Chino, but I think more likely New Zealand. Those guys are doing incredible warbird stuff. Thanks!
My Dad got me addicted to war birds during the 60s when ex fighter pilots could still afford them and fly them . the smell of good av gas warm oil and the smell of old plane is still one of my favorite smells. got to fly a Harvard trainer a few years back what a rush flying in a plane that trained WW2 pilots . Not an P40 or a Mustang but cool . if your in the northwest check out the FHC they fly all their planes during the summer months .