We had a navigator in the 822nd that was a quiet fellow, I think his last name was Robinson, but I am not sure any more. He was double E engineer by trade and a really smart one at that. After Command and Staff college he and I met up again at Hanscom Field, a Systems Command base that hosted the Electronic Systems Division. It was a pretty heady place, if you did not know a persons title it was safe to address them as Dr. because there where so many there that your chances where better than 50-50 you where right. Continue reading →

Captain Harris and I served at three bases together and our association was always great. He was one of the check pilots at Vance AFB, Ok and I flew with him at least once during my B-26 check out, I also remember Manzer Thompson that later joined me in the 822nd, he gave me my final check ride at Vance and I thought he was mean because he made me fly almost all of my final check ride on a single engine, I got over that and I think we are still friends. Continue reading →

In one of my previous stories I told about flying Tom Mahoney’s wing across the north Atlantic. Well, about ten years ago not long after Geneva and I got married Nelly’s favorite aunt that lived in Liesse a few miles east of Laon died and both my children asked if I would go to represent the family. So after packing a bag, I was off to the jetport, with my Delta travel card in hand I got to the ticket counter and asked for non revenue travel to Paris. They tried really hard but every seat was over booked by 20% for the next two weeks. They said even if I bought a first class ticket I would not be guaranteed a seat.

So I asked what can I do? One of the supervisors that had been listening in walked me over to the window and pointed at the CargoLux Terminal across the east runway and said maybe they can help. Continue reading →

The AF headquarters Commander in Panama was General Britewizer when I got there. He was hard to work for, a tyrant that read at many thousands of words per minute, he would reject in seconds a draft you had labored over for hours or maybe days. He demanded a lot but gave very little guidance, he was a tough read, I never understood him nor his logic, I was just one of the many staff officers that went to the front office to catch hell for something we most probably did not know much about his preferences, so we would go back to our offices and try a different approach. Continue reading →

I am sure I spent most of my AF flying career between a pair of R-2800 engines. First at Vance AFB, OK then at Laon for a couple of years. After Laon I was recruited to fly B-26’s again in Thailand for six months and also flew the CAT modified C-46 with an improved R-2800 and Hamilton Standard props and many other mods that made it a very reliable airplane. Continue reading →

The B-57 as originally built had a huge trim change when lowering or retracting the flaps. While we were at Laon the depot sent in kits to modify each airplane to make the trim change during flap operation much
less dramatic. Continue reading →

I don’t remember just when it happened or what the spark was but one day while still at Laon I decided I wanted to fly gliders. The “Soaring” magazine was available in the base library and I was drawn to the many German glider companies advertising their sailplanes. I chose the one closest to Stutgartt because it was familiar to me. I met with Herr Wolf Hrith a WWII German ace but also an admirer of the American way. Continue reading →

10. B-57 accidents

We had way too many accidents practicing single engine landings in B-57’s Charley Phelps crashed near the fuel dump and too many more. I had a real single engine and followed the tech order procedures only to find out that they were wrong. You could not stay on a GCA glide path at normal approach speed of 130 kts and keep control of the aircraft. I raised the gear retracted the flaps just to get back up to the glide path, then put them back down as the situation got better nearer the air field. I raised hell with the safety people and standardization that they had not done their homework. Continue reading →

Four of us young pilots left B-26 training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma in early September 1954 more or less together and all with orders to Laon AB, France. We kinda agreed to meet a MaGuire AFB on a certain date and we did. Harry Purcell, Jerry Laughren, Don Shirkey and I all traveled together to Frankfurt via MATS, they put up over night in Bad Homberg a few miles North of Frankfurt, it was a nice hotel and there was a casino across the street I peeked in and saw people all dressed up and quickly realized I could not afford to eat there we went on down the street and found a sidewalk cafe and of course I could not read the menu. Finally the waiter helped me out and recommended a Yeager Schnitzel for a meat and potatoes boy. Continue reading →

I again rejoined the Air Base Group and flew the T 33’s and the L-20. My real duties were still to oversee the many craft shops, we now call them MWR (Moral, Welfare, And Recreation) by then there were so many participants eager to help that I didn’t have to do much. I pretty much used the L-20 to take those with enough pull to Stuttgart to pick up their new Porches and Mercedes to take home. Continue reading →