Aircraft

[litl rooster]

I guess it is about 10 hours for me

[Texas Lawdog]

I might have to do the Charleston trip separately. It would a lot of fun at both places. I love old airplanes and old naval ships. Both places are on my "bucket" list.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Mine too

[Arcey]

Me 'n the fat lady rode out ta Pungo ta hit some farm stands. Saw the Stearman in the air.

Hit the first place, she was gettin' strawberrys when three left the MAM. Too far away for me to ID 'em. Same planes, same color. Formed up inna triangle 'n went off.

Moved to another stand. Looked o'er at the runway on the way past 'n it was empty. Got there she started shoppin' while I stood in the parkin' lot. The place was packed. 'n closer to the MAM, just 'round a curve from the entrance. Heard a roar 'n the Junkers appeared o'er the trees.

Left there 'n found a place ta stop 'cross Princess Anne Rd., still closer, just short of the entrance. Sat there a good while but they didn't send anything else up.

[Arcey]

Was out after dinner feeding the Jays their last for the day. A neighbor who volunteers at the MAM came by walking his dog and we spoke for a bit.

He said they flew about just everything flyable - that's damned near all of them. The Mosquito went up. The Me 262 clone isn't kept there. They can't land the jet on the grass. She's hangered in Suffolk but they flew her in and made some low passes. Sorry as heck I missed that.

The yellowish orange airplanes I saw from the first produce stand were T-6s. As soon as he said that I remembered (old age) they flew in for the event last year. Those don't belong to the MAM, they're there for their owners' pleasure and the crowd's.   

[Texas Lawdog]

We have  New Zealand version of the T-6, at the VFM in Fort Worth. Things are busy over there, the B-29 and B-24 are being prepped for their summer tours and will be leaving soon.

[Arcey]

Mooz Newz.......

By Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 2, 2014
VIRGINIA BEACH

The Military Aviation Museum's request for a tax exemption breezed through the City Council on Tuesday.

The 8-1 vote means founder Jerry Yagen will no longer have to pay real estate taxes on the nonprofit museum's buildings and land, totaling more than 80 acres. That tax bill is more than $81,000 this year, according to city records.

It also means Yagen won't have to pay personal property taxes on the museum's 57 warbirds going forward. Yagen and his business, Training Services Inc., own the aircraft, but the museum houses, displays and flies them.

Yagen may, however, end up owing several years of back taxes because the city never sent him a tax bill for the planes, a mistake the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office said it realized last year when Yagen, who owns several private technical colleges, temporarily put the collection up for sale. It estimated the annual property tax bill at $9,300, according to paperwork provided to the council.

Councilwoman Barbara Henley*, who represents the Pungo area, was the sole vote against the exemption. She said Yagen has ignored the safety concerns of his neighbors, who worry about vintage aircraft increasingly flying over their homes.

Several of her counterparts on the council said those concerns are planning, not tax, issues. Henley disagreed, saying that subsidizing the operation is the same as condoning its activities, including selling airplane rides.

"There has been no willingness to compromise with the neighbors, no willingness at all on this flying issue," she said. "I just think that it's a safety threat and that people have a right to have some consideration."

Councilman John Moss was absent, and Brad Martin abstained because of a conflict of interest with his engineering firm, which does business with the museum.

Yagen assured the council that his airplanes are safe.

Adm. Bill Gortney, head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, agreed in response to a letter from Henley about the planes potentially sharing airspace with Oceana Naval Air Station's jets.

"I believe that the Military Aviation Museum aircraft create no ascertainable risk to Navy aircraft," Gortney wrote in a letter dated June 27. "Indeed, the Museum's record since it has been in operation reinforces this conclusion."

Others called the museum an asset.

"I think it's the best thing to come down there in my lifetime," Pungo resident Thomas Tillman said. "And I believe the City Council should support them. It's a wonderful facility."

Kathy Adams, 757-222-5155

*My addition.

Ole Barb, emphasis on 'old,' lives in and thinks she owns Pungo. Does own a good hunk of it. She's arranged and voted in favor of a law that'll provide her family millions of tax dollars in the future for not developing their property.

Her driving in the area is so slow it's become a traffic obstruction running joke.

She's been voted out 'n back in a couple times. Hope she goes out again - soon. I don't believe she has a clue, outside of Pungo, what's happening here. It's a small circle of her allies not wanting history on display there for whatever reason.

I have driven past her family owned produce stand and strawberry fields to get to others. I won't put money in her pocket. One didn't reopen this season. It's on the way to the museum in beautiful downtown Pungo.

The above, some fact, some opinion.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

This is my first time here in quite a while and I have missed y'all!

Ol' Barb, eh.  (Can you "hear" the disgust I'm feeling as I type this?)

Sounds like she has a lot invested in this.  From the piece: "She said Yagen has ignored the safety concerns of his neighbors, who worry about vintage aircraft increasingly flying over their homes."

This sounds SOOO typical of the wealthy land-owner politician types.  She said Yagan "ignored" her concerns and those of the few folks affected.  I'll bet that if you look into it, #1) the chance of an accident is real, but VERY remote, #2) very few actually voiced concern versus the ones who either didn't bother to respond because they figured it was a non-issue or actually the few who actually TOLD her it was a non-issue, #3) and as a result, since Yagen went on with the project, he then "IGNORED" her (thinly disguised) whines & near-demands.  Had Yagen gone along with her she would NOT have said he ignored anything.

In other words, it's the old "IF you don't play with MY rules and wishes, then I'm taking my ball home and no one will play!"  (In this case, the "ball" is monetary and tax-based - but I think you know what I mean.  She tried her darndest to get things done her way, but she obviously couldn't browbeat any other Council-Persons to vote her way.

I'm really tired of  the self-serving politicos that America has allowed to govern us.  Their special interests are waaaaaaay more important that what the majority they supposedly represent want.  And if you don't go along with them, you are accused of IGNORING their pet issue.  Majority rule has nothing to do with it.

But I wish Yagan and his organization the best of luck and success!  These beautiful old birds are getting scarce - they were built for quick use and basically disposable, so keeping them "alive & kickin' for 60 (Plus) years is quite an achievement.  (60 years is just an average figure.  Some are older, many are not, but all  were built for quick use and were made as quickly as possible, and NOT for long life.)

I'm stepping off my soapbox now ...

[Texas Lawdog]

The CAF B-24, "Diamond Lil". Is back at the Vintage Flight Museum in Fort Worth between Tours.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Lil' Jimmy, is the B-17 that is named "Aluminum Overcast" one of the CAF birds?

It flew in to Indy a few years back and I think that's one of the coolest names for a bomber.  Thinking back to what it must have looked like when THOUSANDS of those birds plus their "Little Friends" were overhead - it's a great name!  Overcast skies due to aluminum aircraft!  It was a great experience for me.  I would have happily paid the $300 for a ride they were offering, but alas ... it couldn't happen.

[Texas Lawdog]

No, It belongs to the Collings Corporation, who also owns the B-24, "Witchcraft".  The B-17 landed over at Arlington airport this summer and I drove over and checked out.

[Texas Lawdog]

The 57th Bomb Wing is having a reunion at Cavanaugh's Flight Museum in Sept.(11-15). The 57th was my Dad's outfit, so I am looking forward to attending. I hope that I can meet anyone that may have served with him.

[Major E A Sterner]

Remember the fighter pilot who flew through the Eiffel Tower in 1944?

                                                                                   ... He's Gone...

In the spring of 1944 Bill and his P-51C, the 'Berlin Express' were near Paris when the scene that is immortalized in the artwork by Len Krenzler of Action Art that leads this article took place. Bill had followed this Bf109 from the bombers he was escorting when most of the German fighters left. The two planes had been in a running dogfight. The German pilot flew over Paris hoping that the heavy German anti-aircraft artillery would solve his problem and eliminate Overstreet and the 'Berlin Express', though Bill managed to get some hits in at about 1500 feet. The German's engine was hit, and Bill stayed on his tail braving the intense enemy flak. His desperation undoubtedly growing, the German pilot aimed his plane at the Eiffel Tower and in a surprising maneuver, flew beneath it. Undeterred, Bill followed right behind him, scoring several more hits in the process. The German plane crashed and Bill escaped the heavy flak around Paris by flying low and full throttle over the river until he had cleared the cities heavy anti-aircraft batteries.

WWII fighter pilot who flew THROUGH the Eiffel Tower to take down a German plane dies in Virginia aged 92

William Overstreet Jr., a former captain in the U.S. Air Corps, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke.

He famously flew his plane beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, lifting the spirits of French troops on the ground

In 2009, he was presented France's Legion of Honor

William Overstreet Jr. died on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, according to his obituary, but there was no indication

of the cause of his death.

Hero: World War II Aviator Bill Overstreet Jr., best known for flying beneath the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a German plane, is pictured

in his military days. He passed away in Virginia on Sunday, aged 92

Before the ceremony, Overstreet had previously said that, if he lived long enough to receive the Legion of Honor, he would

be accepting it in memory of his fallen brothers.

In particular, he wanted to pay tribute to a friend, Eddy Simpson, who died fighting the Nazis on the ground so his comrades,

including Overstreet, could escape.

After the award was pinned to his lapel, Overstreet said: 'If I said, "Thank you," it wouldn't be enough,' before adding:

'What more than "thank you" do you need?'

He was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1921 and after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot.

By February 1942, he was a private and sent to California for flight training; here, his instructors prepared him for the unexpected

mid-flight by cutting the engine as he landed.

Remembered: Overstreet was presented with France's Legion of Honour in 2009

Aircraft: Overstreet is pictured by his P-51 'Berlin Express', the plane he flew beneath the Eiffel Tower

Proud: Overstreet is pictured in 1943 with his cherished 1938 Buick in California, where he trained

Close call: The wreckage of his Bell P-39 Airacobra which spun out of control mid-air as he completed combat

training in 1943. He managed to force his way out of the craft and walked away unhurt

Loss: Bill Overstreet is pictured at an event, Warbirds Over the Beach, in 2013.

'He was always humble. Whenever the press interviewed him, he said, "I didn't do anything, we were a team".'

RIP Bill Overstreet.


   

[Major 2]

RIP Captain Overstreet

[Arcey]

Farewell, team mate.

Rest well, sir.

[litl rooster]

RIP

[Texas Lawdog]

RIP Noble Warrior!

[Arcey]

Not as much of a Labor Day crowd as I'd expected at the museum. That said, traffic here to there and back was a heck of a lot lighter than I thought it'd be. Maybe everyone's out of money.

A crew had just finished fueling the SNJ after a charter ride. The ole boy in the image walked over and offered to answer questions. I didn't have any and he excused himself rather quickly, saying he needed to get out of the sun and find some cold water.

The box behind him stores the fuel pump, hose and related equipment.



With the rent-a-rides it seems like the Stearman's always sitting on the pad. Or in the air......



View from the parking lot:



The station wagon, being one of the few Toyotas actually built in Japan, kinda gets nervous and tends to keep her distance.

[Texas Lawdog]

Arcey, Don't put no Meatballs on it!

[Arcey]

Heh, heh, heh......... yeah.

Gotta keep pullin' 42s off. Big fan of Kyle Larson.