Almost all aviation photographers have one dream, crave one chance, an event that can make or break a career, and that is to be able to shoot Air 2 Air! Shooting an aircraft while up in another aircraft. This is where the magic really happens. Most photographers never get the chance at this, but on April 27th, 2012, I did.

Now, while I have flown in C-130’s, CH-53’s and CH-46’s, when I served as a grunt in the U.S. Marine Corps,  I was really excited about the opportunity that was to befall me.

The Collings Foundation is a historical group based in Massachusetts, and they own several World War II, Korean and Vietnam Wars era aircraft that are available for Air Shows, and other events. Every year, the Foundation puts on a Country-wide Tour called the Freedom Tour, where they travel from State to State, from airport to airport, and attendees, are given up-close tours of the planes, and even the chance to go for a flight on them for a fee.

The planes include the B-17G Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine” , the B-24J Liberator “Witchcraft”, the only one left in the world that’s capable of flight, and of course, the P-51C Mustang, named the “Betty Jane”.

Finding out about the tour in March, I made contact with Hunter Chaney of the Foundation, and  I was able to secure a flight on the Witchcraft, when they would be moving the planes from Gillespi Field in El Cajon, CA. to Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, CA.

Arriving at Gillespi Field, I met many of the great volunteers and employees, who keep the show going. Wonderful people who all share a love of these warbirds, their histories, and love of Country. I also met several men who were former P.O.W.’s from WWII, some of which had actually been shot down by the Germans while flying in a B-17 or B-24. Truly as said before it’s our Greatest Generation of Americans.

Once, I was in the B-24, and we were ready for flight, we rumbled down the tarmac, and everything seemed to be shaking and creaking as the old girl made her way to the end of the runway. Suddenly, the roar of the engines drowned out any other noise, and we were rolling down runway, and then suddenly we were airborne and quickly climbing in attitude.

After several minutes, we given permission to stand and move from our seats, and the Mustang came along side of the B-24, and I started shooting away. Now I will say this, thank god for the Vibration Reduction (anti-shake) device in my lens. I shoot with Nikon, and I was using the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. While the bomber was a fairly steady platform to shoot from, it still was bouncing quite a bit, as I stood at the waste gunners windows, while the Mustang flew along side. Sure I could have shot at a very fast shutter speed to get sharp images, but the propellers on the Mustang would not have looked natural, and the VR helped me get sharp images with slower shutter speeds.

We flew towards the ocean passing MCAS Miramar along the way, and finally out over the Pacific and then north along the coast, even if the P-51 had not been present, it was still a beautiful day to fly along the coastline. After 20 minutes in the air, we landed at Palomar Airport, with a big bang, and standing, waiting for the those planes to arrive, were several hundred people, who wanted to tour the planes.

I want to thank Hunter Chaney and the rest of the Collings Foundation for giving me my first Air 2 Air experience, but for also preserving these wonderful warbirds, and to Joe Kates of Photorecon, who’s advise I sought and used while in the air.

Dayton Ohio’s National Museum of the U.S Air Force was home to the official ceremony that marked the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders’ World War II bombing mission against Tokyo.  On April 18, 1942, sixteen North American B-25 Mitchell bombers led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and crewed by seventy nine other airmen, launched from the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet; their  destination was Japan.  From Tuesday April 17th through Friday April 20th, 2012, a series of events feted the reunion of the surviving crew members, four out of five were able to attend.  Twenty B-25 bombers assembled at nearby Urbana Ohio and flew onto the Air Force Museum’s grounds for the first day and a half of the reunion.  The four attending Raiders attracted loads of attention with their recollections about the raid, but there were other people present at the ceremonies that offered their stories too.  Somehow, every story contained a common thread to the North American B-25 Mitchell bomber.  Here are a few of my favorites.

It is well documented that the 16 bombers never made their planned destination in China because of an earlier than expected launch.  All but one did manage to reach the Japanese-occupied country though, and the aviators were assisted by many local Chinese in their bid to return to friendly territory.  During the Raiders’ sole press briefing, a Chinese delegation offered some startling links to the past.  Three Chinese citizens who were young children when the raid occurred travelled to the reunion; their families helped various Raiders evade the Japanese and escape from China.  One, Hu Daxian is the wife of Li Senlin, a Chinese resistance fighter who assisted some of the crew’s evasion and escape.  A woman named He Shaoying brought a Chinese book containing a photograph of herself (a young child) and her family together with Lt. Col. Doolittle’s crew; she shared this picture with retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole, who was Doolittle’s copilot, and who was standing with her in the picture!  Mr. Mingfa He produced two photos: one of his father who helped other crewmembers survive, the other a picture of a 1937 Wheat Cent that one of the aviators gave his dad as a token of his appreciation.  The penny is a family heirloom today, and was kept well hidden until the war was over as the Japanese occupiers killed many Chinese that they felt may have assisted the Raiders escape the country.  Mr. Weiyong Zheng  was another delegate, though not connected with the raid through his family.  He announced that he has visited seven of the crash sites of the raid’s B-25 bombers in China.  He unfolded a piece of bright orange cloth and produced a small piece of metal he said came from one of the planes.  An excited Air Force Museum official remarked that the piece still had paint on it from 70 years ago.  Mr. Zheng told those gathered that he has recovered more small fragments and four larger pieces too.  Not surprisingly, Museum officials were keen to hear more from him.

A pair of Navy veterans from the U.S.S. Hornet (CV-8) were present, and added their own stories.  Retired Navy Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Allen Josey, an electrician, is a “plank owner” or original crewmember of the Hornet when it was launched.  CPO Josey was aboard when one of the first things the Hornet did after its’ launch was to receive two B-25 bombers at Norfolk VA and secretly proved the feasibility of their flight operations off of the carrier.  He couldn’t imagine where those tests off of the Virginia coast would lead to at the time.  Retired Aviation Machinist’s Mate (AD) Elmo Wojahn joined the Hornet’s crew shortly after the secret tests, and both men talked about the mission, though both were below decks when the B-25s launched.  AD Wojahn worked on Grumman aircraft during his Navy career, from the F3F biplane fighter to the F9F Panther jet.  Their stories of the sinking of the Hornet some months later were riveting; CPO Josey said that the first torpedo hit on the ship sounded more like “breaking glass” than an explosion.

The twenty B-25 bombers that flew into the privately airstrip behind the Museum drew thousands of spectators.  Arriving from Urbana on Tuesday morning shortly after sunrise, a bomber touched down close to every three minutes.  Later, a viewing opportunity was open to the public, drawing thousands of spectators.  Not only was this a chance to talk to the crews that flew the bombers onto the field, but a time to catch a couple of “war stories” too.  Knots of people gathered around to hear tales from the Second World War veterans that made it out to the flight line.  I walked into the midst of one such conversation under the wing of a B-25 that went like this: “we’d start our dive bombing from 8,000 feet… some guys liked to push the nose over, but I liked to roll onto a wing and put the target in the gun sight.  We had it all worked out that at 2,500 feet you’d begin to pull up, and the instant the nose obscured the target, we’d hit the release and were really accurate with the bomb.”  Intrigued, I said that I didn’t think the B-25 could do a wing-over like that, and the veteran exclaimed “B-25?  I didn’t fly that truck! I flew P-40s in the China-Burma Theatre…” and drew chuckles from the bystanders.

Another story began with a conversation with a crewmember from the dark blue-painted “Devil Dog”, representing a Marine PBJ version of the B-25.  At another air show, an older man was spotted hurrying along the best he could towards the bomber that was parked on static display.  The crewman saw that this wasn’t an easy task, and wondered what was going to happen next.  The older man finally made it to the plane, and touched his hand to the metal skin of the plane, while smiling.  Of course, they talked, and in a heavily accented voice the story was told.  The man was of Philippine descent, and was interned with his family in a Japanese camp during World War II.  As a very young boy, he remembered that every once in a while his father told him to go outside and arrange a pile of rocks and stones in a specific way.  Although not a fun task, he obeyed his father and did what he was told.  The elderly man also remembered the dark blue planes that flew over and bombed Japanese positions during the war too.  Those planes helped defeat the enemy.  After the war, the young man put two and two together, and realized that his father had the boy arrange the stones in a specific pattern to communicate to the planes where their target was.  And many years after unwittingly helping Marine bombers find their targets, the now elderly man finally saw one of those blue planes close up and could touch one!

Wednesday around noon, the bombers departed the Museum’s runway at 30 second intervals to join together for their fly-bys during the afternoon’s memorial service.  I had befriended some fellow photographers awaiting the B-25 launch, and listened to one, Bob Burns, talking about a specific B-25 with another photographer.  Bob had much experience, through his NASA career, with propeller-driven test and tracking aircraft.  The other photographer knew the history of the certain B-25 well.  The Bendix Radio Company used B-25s to assist with tests around the Baltimore area some decades ago.  During the conversation, one man asked the other if he knew this person or that person…   and you guessed it, they were soon discussing mutual acquaintances and experiences around specific aircraft and programs, although it seemed that they had never met before that day of the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders’ reunion.   Although aviation is a wide-ranging endeavor, its’ membership always seems to be a close-knit fraternity.

No, this isn’t a story about the history of the Doolittle Raiders and their reunion, but about people connected with the raid through personal circumstances, places, and the North American B-25 bomber.  Their stories piqued my imagination; I wonder what others are out there waiting to be told.

Ken Kula

April 2012

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the raid which was the first strike against the Japanese homeland.  The National Museum of the United States Air Force has a B-25 that was restored by North American Aviation and presented to the Museum in 1958.  The aircraft was restored and painted to represent B-25B, Serial Number 40-2344 which was flown by Doolittle.   It’s displayed as though it’s on the deck of the Hornet in the days before the Raid.  What you may not know, is what artifact is on display in a glass case behind that B-25.

This is one of the most significant artifacts of the raid.  Yet it wasn’t on the raid and didn’t even come into existence until long after the war.  But as time passes, in another 50 years or so, people will really understand their significance.  There are eighty silver goblets that represent each man that flew that mission.  Each one has the airman’s name engraved on his goblet twice; once right side up and once upside down.  These are the goblets that the Raiders used in their annual toast at each reunion.  When the last Raider is gone, people will see the goblets as the men they represented.

The Raider’s reunions started in December 1946 when they got together to celebrate Doolittle’s birthday. That reunion became an annual event and in 1959 the city of Tucson, Arizona presented the group with these goblets, one for each Raider.  Eventually they were presented to the Superintendent of the USAF Academy for safekeeping and they were displayed there between reunions until 2005 when they were placed in the Museum as a permanent home.

The goblets are placed in a case which was custom made by Doolittle’s co-pilot Richard Cole (remember him from TICO 2012, he’s still with us).  The Goblets are in 4 panels, each 5 high for the crew of each airplane.  Left to right they represent the crews of,1 to 16 based on takeoff position. The rows top to bottom are Pilots, Co-Pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, and the Gunner.

At every reunion the survivors meet privately to conduct their “Goblet Ceremony” where they toast the Raiders who have passed since their last meeting and turn their goblet upside down.  The goblets are placed in the case right side up for the living Raiders and upside down for the deceased ones.  So far there are five left surviving.  When there are only two left, they will meet and drink a final toast to their departed comrades.  A special bottle of Hennessy Cognac has been reserved for that purpose.

There are currently five surviving Raiders:

1. Colonel Richard E. Cole, copilot of aircraft #1; born September 7, 1915
2. Major Thomas C. Griffin, navigator of aircraft #9; born July 10, 1916
3. Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Hite, copilot of aircraft #16; born March 3, 1920
4. Major Edward Joseph Saylor, engineer of aircraft #15; born March 15, 1920
5. Staff Sergeant David J. Thatcher, gunner of aircraft #7; born July 31, 1921

The oldest is 96 and the youngest is 90 years old, let’s hope that there is an opportunity for them to continue the reunion for a few more years.  If you have the chance to attend or to see one of these men near you, take advantage of it.  They did a lot for us and everyone who can should thank them.

You can contact the author Mark Hrutkay at TNMark@Me.Com.

Attached original photo is of the crew of Doolittle’s B-25; Crew No. 1 Crew No. 1 (Plane #40-2344, target Tokyo): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, pilot; Lt. Richard E. Cole, copilot; Lt. Henry A. Potter, navigator; SSgt. Fred A. Braemer, bombardier; SSgt. Paul J. Leonard, flight engineer/gunner. (U.S. Air Force photo)

The  B-25 known as Executive Sweet began it’s journey from Camarillo, CA to Dayton, OH. The aircraft will be one of Twenty-five B-25 Mitchell bombers that plan to pay tribute to the Doolittle Raiders as they commemorate the 70th anniversary of their raid on Japan. The reunion will take place  April 17-20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton,OH.

On the way to Dayton, OH the B-25 will make several stops,providing an excellent opportunity for the public to see and fly in  this wonderful aircraft . The first of the planed stops was today at Glendale, AZ.

The aircraft arrived about 10:00 AM, after a short flight over Sun City, AZ and the North Phoenix Valley.  The plan to over fly the Sun City area was a good one, as many WWII veterans live in the area.  The visit was hosted by, Glendale Areo Services FBO and the New Left Seat West Restaurant.

The aircraft was available for tours for about 6 hrs, providing wounderful photo opportunities against the blue sky of a wonderful AZ day. The aircraft will stay overnight and depart for Albuquerque ,NM at around 8:00 am on Tuesday 4-10-12.   Executive Sweet   is planing to return to Glendale ,AZ on 4-23-12  as it makes its way back to Camarillo airport.

For more info   http://www.aafgroup.org/

The planed stops along the way are as follows.

The Valiant Air Command’s show commonly known as “TICO” (which comes from the Titusville Coca Airport) this year worked around a “Doolittle Raider” theme, since this year is the 70th anniversary of the famous carrier launched raid.  As we know on April 18, 1942, the raid was launched off the carrier USS Hornet.   LTC. Jimmy Doolittle was the pilot of the first B-25 launched and his copilot was LT.  Richard Cole.   Richard Cole (currently age 93) was at the show in the Valiant Air Command PX tent, signing autographs.  Dick Cole is one the five surviving raiders and is a fine gentleman.   He looks at least 20 years younger than his current age too.

The Raider theme is one being used for many airshows this year.  But TICO was first.  They had four B-25s in attendance this year.

Larry Kelley sent down his B-25 “Panchito” which he has owned for 15 or so years.  It’s an airplane that is absolutely magnificent.  It was fresh from its spring polishing and looked like it just rolled off the line.  This airplane is marked in an accurate WWII paint scheme and always looks good.  Larry works with the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and you will find them at shows with Panchito.  Panchito seems to be about everywhere and I’m fairly sure it’s on the road (or in the air) during the entire airshow season.

“Wild Cargo” was at the show too.   This B-25 is owned by Jerry Yegan and the Fighter Factory, Military Aircraft Museum, in Virginia Beach.   Many years ago it was a part of the Walter Soplata collection in Newbury Ohio, sitting in a field with quite a few other rare airplanes.  It was acquired by my friend Steve Detch who had it in his hangar at Air Acres in Woodstock Georgia for quite a few years.  It was in pieces and my son used to play in it 17 years ago as a three year old.  It was named “Wild Cargo” since at one time it carried zoo animals.  The name stuck after it was restored and it’s been back in the skies since about 2008.  Mr. Yegan spared no expense in bringing this aircraft back to better than new condition.  It really stands out and it’s great that this aircraft is available for airshows.

“History Flight” operates a canon nosed B-25H “Barbie III”.  This is an accurately painted aircraft representing one that was flown in combat by former AVG (Flying Tigers) pilot R.T. Smith.  R.T. named the B-25 after his new wife Barbie.    Barbie III is another B-25 that’s on tour a lot and seems to show up at a lot of airshows.  The paint on her is slightly worn and a good black and white picture makes it look like its WWII again.  You can also find Barbie III at airshows throughout most of the season.

The last B-25 is the “Killer B” a resident of the VAC Museum.  Tom Reilly owns it and is one of those people who knows more about B-25s now than anybody on the planet.  In his 40 year career, he has restored 34 aircraft of which 10 were B-25s, he also restored the B-25, B-17 and B-24 that the Collings Foundation tours in.  For that matter Tom restored Panchito too.  His old business was based in Kissimmee Fl, restoring WWII aircraft.  After the 2004 hurricane, he finally moved to Douglas Georgia.  His B-25J “Killer B” is painted as you would have found one early in the war, operating out of North Africa.  In the past this airplane has had the left seat graced by Dick Cole on several occasions.

All the B-25 pilots are good, maybe Tom Reilly is the best.  Not only does he check pilots out in the B-25, but he can fly it to the limits.  At TICO 2010 we were shown a demonstration of how low you could really fly a B-25, and it was nothing short of stunning.  For those who think Snort flying anything low is impressive, they need to watch Tom fly a B-25.

The B-25s flew everyday of the show and it was well worth it to see them fly.  One B-25 flying is impressive, four is at least four times as good if not better.  They represent an era in aviation and WWII history that will never be replicated.  You can watch B-25s fly on TV and in newsreel footage, but it doesn’t start to match what the real thing is like. The VAC show in Florida is one that is well worth going to and is a great way to start the airshow season.  The airshow for 2013 is currently scheduled for March 22, 23, and 24th, time to put it on the calendar.

I would like to thank, VAC Public Relations Officer Col. Terry Yon for his assistance.   You can contact the author Mark Hrutkay at TNMark@Me.Com.   The VAC is at www.VACWarbirds.org.

The MCAS Yuma played out a little different from the original way I was planning on doing the show. The weather people in San Diego had been predicting a large winter storm to hit Southern California with lots of rain, snow, and major winds, on the weekend for the schedule Yuma 2012 Airshow. I started to think that the show may be affected by the approaching storm.

I had planned on driving into Yuma early on Saturday morning from San Diego, and meeting with the Public Affairs Officer, along with the other Media types to shoot the show, but while at the NAF El Centro 2012 Airshow, the weekend before, I learned that the Marines were having an unofficial Media day on the Friday before the show. With the weather coming and my thinking that it might interfere with the actual show, I contacted the PAO office at MCAS Yuma, and got put on the Media list immediately for the Friday practice show. I have to say, this PAO office was one of the best that I’ve dealt with, a big thank you to Captain Reidinger, Gunnery Sergeant Dunk, Corporals Bopp and Diamante.

Arriving Friday morning, I met with approximately 15 other photographers and news crews. The photographers came from as far as Europe, and as close as Yuma, itself.
The day was beautiful with no clouds in the sky, temps in the low 80’s and a cooling breeze sometimes blowing through. It was a perfect day, and the Marines gave us full access to the flight line. Most of the static displays were not in place yet, but that was okay, because we were able to walk up and touch the US Air Force Thunderbirds F-16’s, and the Marines Aggressor Squadron’s F-5 II’s. Performances from Tora, Tora, Tora and CAF groups were awesome, and to see these old war birds still flying, they just hold one’s attention, when you see a P-51 Mustang in a steep dive or a F4U Corsair streaking by just above your head.

The Navy’s F/A 18 Demo Team is never boring, nor are the Marine’s AV-8B with it’s noise and hovering abilities. The Marines F-5’s put on what appeared to be extended fly-bys, and what a joy it was to see as each plane, painted in different camouflaged colors.

It was finally late afternoon and time for the Thunderbirds to fly. The paint scheme on those F-16’s alone make it a great time for watching them fly, as they pull off maneuver after maneuver, and after having just seen the US Navy Blue Angels the weekend before, it was just amazing few days out in America’s southwest deserts.

It all started on May 22, 1912, when Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reported for flight training at the Naval Academy at Annaplois, it wasn’t until August 20, at Marblehead, Massachusetts, that Cunningham soloed in a Curtiss B-1 Seaplane and became Naval Aviator number 5. Since then, Marine pilots have done their job to defend America and each other, with names like Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington (Medal of Honor awardee) of the Flying Tigers in China, and the infamous VMF-214 “Black Sheep” squadron of WWII, and Lt. Col John Bolt, the only Marine aviator to achieve the title of “Ace” in both WWII and the Korean War; and remains to this day the only Marine “Jet Pilot” ace.

Because of these men and many more, 2012 brings us the 100 year Anniversary of United States Marine Corps Aviation, and no place is that history better represented, than at the little known Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, based at MCAS Miramar, in San Diego, CA. This museum is probably the best kept secret in the aviation world, which is not something this museum wants.

Every branch of the U.S, Armed Forces is allowed only one official museum, and is funded by Congress. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum has undergone a rigorous certification process and is one of only three certified Marine Corps Command Museums. The museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the primary purpose of preserving the history of U.S. Marine Corps aviation

The museum was originally founded and based at MCAS El Toro, in Orange County, CA but with base closures in the 1990’s El Toro was shut down and NAS Miramar, became MCAS Miramar, after the U.S. Navy’s move to Fallon, Nevada (including it’s famous “Top Gun” school). Along with the Marines came the Command Museum in 1999, opening in the year 2000 to the general public.

Steve “Smitty” Smith (USMC Ret.) is currently the Curator of the Museum. He started working at the museum, back when it was located at MCAS El Toro, where Smitty was stationed and he decided to volunteer at the museum. He worked as the museum’s librarian, and then he became the Assistant Curator. After the museum moved to MCAS Miramar, Smitty was promoted to his current position. Along with Asst. Curator Leon Simon (served in the US Navy), both men are responsible for all of the aircraft maintenance, and restoration, along with over 100 volunteers who either work in the museum as docents, or work in various positions from the gift shop, office, to restoring the planes that are acquired from the military. Most volunteers are former and retired Military. Former US Senator and Retired Marine Colonel John Glenn is the Chairman of the Board of the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum Foundation that runs the museum.

The museum currently has approx. 40 planes and vehicles that are either displayed outside of the museum, or in its restoration hanger nearby. Most planes date from the WWII era to the Present day, and the helicopters from the Korean War to the present. Inside the current building, housing the museum are rooms full of Marine Corps aviation history with paintings, pictures, documents, and other displays showing that the Marine Corps’ proud history and tradition isn’t only held by the Marines hitting the beaches and fighting on the ground for over 236 years.

The current plans are for a new two story 90,000 square foot building to be built as soon as the Marines make a final decision on the museum. They have already decided where the new building will be built and funding does not seem to be an issue, it’s strictly some red tape that is slowing down the process of getting the final okay’s done. The new building will house a library, a small theater, a gift shop, and more rooms for the many displays. Modern technology will be made available to watch videos and other films. There will be more room for more planes as “Smitty” is constantly attempting to add more to the museum’s inventory.

The museum, while located on MCAS Miramar, it has its own entrance, and is located directly across the street from 8604 Miramar Road. From I-15, proceed west for 1.3 miles and turn left into the parking lot. From I-805, proceed east for 3.9 miles and turn right into the parking lot. Look for the American flag and Marine Corps flag on the fence, and the museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday (except on Federal holidays) from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Main website: http://flyingleathernecks.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Flying-Leatherneck-Aviation-Museum-Hangar/115458738559141

TICO is the annual fundraising airshow for the Valiant Air Command down in Titusville, Florida.   The airport is literally in the shadows of the Kennedy Space Center on the east coast of Florida.  Since what seems like the beginning of warbird time TICO was the best show of its type in the country.  In the years that have passed, there has been much competition for the best show, but in Florida, it’s the best.  The Florida sun in the spring is something that’s hard to beat.

FIFI is getting back on the airshow circuit after being grounded for several years with engine problems.  Thanks to the generosity of Jim Cavanaugh, FIFI has new engines and the CAF B-29/B-24 Squadron has moved its base to Addision, TX.   I first saw her back in the early 1980s in Kalamazoo Michigan at one of their first airshows.  She was still wearing the paint from the movie “The Right Stuff” and looked great.  Fast forward to Oshkosh about 3 years ago, I’m staying at the Super 8 in FonDuLac and also there is the B-24’s pilot Paul Stojkov, who also flies FIFI.  I talked to Paul a lot (probably more than he wanted) and learned a great deal about how the CAF B-29/B-24 Squadron works.  To say the least, if you should ever own a B-29, Paul is the guy to entrust it to.   Good man and a heck of a pilot.

TICO managed to get FIFI  to be the main attraction of the event.  Crowds of people literately surrounded the airplane, many went for rides, which can be bought on site or in advance on the CAF website.  I didn’t fly on FIFI (I should have), but a group of us sent a good friend.

Everyone has their “airport buddies” and we have a group of “airshow buddies” who meet several times a year at airshows across the country.   We swap emails everyday.   Mike Rehbaum, Chris Heller, Chris Cosfol,  Steve Savino and James Cochran were in the original group and we adopted Mike’s father Karl Rehbaum to be with us.  Karl is an interesting guy.  He was a career Navy photographer and retired to FL, he’s a member of the VAC museum and often works the airshows marshalling (parking) aircraft.  Karl did a lot of deployments at sea on carriers, including one of the last TomCat Cruises.  He also shot many of the photos and video of the initial trials of the then “new” F-18 at Pax River.

Karl loves airplanes and flying; unfortunately, Karl also has cancer and the problems that go with that.   He’s been fighting it for long time and we’ve been supporting him on it.  I was the only one in the group (other than his son) who has met Karl in person.   We are all going to meet up in TICO and get together.  So I get an Email from Chris Cosfol one day out of the blue, that says “I want to buy Karl a ride in FIFI, want to split it?”  Sure, no problem,  pretty soon the cost was split several ways and the surprise was on.

Karl’s wife Sharon managed to get him there on time and to say he was surprised didn’t even begin to cover it.  He was overwhelmed that he got to go for that B-29 flight.  He couldn’t put it into words then and I can’t now.  The photos pretty well cover it, Karl is the man in the orange hat, and probably the most active he’s been in a long time.  After the ride, he sat down in a chair to watch the show.  He was supposed to help move planes, but was hurting too bad to get up.  We’ve chatted a few times since then, he’s still over whelmed about his experience.    It got Karl thinking.  He wonders now what it would have been like to be going out on the B-29 for a 10 hour mission instead of 30 minutes.   The crew, most under 21; with a pilot who may have been 23 or so, flying off to Japan to take the war to their homeland.   It really gets you thinking.

It’s hard to put a price on a memory.   The VAC allows us to all participate in an event that we are going to remember for a long time.  I live 900 miles away and have been a member of the VAC for 3 years.  It’s well worth it to help insure that they can continue operating in the future.  A flight in FIFI is cheap at any price and the memory will last a lifetime.  A day at the VAC Airshow is another memory too.   Wait for next spring and go, it’s well worth the trip.

I would like to thank, VAC Public Relations Officer Col. Terry Yon, CAF B-29 pilot Paul Stojkov, and the guys that got Karl his ride for this story; Chris Cosfol and Parr Yonemoto for the use of several pictures.   You can contact the author and photographer  Mark Hrutkay at TNMark@Me.Com.   The VAC is at www.VACWarbirds.org.  and the CAF B-29/B-24 Squadron at www.CAFB29B24.org.

Article and Photos by Matt Shinavar

10 Tanker operates a pair of DC-10s which have been modified to enable water or retardant to be dropped on forest fires.  When fires get out of hand, nobody calls Ghostbusters; rather, the phone at 10 Tanker rings.  From the time the phone rings 11,600 gallons of water, foam, gel, or retardant can start barreling down the runway 24 minutes later, and they’ve done it before.

The two air tankers started life with the airlines and were saved from a certain date with the scrapper.  The modification from DC-10 to air tanker takes about 6 months; to get the first aircraft fighting fires took slightly longer.  The first step was to demonstrate to the FAA the modifications to the airframe did not adversely impact the structural integrity or flying qualities of the aircraft.  The FAA granted a standard airworthiness certificate for the airplanes, rather than an experimental or restricted certificate.  It was demonstrated carrying 100,000 lbs of water under the fuselage was not any more stressful to the airframe, however strain is still measured every flight just to be safe.  The other important factor was to work with Boeing to determine a maintenance schedule which adequately met the needs of 10 Tanker and their mission profiles.  The next important step was to merit a Part 137 air operator’s certificate which would allow 10 Tanker to dispense material from their aircraft – otherwise legally dropping retardant would be decidedly difficult.  A Part 137 AOC was issued March of 2006.  The last step, and debatably the most important, was IATB approval.  The Interagency Air Tanker Board is the governing board for air tankers which oversees the testing of air tankers to determine how effective air tankers are at fighting fires.  The testing to gain IATB certifications required one airplane with full load and lots of little plastic cups; eight football fields worth, in 10’ x 10’ squares.  The testing performed for IATB validated coverage levels 2-8 – how many gallons per 100 square feet the tanker can drop.

11,600 gallons is a difficult number to imagine.  It works out to a line that is three quarters of a mile long, 50 feet wide dropped from 200-500 feet at 150 knots.  A full load of 11,600 gallons weighs nearly 100,000 lbs which seems a hazard to firefighters that may be on the ground when a line is laid.  10 Tanker performed some less than official testing which might ease the minds of firefighters; a pop up shade tent and lawn chairs were setup in the path of the oncoming tanker, with only the lawn chairs knocked over and the tent unaffected after the drop.  The tank system is all external to the airframe, an up-scaled version of the tanks found on Erickson’s Air Cranes.  The tank doors are constant feed, gravity fed, and can be started and stopped on command.

10 Tanker has flown on 420+ missions, on 70+ fires, in 6 states, in 3 countries and have been told they are “highly effective in suppressing [fire] movement.”  The internal record for missions in a day is 9; being flown in only 4.5 hours of flight time.  10 Tanker has received permission to hot refuel and hot refill the aircraft, shutting down only the left engine where the hoses are attached to the tanks, to significantly reduce the amount of time the aircraft is required to be on the ground while fighting fires.  While the aircraft was temporarily based at McClellan Airport near Sacramento, the aircraft serviced 4 states in 19 missions, taking advantage of the speed and payload capabilities of the DC-10.  Carrying the external tank does impose a flight speed restriction, but it is only 30 knots below the manufacturer recommended cruise speed and generally does not impact firefighting ability.  One fire that 10 Tanker responded to was a small brush fire located on a nature preserve.  10 Tanker was directed to drop a line to prevent the fire from spreading deeper into the nature preserve.  After the line was dropped, the incident commander told them to return to base, reload, and return to the fire, which the aircraft responded they had nearly 70% of the load left.  The incident commander, thinking on his feet, requested two more lines with the remaining load to completely surround the fire in a triangle shape.  The fire burnt itself out.  If there is a brush fire that is 10-15 acres, the DC-10 can put it out with one load by itself.

After spending a couple hours going through the brief of 10 Tanker’s capabilities and track record, Rick Hatton – owner of 10 Tanker – asked if we wanted to watch a water drop, go for a ride, or both.  Hopefully at that point I didn’t make too embarrassing a sound or face.  Of course I would like to go for a ride on the DC-10, a once in a lifetime experience.  Vicki, the nickname given to Tanker 911 when performing firefighting activities in Australia, was going to take us for a ride.

The tanker, while stripped to the insulation in the back, looks direct from the factory in the cockpit.  The only modifications are the tank volume meters and door controls.  The aircraft took a full load up, the plan being to drop just to the side of Victorville’s crosswind runway – first a dry run and then two drops at a half load each.  The aircraft handled like a hotrod through the pattern; 100,000 lbs of water slung under the fuselage.  Despite dropping 50,000 lbs of water in only three seconds, there were no sounds in the cockpit, no radical pitch changes, and no radical altitude change.  Other than hearing the pilot give the drop command and see the flight engineer push the drop button, there was almost no indication we were dropping all that water below us.  Flying through the pattern with 10 Tanker was an awesome experience – thanks Rick!

After landing, there were some sunset pictures taken of Tanker 910 and I wandered through 10 Tanker’s facilities.  One of the buildings is a former hush house where F-4’s had their engines run up; Rick’s Lancair Legacy was also parked in the corner of the former hush house.  Rick is an airplane guy to the core, he was more than excited to talk about his Legacy build; from the engine he sourced, the weight watching he did, the minor changes he made throughout to make his Legacy unique, and even talking through balancing the ailerons.  As a whole, the crew at 10 Tanker is dedicated to their mission and really seems to take pride in the work they do.  I cannot thank the people at 10 Tanker enough for the hospitality and generosity I was shown on my day there.

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