[SEL] OT: Daydreaming

[Rob Skinner]

On May 26, 2009, at 3:28 AM, Listerdiesel wrote:

> Thinking back to our trip to Phoenix last year, ( sorry, it was 2007!
> ) I was very much taken by the B-25 Mitchells at Falcon Field, and I
> thought that I'd like to take time out, buy an aircraft, see it
> restored properly, and then get my pilot's licence while over there.



Hi, Peter.

I've experienced the same lust for old aircraft.  But instinct tells  
me that truckloads of money can't buy skill, and jumping into the  
cockpit of an old warbird without any of the latter is a good way to  
ruin an irreplaceable piece of history and put an end to my days of  
breathing.  Nevertheless, I'll continue to fantasize.

A couple weeks ago we attended an airshow near here.  There were a  
couple B-25s present.  My favorite was owned by three old dudes, who  
of whom piloted her that day.  An YES, they've flown their plane off a  
carrier.  I got to crawl around in another Mitchell, and it kind of  
tarnished my fantasy.  "Plush" is probably not a word you would use to  
describe it.  Maybe "hideously cramped" is more accurate. To reach the  
nose gunner's position, you need to scoot on your belly.  Crawling is  
not an option.  If you needed to move between fore and aft during  
flight, you had to scoot through another tunnel above the bomb bay.  I  
can't imagine how the stewardesses serve drinks to the pilot without  
spilling any.  Here are a couple pictures:  http://tinyurl.com/pt4v74

	
Rob Skinner
Antique Stationary Engines
La Habra, California

rob at rustyiron.com
www.rustyiron.com