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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Keith:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>As one who grew up during those "glory years" a posting
like this brought tears to my eyes. I remember well when my Dad worked as
an Electrical engineer for North American Aviation, Inglewood, Calif. and the
pride I felt as these wonderful machines and their equally godlike (to me,
anyway) pilots, made us proud to be Americans. I hoped at the time, but
never expected, that aviation would play the part in my life it
has.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>A true blessing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Insofar as I am concerned, postings like yours are always
much, much more than welcome.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bill Glaze</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=geobet@gis.net href="mailto:geobet@gis.net">george w. kennie</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 15, 2006 12:57
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] An Old
Pilot And An Old Airplane - Off Topic</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Wonderful stuff Keith
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=tkeithb@comcast.net href="mailto:tkeithb@comcast.net">Keith
Black</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 15, 2006 12:25
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [NSRCA-discussion] An Old
Pilot And An Old Airplane - Off Topic</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT color=black size=2><SPAN style="COLOR: black">I'm not big on
forwarding emails, but my father forwarded this one to me and I just have to
share it.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=black size=2><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=black size=2><SPAN style="COLOR: black"> This is a
story about a vivid memory of a P-51 <BR>and its pilot by a fellow when he
was 12 years old <BR>in Canada in 1967. <BR> It was noon
on a Sunday as I recall, the day a <BR>Mustang P-51 was to take to the
air. They said it <BR>had flown in during the night from some US
air-<BR>port, and the pilot had been tired.<BR> I marveled
at the size of the plane dwarfing the <BR>Pipers and Canucks tied down by
her. It was much <BR>larger than in the movies. She glistened in the
sun <BR>like a bulwark of security from days gone by.<BR>
The pilot arrived by cab, paid the driver, then <BR>stepped into the flight
lounge. He was an older <BR>man, his wavy hair was gray and tossed -
looked <BR>like it might have been combed around the turn <BR>of the
century. His flight jacket was checked, <BR>creased, and worn - it
smelled old and genuine. <BR>Old Glory was prominently sewn to its
shoulders. <BR>He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride
<BR>devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan <BR>to Montreal
(Expo-67, Air Show) then walked <BR>across the tarmac.<BR>
After taking several minutes to perform his <BR>walk-around check the pilot
returned to the flight <BR>lounge to ask if anyone would be available to
stand <BR>by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the <BR>old bird up
. . . just to be safe." Though only 12 at <BR>the time I was
allowed to stand by with an extin-<BR>guisher after brief instruction on its
use -- "If you <BR>see a fire, point, then pull this lever!" I later
<BR>became a firefighter, but that's another story.<BR>
The air around the exhaust manifolds shim-<BR>mered like a mirror from fuel
fumes as the huge <BR>prop started to rotate. One manifold, then
<BR>another, and yet another barked -- I stepped <BR>back with the
others. In moments the Packard-<BR>built Merlin engine came to life
with a thunder-<BR>ous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds.
<BR>I looked at the others' faces, there was no con-<BR>cern, so I
lowered the bell of my extinguisher. <BR>One of the guys signaled to
walk back to the <BR>lounge. We did.<BR> Several minutes
later we could hear the pilot <BR>doing his pre flight run-up. He'd
taxied to the <BR>end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for
<BR>several seconds, we raced from the lounge to the <BR>second story deck
to see if we could catch a glimpse <BR>of the P-51 as she started down the
runway. We <BR>could not. There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half
<BR>way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, <BR>much louder
than before, like a furious hell spawn <BR>set loose---something mighty this
way was coming.<BR> "Listen to that thing!" Said the
controller. In <BR>seconds the Mustang burst into our line of
sight. <BR>Its tail was already off and it was moving faster <BR>than
anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. <BR>Two thirds the way
down 19 the Mustang was <BR>airborne with her gear going up. The prop
tips <BR>were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mus-<BR>tang climbed
hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten <BR>up by the dog-day
haze.<BR> We stood for a few moments in stunned silence
<BR>trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio con-<BR>troller
rushed by me to the radio. "Kingston tower <BR>calling Mustang?" He
looked back to us as he <BR>waited for an acknowledgment. The radio
crackled, <BR>"Go ahead Kingston." "Roger Mustang. Kingston <BR>tower
would like to advise the circuit is clear for a <BR>low level pass." I stood
in shock because the control-<BR>ler had, more or less, just asked the pilot
to return <BR>for an impromptu air show!<BR> The
controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. <BR>"I can't let that
guy go without asking . . I couldn't <BR>forgive myself!" The radio crackled
once again, <BR>"Kingston, do I have permission for a low level pass,
<BR>east to west, across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the <BR>circuit is
clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, <BR>Kingston, I'm coming out of
3000 feet, stand by." <BR>We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes
<BR>fixed toward the eastern haze.<BR> The sound was
subtle at first, a high-pitched <BR>whine, a muffled screech, a distant
scream. <BR>Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze, her
<BR>airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, <BR>wing tips
spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-<BR>tips again supersonic as the
burnished bird blasted <BR>across the eastern margin of the field shredding
<BR>and tearing the air.<BR> At about 400 mph and 150
yards from where <BR>we stood she passed with an old American pilot
<BR>saluting . . . imagine . .
. a salute. I felt like <BR>laughing, I felt like
crying; she glistened, she <BR>screamed, the building shook, my heart
pounded, <BR>then the old pilot pulled her up . . .
. and rolled, <BR>and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken
<BR>clouds and indelibly into my memory.<BR> I've never
wanted to be an American more than <BR>on that day. It was a time when
many nations in <BR>the world looked to America as their big brother, <BR>a
steady and even-handed beacon of security who <BR>navigated difficult
political water with grace and <BR>style; not unlike the pilot who'd just
flown into my <BR>memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not
<BR>a braggart, old and honest, projecting an aura of <BR>America at its
best. That America will return one <BR>day, I know it
will.<BR> Until that time, I'll just send off a story;
call it a <BR>reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who <BR>wove a
memory for a young Canadian that's stayed <BR>a
lifetime.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=black size=2><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV></FONT></DIV>
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