What have you actually flown in?

LOL guys, yeah... I suppose between the T-34B and an F11F that would have made me a VERY old Navy pilot!

I was a Marine, but pounded the ground as an 03... hence the passenger time in C-130s and CH-53s. The closest I got to military flying was as a civilian contractor instructing in the IFS program for the Navy for about three years. I soloed about 90 of my own students and stage checked another 150 or so. My oldest students have just hit the fleet within the last year, mostly in helos but at least two that I've kept up with are in Hornets. Super proud of them!

Lots of cool rides being listed here. Making a young Pilot like me pretty jealous. I've flown about every single engine Cessna 100 series bird, along with Piper cubs, Warriors, Arrows, etc. Ag planes such as Air Tractors, Turbine Thrush, Piper Pawnee, AgCat. Cessna 206 and 207, Antonov AN-2, and of course my personal money pit, a 160 hp Citabria, with skis and bushwheels.

TarnShip

No, at an air show in Chino California. I was standing around "talking stupid" with a bunch of other prior service guys, and said I had never rode in any aircraft powered by the Merlin. One of the guys grabbed me and dragged me over to a Mustang owner.

Insults were exchanged, and money changed hands, (weren't Mustangs with back seats all called "Cavaliers"?),,,,,and I was up in the air for about 20 minutes. He tried to make me throw up, I didn't tell him that I was a "Blacksheep ramp roach with back seat time" until we landed.

Oh, and I forgot one,,,,,,,,,a PBY Catalina, based out of Long Beach. I forget how much those tours were, but, they seemed pretty cheap back then.

Rex

Dude!! A Catalina?? THAT is COOL!! The Only Catalina I've seen up close is the one with the sheet metal torn away on display at The Museum Of Naval Aviation in Pensacola. With so many of those being built, you'd think more would've survived.

panzerpilot

Devil Dawg

Wow, Tom! That's quite a list. Based on the AWACS, I'm assuming you were a crew member?

Yessir! I was a crew dog in the back. When I got out, I started taking flying lessons and fly for an airline now.. People ask me all the time "Did you fly in the military before"?. Yes, I mean No...

What do you fly now?

MIflyer

LOL guys, yeah... I suppose between the T-34B and an F11F that would have made me a VERY old Navy pilot!

I was a Marine, but pounded the ground as an 03... hence the passenger time in C-130s and CH-53s. The closest I got to military flying was as a civilian contractor instructing in the IFS program for the Navy for about three years. I soloed about 90 of my own students and stage checked another 150 or so. My oldest students have just hit the fleet within the last year, mostly in helos but at least two that I've kept up with are in Hornets. Super proud of them!

And proud you should be! That's a great story, Devil Dog! How long were you in the Corps?

Nathan T

Lots of cool rides being listed here. Making a young Pilot like me pretty jealous. I've flown about every single engine Cessna 100 series bird, along with Piper cubs, Warriors, Arrows, etc. Ag planes such as Air Tractors, Turbine Thrush, Piper Pawnee, AgCat. Cessna 206 and 207, Antonov AN-2, and of course my personal money pit, a 160 hp Citabria, with skis and bushwheels.

Is that your avatar picture - you and the wife in the Citabria? Based on the above, sounds as though you've done some crop-dusting in your time.

There was actually an "Air Line" that operated Catalinas from Long Beach to Catalina Island back then.

We used to drive past the aircraft awaiting refurbishing at or near the Douglas plant at Long Beach Airport. One day, dad got tired of me bugging him, so he paid for his 13 year old to go on the tour.

The whole aircraft and air show culture was so different back then,,,,,,,you could sit on the wings of just about anything at a show and dangle your legs over the edge while you were talking. I was taught the "proper" way to climb up onto a Skyhawk wing before I had a driver's license, at an open house in El Torro.

Rex

Cool stuff, Rex! Yeah, you'd be shot with no trial if you even touch some aircraft nowadays. At a recent airshow at the small airport in Monroe, NC, last year (about 3 miles from my house), they had the world's only flying SBD-5 Dauntless there (I think it's based in Peachtree City, GA, with the CAF), with "DO NOT TOUCH!!" signs all around it. I still got lots of good pictures of the dive flap mechanisms and the centerline bomb sway brace, though. I wanted some good cockpit pictures, but I ain't that tall......

Devil Dawg

What do you fly now?

Hello!

Devil Dawg

Pawel, how do the Russian airliners compare to the Boeings? Also, what's it like to ride in a Colt? Even as ugly a plane as it is, I find that aircraft very fascinating.

Devil Dawg, those russian airliners were like a generation older than those Boeings, so they were louder, and the Tu-154 is quite fast. They also offered more space between the seats and that was nice. Those Aeroflot pilots were at times flying military missions, too, and that could be felt at times when they maneouvred pretty hard.

As for the An-2 many people love this aircraft, I heard that it is very forgiving for the pilot and supposedly has excellent low speed flying capabilities. Did you know that it's related to the DC-3? The engine that powers it is a copy of the Wright R-1820.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Devil Dawg

Nathan T

Lots of cool rides being listed here. Making a young Pilot like me pretty jealous. I've flown about every single engine Cessna 100 series bird, along with Piper cubs, Warriors, Arrows, etc. Ag planes such as Air Tractors, Turbine Thrush, Piper Pawnee, AgCat. Cessna 206 and 207, Antonov AN-2, and of course my personal money pit, a 160 hp Citabria, with skis and bushwheels.

Is that your avatar picture - you and the wife in the Citabria? Based on the above, sounds as though you've done some crop-dusting in your time.

My Wife and I, yes. On the ground though. She has logged a few hours as passenger in it though.

Ag flying is my current profession:

panzerpilot

Devil Dawg

What do you fly now?

737. It's a great plane!

Nathan. I didn't know you had a Citabria! Smelling the grass and doing your own thing is the way to fly! Maybe the occasional loop? lol

Grass is boring. Snow is fun!

Ready to taxi. We don't need no stinkin airport:

Out in front of the house:

250ft. takeoff roll:

Okay, now that looks like it would be some serious fun.

We see quite a few cropdusters on the segment from Memhis to Texarkana in Arkansas, we drive right by their little "airstrip/refueling stations",,,,I always get the urge to pull off the Interstate and go check them out up close,,,,,but, we never do, we just watch the stunt pilot type of flying that they do.

Awesome, Nathan! Great pics!

Here's some interesting clouds over Illinois...

And the Rockies...

Devil Dawg

pyrman64

Cessna 172, Cessna O-2a Skymaster, Lockheed C-130, T-38 Talon, UH-1 Huey, Aerospatiale Dauphin, MBB BK-117

I'm impressed, pyrman! How did you get to ride in a T-38?

A college classmate was an AF reserve A-10 driver. When I told him I'd love to ride in the Warthog, he said they only had one seat but offered a ride in the Talon....which I accepted, of course! 

Don Stauffer

<snip>  Then bought an Ercoupe.  Loved that plane,, many hours in it.

Me,too, Don Many hours in 1946 Ercoupe N87030!

Can't afford to fly any more.  <snip>

<snip>  So I don't own an airplane anymore

Me, too, Don.

<snip>

After the Ercoupe I bought a 1967 Cessna 172 Skyhawk, and years later a Beech Bonanza and when that became too expensive per hour, bought a 1975 172 Skyhawk. Enjoyed all of them . Have stick time in a twin Bonanza, Piper Navaho, King Air 200, Aero Commander and others. I did get my instrument rating in the Bonanza. And for 7 years my job required international travel so won't list all the commercial planes I've flown in except to mention I flew in a BOAC Comet and in the Concorde several times.

Awesome Tom! I can't compete with those pics at altitude.

Nathan, thanks for posing those pics, very cool. That's a fine-looking Citabria.

I always thought crop dusters had to be a little bit nuts. Now I know one! (I'm razzing you, I love watching spraying ops, just fun to watch)

This thread just keeps getting better. I had no idea there were so many aviators here, and talk about some cool experience and stories!

I haven't missed flying in a long time, this thread is making some twangs start.

Holy Cow!! Some AWESOME pictures are being posted here! You guys should've posted these pictures a long time ago!

The pictures beg the next question - have you built a model (or two, or three) of the real stuff that you own?

Hi guys,

I've never flown in a military aircraft, but I've been a denizen of many airshows and i've been able to sit in the cockpit of a UH-1 Huey, and Ive also had the privlege  of seeing the inside of a B-17,C-130, and a walk through the cargo bay of a C-5 Galaxy. I've flown on a 737 and commuter planes. All good experiences, and i'm still alive to tell about it. :)

---Shaun

There's some great stuff being shared here! Man I'll tell you (not counting commercial airliners) I haven't flown in forever. This year will mark 20 years since my last flight. I flew for 8-1/2 years and had 900+ flight hours in the Army. I'll just let the pics do the talking as it seems I made my way into the Stars and Stripes:

I was in the Corps from 1972 to 1992 and for an enlisted guy I would try and talk my way into catching a hop whenever possible, I flown in Cessna 150's (bases had flying clubs) and got hops in a  Marine Reserve OV-10, Marine and Navy TA-4 Skyhawks with some outstanding stick time. A T-28 ( A painting of the bird I was in is on the boxtop of the Roden kit).  Lots of time in Huey's, CH-46's and CH-53's. KC-130's with  VMGR's 152, 252 and 352.  Navy TC-4C's which was used as a trainer for A-6 crews. In the back of the bird is a fully operating A-6 cockpit, I would stand behind the 2 crew members as they worked nav points to various targets. It was like being on top of an A-6 looking in. Rode on C-141's C-9's, SAC KC-135's And over the years, most of the various civilian airliners jets and props. The one bird I almost got a ride in but to my regret only squadron personnel was allowed was the F-4 Phantom.

I was lucky to have the opportunity to fly like I did and to meet some great pilots and crew members over the years.

mustang1989

There's some great stuff being shared here! Man I'll tell you (not counting commercial airliners) I haven't flown in forever. This year will mark 20 years since my last flight. I flew for 8-1/2 years and had 900+ flight hours in the Army. I'll just let the pics do the talking as it seems I made my way into the Stars and Stripes:

Shaun34

Hi guys,

I've never flown in a military aircraft, but I've been a denizen of many airshows and i've been able to sit in the cockpit of a UH-1 Huey, and Ive also had the privlege  of seeing the inside of a B-17,C-130, and a walk through the cargo bay of a C-5 Galaxy. I've flown on a 737 and commuter planes. All good experiences, and i'm still alive to tell about it. :)

---Shaun

And that's the most important thing, Shaun - you're still alive to tell about it!! 

Archangel Shooter

I was in the Corps from 1972 to 1992 and for an enlisted guy I would try and talk my way into catching a hop whenever possible, I flown in Cessna 150's (bases had flying clubs) and got hops in a  Marine Reserve OV-10, Marine and Navy TA-4 Skyhawks with some outstanding stick time. A T-28 ( A painting of the bird I was in is on the boxtop of the Roden kit).  Lots of time in Huey's, CH-46's and CH-53's. KC-130's with  VMGR's 152, 252 and 352.  Navy TC-4C's which was used as a trainer for A-6 crews. In the back of the bird is a fully operating A-6 cockpit, I would stand behind the 2 crew members as they worked nav points to various targets. It was like being on top of an A-6 looking in. Rode on C-141's C-9's, SAC KC-135's And over the years, most of the various civilian airliners jets and props. The one bird I almost got a ride in but to my regret only squadron personnel was allowed was the F-4 Phantom.

I was lucky to have the opportunity to fly like I did and to meet some great pilots and crew members over the years.

Cool stuff, Archangel! I had to look up TC-4C, as I wasn't familiar with that one. A Gulfstream...... didn't realize the military used those. The OV-10, the Skyhawk, and the Phantom II are two more that I would love to catch a ride in. All of them being two-seaters, STICK TIME!! 

mustang1989

There's some great stuff being shared here! Man I'll tell you (not counting commercial airliners) I haven't flown in forever. This year will mark 20 years since my last flight. I flew for 8-1/2 years and had 900+ flight hours in the Army. I'll just let the pics do the talking as it seems I made my way into the Stars and Stripes:

Scott:Looks like you've got quite the aviation history as well! 

Nathan:It was the best seat in the house! 

Devil Dawg:I was in the 6th Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Tx from 88-92, the 501st Avn. Reg. at Seoul Airbase , Korea from 92-93 and at the 36th Medical Detachment at Ft. Polk. La from 93 - late December 95. And I do have my fair share of stories to tell ...heh heh heh! 

Devil Dawg

MIflyer

LOL guys, yeah... I suppose between the T-34B and an F11F that would have made me a VERY old Navy pilot!

I was a Marine, but pounded the ground as an 03... hence the passenger time in C-130s and CH-53s. The closest I got to military flying was as a civilian contractor instructing in the IFS program for the Navy for about three years. I soloed about 90 of my own students and stage checked another 150 or so. My oldest students have just hit the fleet within the last year, mostly in helos but at least two that I've kept up with are in Hornets. Super proud of them!

And proud you should be! That's a great story, Devil Dog! How long were you in the Corps?

Six years, 2001-2007. Tried for, and got, a flight slot and was going to stay in and go the commisioned route, but got injured and medical'd out. Once out spent my GI Bill at the airport, so I got what I wanted outta the Corps after all. :)  These days the Learjet is my daily mount for work. Here's one of 'em:

Devil Dawg

Holy Cow!! Some AWESOME pictures are being posted here! You guys should've posted these pictures a long time ago!

The pictures beg the next question - have you built a model (or two, or three) of the real stuff that you own?

Agree! Great shots, guys. Nathan, your Citabria looks seriously great! One of these days I really, really need to get my tailwheel rating. And learn some acro.

To answer the question - I have about 5 Hasegawa Learjets in my stash, one started. I'd need to get some custom decals made, and I will eventually, but just haven't gone down that road yet. There's two or three jets that I'd love to build for sentimental reasons, but two of the three will take some modifications, in addition to decals. Hasegawa's 30-series Learjet is a great kit, but Learjets, more than most business jets, have lots of visible variations that you have to pay attention to, and given that I'd be building a very personal subject, my AMS would be in full swing. Of the 10 or so jets that I fly, I think two can be built without kit surgery.

Flown in a UH-1H Huey, a Bell Jet Ranger, a Bell 47, a Robinson R-22, a seaplane of some sort, and 2 or 3 different airliners, not sure which anymore.