Berny - The Phantom Phixer!

berny13

Bockscar:

Sparrowhyperion:

I hear that J79s are also great BBQ grills.  You just have to cook your burgers from about 4 houses down the block and use a very long set of skewers..

 

 

Bockscar:

 

 

Son Of Medicine Man:

 

And I almost forgot to mention, I will be bringing a CD with pictures that my Dad took while he was in Vietnam.  This was between August to December of 1964.  None of the aircraft was painted in camouflage yet.  I am quite sure most people will find the pictures very interesting.  I will bring a CD for everyone who is there.  I only ask that no one share these without asking me first.  And that is only so that my Dad can be credited for taking the pictures.  I plan to build each of the aircraft that are in the photos, just as they looked at the time.

Ken

 

If I had my druthers, I'ld like a tiny wrench or screw driver, even an old pencil or pen, or even a beat up paint brush as a souvenir....any old junked tool of the trade....as long as it was well worn and used and otherwise of 0 monetary value....lol....no obligations expected...wouldn't mind a J-79 in the backyard either, keep us warm on those cool fall nights.....

 

 

 

 

LMAO.....a little JP Sauce.....mmmmmm.......

 

Ah, the smell of JP-4 exhaust in the morning.  Nothing like it.

I have the goody bag all packed.  I may need a bigger suitcase to carry it. 

Ken, I have the AN/ALQ-101 ECM pod packed up too.  I also threw in a AN/ALQ-87, AN/ALQ-119, AN/ALQ-131 and a missile well strike camera as well. 

Wow Berny!  Very cool!

Another thing about this trip that I am looking forward to is maybe catching a C-5 Galaxy circling, landing, or taking off!  When I lived at Dover AFB, it was a common sight.  Funny how you take some things for granted.

Ken

Greetings everyone,

Well, I finally got home and unloaded the truck and unpacked my suitcase from our trip to the museum with Berny. We had a wonderful time. For those of you who were not there, you missed a really fun, informative, great time. I am going to share some of the pictures.

This one is where we surprised Berny by having the museum reserve his very own parking place:

Berny was also given access to walk behind the barriers to get up close and personel with the RF-4C at the museum. Here is a picture with him posing next to it:

Then Berny had a seat in the F-4 cockpit that the museum has set up. Here is a picture of him investigating flight readiness:

Now this next picture would be a Mig's worst nightmare to see on it's six:

Thanks Dom for that shot!

I will post more pictures later.

Ken

The Phab Phour.

Left to right

Ken (Son Of Medicine Man), Dom (Bockscar), Berny, Rich (Sparrowhyperion). 

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

berny13

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

Many thanks for the AM kits Berny!

I woulda' got more stuff, but Ken dropped his gloves and tried a jersey pull, I gave him an old Hulk Hogan drop kick and got the stuff I wanted back! While we were mixing it up, Rich grabbed a huge pile of stuff and made a run for it. We cut him off at the pass, me jumping over the balcony, shortest trip down three floors I ever made, before he could get to his horse...err...car!!! Phew! We team tagged him and got the stash back!

Actually, Ken was so gracious, he only wanted a few T-33 kits, I had to force him to take an AM kit for a Tamiya 1/32 F-4...lol....

Again Berny, many thanks for the stuff, it will be put to good use, and your advice will be followed.

Eegads!  I really need to lose some weight...!

berny13

The Phab Phour.

Left to right

Ken (Son Of Medicine Man), Dom (Bockscar), Berny, Rich (Sparrowhyperion). 

 

I just circled and studied the prey while the other sharks started the feeding frenzy, then swooped in and snagged a couple of items. lol  Now I have an excuse to pick up a couple of new kits.  On a bad note though, I got sniped again while trying to get a 1/32 Phantom on eBay... :(  I didn't find out until I got home.  I lost it by 50 cents.  Oh well...  Thanks for all the AM stuff Berny!

berny13

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

berny13

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

Yes, it was just like Christmas!  Thank you again for giving those AM parts to us.  I am bringing mine to our monthly IPMS meeting for show and tell!

Ken

Bockscar

berny13:

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

 

Many thanks for the AM kits Berny!

I woulda' got more stuff, but Ken dropped his gloves and tried a jersey pull, I gave him an old Hulk Hogan drop kick and got the stuff I wanted back! While we were mixing it up, Rich grabbed a huge pile of stuff and made a run for it. We cut him off at the pass, me jumping over the balcony, shortest trip down three floors I ever made, before he could get to his horse...err...car!!! Phew! We team tagged him and got the stash back!

Actually, Ken was so gracious, he only wanted a few T-33 kits, I had to force him to take an AM kit for a Tamiya 1/32 F-4...lol....

Again Berny, many thanks for the stuff, it will be put to good use, and your advice will be followed.

Dom, you still crack me up! 

Hello Everyone,

As promised, here are a few more pictures.  In this one you can see Rich in front with Berny behind him and to the right of Berny is Dom.  They are checking out the F-105D.  If you look farther in the background you can see Deb sitting and part of Merissa.

In this next shot you can see Berny laughing (probably at one of Dom's jokes) standing next to an F-4C.

In this next picture you can see Berny (sitting in the chair) with Dom standing beside him checking out the F-105G.  Also you can see Merissa talking to her dad Rich.

The following picture has Dom checking out the display case and Berny is reading one of the displays.  Notice the B-52D looming over their heads!  (One of Dom's favorite aircraft by the way.)

I am including the next picture because Berny mentioned how much he really likes the F-84E (after the Phantom II of course!)

Here is a good shot of Berny with the B-52D in the background.

In the picture Rich is checking out one of his favorite aircraft, the B-58.

This next photo is a shot of Berny getting ready to pop a wheelie!

There is more to come, so stay tuned!

Ken

Ken.  Could you do me a big favor and zip me up a copy of those images.  I am having trouble getting them to DL properly.

One of the highlights of the trip was our luncheons at the Officers' Club at the  Wright Patterson AFB.  It's something I would never had been able to do without being in the company of a retired but still card-carrying member of the USAF. Berny was able to use his ID to vouch for Ken and me, and I have to tell you, it was great to see life from the inside perspective. I was very impressed to see how the guards changed their demeanor after they had a look at Berny, and Berny's ID.

The OC is right beside a set of runways and its polished wood grandeur is from a different time. Even though it was just for lunch, I couldn't help but feel the sense of history as we passed through the OC's corridors. We went to the Wings lounge on Saturday, and the dining room for a buffet on Sunday after Ken realized the menu was all inclusive. The meals were excellent, and I was simply not conditioned to expect the buffet to be all you can eat, drinks included. That would be because as a Canadian, I've never had a drink in a restaurant I wasn't tagged for, eh?

When I finally got around to actually ordering my drink, the waitress asked me "Would you like that extra strong?" -definitely not the kind of service I'm accustomed to. I did manage to walk out all on my own, however.

Great shots of you in th cokpit Berny. It looks like a great time by all.

Bockscar

berny13:

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

 

Many thanks for the AM kits Berny!

I woulda' got more stuff, but Ken dropped his gloves and tried a jersey pull, I gave him an old Hulk Hogan drop kick and got the stuff I wanted back! While we were mixing it up, Rich grabbed a huge pile of stuff and made a run for it. We cut him off at the pass, me jumping over the balcony, shortest trip down three floors I ever made, before he could get to his horse...err...car!!! Phew! We team tagged him and got the stash back!

Actually, Ken was so gracious, he only wanted a few T-33 kits, I had to force him to take an AM kit for a Tamiya 1/32 F-4...lol....

Again Berny, many thanks for the stuff, it will be put to good use, and your advice will be followed.

Tell the truth Dom.  I know you were taking things of of the stack that Rich and Ken had and hiding them under the bed.  Why do you think I hid my helmet bag, the way you were looking at it.    

tigerman

Great shots of you in th cokpit Berny. It looks like a great time by all.

It was listed as a F-4D cockpit.  After getting into the front seat and looking around I realized it wasn't a F-4D cockpit but a F-4B ccokpit.  There were too many differences including the throttles, control panels and gun site combining glass.  When I looked into the rear cockpit it was definately a B model.

Then I read the info on it and it was printed that a F-4B cockpit was built to simulate a F-4D cockpit for the TV series "Call To Glory". 

LMAO.. The 69-260 is almost done.. yeah!  Then I get back to my FGR.2 and maybe do a non Phantom kit in between to get my brain working again. lol

berny13

 

 

 

Tell the truth Dom.  I know you were taking things of of the stack that Rich and Ken had and hiding them under the bed.  Why do you think I hid my helmet bag, the way you were looking at it.    

berny13

 

Bockscar:

 

 

berny13:

You should have seen the look on their faces when I dumped my goody bag of AM parts on the bed.  It was like three kids in a candy store when told to get what they want at no cost.  I just dumped the contents and got out of the way.  

 

 

Many thanks for the AM kits Berny!

I woulda' got more stuff, but Ken dropped his gloves and tried a jersey pull, I gave him an old Hulk Hogan drop kick and got the stuff I wanted back! While we were mixing it up, Rich grabbed a huge pile of stuff and made a run for it. We cut him off at the pass, me jumping over the balcony, shortest trip down three floors I ever made, before he could get to his horse...err...car!!! Phew! We team tagged him and got the stash back!

Actually, Ken was so gracious, he only wanted a few T-33 kits, I had to force him to take an AM kit for a Tamiya 1/32 F-4...lol....

Again Berny, many thanks for the stuff, it will be put to good use, and your advice will be followed.

 

 

Tell the truth Dom.  I know you were taking things of of the stack that Rich and Ken had and hiding them under the bed.  Why do you think I hid my helmet bag, the way you were looking at it.    

Ugg.  We just got some bad news.  Apparently our landlords (trailer park owners) have decided they are going to make some changes.  First off, rent increase, secondly they are going to force out all of the older Mobile homes in the park.  Since ours is a 1978 and not in that great a shape, we now have 30 days to get the problem with our credit rating fixed, get a loan, and find and close on a new place.  I really hate those greedy SOBs.  If I am not on as much, you'll know why.  This is going to take a lot of work to accomplish.  At least a couple of places we had looked at before are still on the market.  I hope the landlord gets the creeping crud or something.  8 years here and without missing or being late on rent even once.

Rich

Sparrowhyperion

Ugg.  We just got some bad news.  Apparently our landlords (trailer park owners) have decided they are going to make some changes.  First off, rent increase, secondly they are going to force out all of the older Mobile homes in the park.  Since ours is a 1978 and not in that great a shape, we now have 30 days to get the problem with our credit rating fixed, get a loan, and find and close on a new place.  I really hate those greedy SOBs.  If I am not on as much, you'll know why.  This is going to take a lot of work to accomplish.  At least a couple of places we had looked at before are still on the market.  I hope the landlord gets the creeping crud or something.  8 years here and without missing or being late on rent even once.

Rich

Yeah, I saw some places for sale near Wright Patterson!

Umm, maybe a B&B!...lol....

I'm not sure what to do at this point.  The credit reporting agency is dragging their feet on fixing the problem.  Now they are telling us 60-90 days to clean it off.  These guys seem to enjoy messing with people's lives.  We have a few places on a short list from before that are still here.  Deb is going to try and ask her Grandmother to co-sign so the problem is not an issue.  She helped us out once before about 10 years ago, when our old car died and we had to get one.  We paid it off early so it helped her rating.  We'll see what we can do.

Bockscar

 

Sparrowhyperion:

 

Ugg.  We just got some bad news.  Apparently our landlords (trailer park owners) have decided they are going to make some changes.  First off, rent increase, secondly they are going to force out all of the older Mobile homes in the park.  Since ours is a 1978 and not in that great a shape, we now have 30 days to get the problem with our credit rating fixed, get a loan, and find and close on a new place.  I really hate those greedy SOBs.  If I am not on as much, you'll know why.  This is going to take a lot of work to accomplish.  At least a couple of places we had looked at before are still on the market.  I hope the landlord gets the creeping crud or something.  8 years here and without missing or being late on rent even once.

Rich

 

That's not the best news Rich, your landlords probably do have the cc's already. Hey, since you're moving anyways, why not get a place in Dayton Rich!

 

Yeah, I saw some places for sale near Wright Patterson!

Umm, maybe a B&B!...lol....

We'll say a prayer for you Rich, you deserve a break!

Thanks man.

Bockscar

We'll say a prayer for you Rich, you deserve a break!

One of Berny's favourites:

Here's a shot of Berny with an old friend:

Bockscar

Here's a shot of Berny with an old friend:

That is a great shot Dom! 

Ken

Yeah Ken, I got about 5 good shots outa the whole shebang!

Bockscar

Yeah Ken, I got about 5 good shots outa the whole shebang!

How do you expect to get any good pictures after taking my mug shot?  The only reason Ken was able to take good pictures was he had an Anti Ugly Filter on his camera.    

berny13

 

Bockscar:

 

Yeah Ken, I got about 5 good shots outa the whole shebang!

 

 

How do you expect to get any good pictures after taking my mug shot?  The only reason Ken was able to take good pictures was he had an Anti Ugly Filter on his camera.    

I think the reason so many of my other shots didn't come out was the Koda Chrome, I don't think it was sitting right in my camera....

Hey guys,

Berny gave Ken and me an update, and his cancer has spread to the lower lobe of his left lung. He's getting about mostly on his scooter, and last I chatted with him, he's very stoic, and more concerned about the plight of others in this ordeal than himself. His wife isn't handling this too well, it is hard to live through this with a loved one, whom won't. Berny is very matter-of-fact about his condition - a brave man without a hint of self-pity, I really admire that.

It is that 'live for others' attitude that always drives him on, and he continues to inspire me with that strength of character.

Berny intends to be around at least until Christmas, so he's fighting for that. I definitely want to wish him a Merry Christmas on that special day.

Yeah, Berny wants to see all of neat kits Santa has brought him under the Tree....greedy bastige!