For those of you who like aircraft of the Second World War, and mid-century aviation, here is a picture of my uncle and godfather in the cockpit of his F5-A (P-38) AAF camera plane. After the war, he was a civil engineer, as was his younger brother.
Here's more P-38 info:
http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_fighters_p38.php
An interesting statistic, when tabulating the Army Air Force aces of WW II, seven of the top eight flew P-38's. The P-51 Mustang was a great plane, durable, rugged and fast, and probably easier to fly than the P-38, but the record speaks for itself. There are more P-51's flying than P-38's today, making the P-38's a rare airframe in operation. Operable examples are valued in the multiple millions of dollars.
The "Night Lightning," modded to carry another flight member, who was a radar operator, and w/radar pod below the nose.
http://warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/images/p38-3.jpg
F5-B (foreground) & a P-38J (rear)
More info:
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Can-This-P-38-Be-Saved.html
http://www.eppsaviation.com/about-us_the-lost-squadron.php
http://www.americanpolar.org/colonel-norman-vaughan/
Here's more P-38 info:
http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_fighters_p38.php
An interesting statistic, when tabulating the Army Air Force aces of WW II, seven of the top eight flew P-38's. The P-51 Mustang was a great plane, durable, rugged and fast, and probably easier to fly than the P-38, but the record speaks for itself. There are more P-51's flying than P-38's today, making the P-38's a rare airframe in operation. Operable examples are valued in the multiple millions of dollars.
The "Night Lightning," modded to carry another flight member, who was a radar operator, and w/radar pod below the nose.
http://warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/images/p38-3.jpg
F5-B (foreground) & a P-38J (rear)
More info:
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Can-This-P-38-Be-Saved.html
http://www.eppsaviation.com/about-us_the-lost-squadron.php
http://www.americanpolar.org/colonel-norman-vaughan/
