By Sanford hughes
Photos by Mike Ullery

WW II B-25 Mitchell bombers lined the Grimes Field ramp in Urbana, Ohio last month, providing rides in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders mission that marked a turning point in World War II, in U.S. morale if not damage.

Hundreds of spectators gathered at the field April 15 to learn about the history of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and watch the mighty B-25s take off and land. The Grimes Gathering of B-25s sought to be the largest group of the bombers to be in one locations, with as many as 20 on hand to participate.

Volunteer crews dedicated their time to shining, maintaining and flying these icons of history. Doug Duff, a Canadian volunteering with the Yankee Warrior crew, says the United States is one of the few countries where volunteers help keep history flying, which is in danger (see related story on warbird amendment in U.S. House).

There were 80 volunteers on the 16 planes that flew off the Hornet that day on April 15, 1942, led by the 46-year-old Col. James "Jimmy" Doolittle. All had two pilots, three crewmen and each was loaded to max gross weight with various kinds of bombs.

As everyone knows by now, they were to launch when the carrier got within 450 miles of the Japanese mainland but strong seas caused their battleship escorts to fall back, although the USS Enterprise stayed nearby.

Then they were spotted by a Japanese picket ship and Doolittle elected to launch immediately, almost 700 miles from the coast in a raging storm, which meant none of the planes would have enough fuel to reach the Chinese bases where they had planned to land.

The B-25s crossed the raging seas at wavetop height, with 10 bombing Tokyo. Three planes aimed for Nagoya and Osaka, two crews attacked Yokohama and one bomber would hit Yokosuka (pronounced Yo-kus-ka).

In the original raid, one of the 16 aircraft turned north to land in Russia, and the crew was interned. The other 15 aircraft with 64 crewmembers went down in Japanese territory, either ditching at sea or continuing into China. Eight men were captured, three of whom were executed; another died of malnutrition.

The Chinese provided aid to the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders to help them return to friendly soil, something the civilians paid for dearly: A quarter-million Chinese were killed in retaliation for the protection the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders received.

Now, 70 years later on April 15, that extraordinary heroism was recalled as almost as many general aviation aircraft were parked in the grass as B-25s on the ramp, creating an impressive display of the range of aviation.

A 20-degree, 30-plus-knot crosswind couldn't keep light general aviation aircraft or the massive B-25s on the ground. The Grimes Gathering of B-25s served as a living history lesson of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders for younger generations.

"This is not a fly-in, it's a history lesson," said Larry Kelley, organizer of the Grimes Gathering of B-25s and pilot of Panchito, the lead aircraft in the mass flyover to commemorate the anniversary of the raid.

"It's the first and the last time we could ever do this," he said, explaining that the Grimes Gathering and National Museum of the U.S. Air Force brought together the five remaining Doolittle Tokyo Raiders - Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole (Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot), Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, Lt. Col. Edward J. Saylor, and Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher - along with a survivor of the October 1942 Japanese attack that sank the USS Hornet, a Chinese woman who assisted the Raiders, and sister ships of those mighty bombers that carried the brave young men aloft.

Putting all the pieces together, including bringing two Chinese to the United States, required coordination from both countries' governments.

A five-ship formation of North American B-25 Mitchells departed in rapid succession, a 20-degree, 30-plus-knot crosswind causing no little excitement in the cockpits.
The pilots and crew of these restored B-25s volunteered their time to fly 45-minute hops, returning to cheering spectators with their passengers exploding with excitement after a ride of a lifetime.

"I think the Doolittle Raiders was one of the more daring things I've read about," said Bruce Bream, who flew his Arrow III to Grimes Field with friends. Nearly 20 light general aviation aircraft had flown in by midday April 15.

Despite the steady rain that prevented many aircraft from arriving early, better weather provided a window that allowed more aircraft to join a mass formation flyover of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on April 18 during a special ceremony. Events continued through April 20 at the museum.

Announcers recounted the raid for hundreds of spectators from toddlers to non-agenarians who gathered to see the B-25s, P-51s, a P-40 and a Japanese Zero on display. Veterans from all branches of the military who served in various wars from World War II to present and active duty servicemen and women also came out to pay tribute.

Crews who had their B-25 on display, like Pacific Princess, answered questions for several youngsters. Some of the children already had "a little bit of knowledge of the Raiders," said Frank Donnelly, who flew on Pacific Princess from Los Angeles to Urbana. "We do it for the veterans.

"We do it for the American history. We do it for the future generations."

The B-25 groups paid for their expenses themselves, Kelley said, adding that for some, that bill could reach $35,000. Fuel expenses alone are staggering; each 1,700-hp engine burns one gallon of fuel per minute.

Northrup Grumman and Enterprise provided corporate sponsorships, and individual donations comprised the rest of the $100,000 raised for the gathering, but that is just a fraction of the $900,000 that was needed to help offset the costs for the crews. In return, the crews were permitted to sell rides for $450 per person to help recoup some of the cost.

"The people who served, that's why we're doing it," Kelley's crewmember Matt Sager said.

Writing fiction is hard, really hard.

But writing non-fiction, especially about a major event or well known era of history, is 10 times harder because so many people are still around who experienced it.

But Barrett Tillman, as he has in his past 46+ books, proves equal to the task with "Enterprise," a 262-page hardbound testimony to an aircraft carrier and the men who flew from her decks during the very first days of World War II until the conflict came to an end.

Including numerous black and white photos of the era, including a kamikaze attack that blew off the forward elevator, Tillman manages to draw the reader in with poetic prose and inside information about a straight deck carrier that took the war to the enemy just a few days after Pearl Harbor.

In these pages you'll meet the men who not only flew the planes but also those who maintained them, who kept them fueled and armed and, most importantly, those who directed an unprepared American force against a powerful enemy.

The Japanese had been preparing for war for decades and spread their evil empire across the south China Sea area, including the Philippines, Formosa, all the Pacific Islands west of Wake Island and were waging a million-man army battle in China. Her warlords' ultimate goal was to take Australia, then Alaska and ultimately the United States of America.

One thing stood in her path - the USS Enterprise, CV-6 - and her gallant crew. Tillman takes us from her initial construction to sea trials and the hand of fate that kept her a day late in arriving at Pearl Harbor. She came over the horizon on Dec. 8, 1941 to a scene of mass destruction and indescribable perfidy by an enemy bent on world domination.

This could not stand and the men of USS Enterprise, vastly unprepared and untrained in the art of war, had to grow up and become warriors overnight.

Tillman, a prolific writer on subjects military, said he knew that he had little time left to get her story told.

"Enterprise is one of the two or three most personal of the 46-47 books I've written," he said. "In researching several previous books (studies of the F6F, F4U, TBF, etc) I got to know many Big E aviators and aircrew, some of whom remain close friends today.

"But the rate of attrition was always on my mind: by the time the book was published, more than half the contributors were deceased."

As you progress from early in the war to the main battles, you'll meet some of the Enterprises' most well-known aviators, men such as Butch O'Hare (for whom Chicago's airport is named), "Killer" Kane and the admirals who commanded them.

Tillman has this way with words that make his stories read like fiction, that is, lyrical and fascinating. But it's all true.

You become attached to particular pilots or officers (although Tillman seems to have an affinity for the enlisted swabbies who do the dirty work) and almost take it personally when one is lost. But there's also the heroic tales of those who shouldn't have lived, but did.

One crew spent 37 days in a small life raft, for example, and all lived to tell the tale. You'll get an insider's look at the Battle of Midway, the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo (Enterprise was the Hornet's sister ship during that event).

There's humor, pathos, detail and devotion in these pages, but at the end, the Enterprise finds herself in a scrap yard, facing the welder's cutting torch.

"It's sad to consider, but apparently the biggest reason the U.S. Navy sold its most historic ship for scrap was that she was not considered worth the expense of maintaining her," Tillman said. "As noted in the book, some CV6ers did not want to see their beloved Enterprise turned into some sort of amusement park, and that is totally understandable.

"But after the WW II generation is gone, the hardware will be the only tangible reminder of what those men did."

If you're an old sea dog, a former or current Navy pilot or just wish you were, you'll want to read what life at sea during combat was like, told by America's preeminent military reporter.

Editor's Note: The publisher sent us two dozen books to distribute to our readership. If you'd like a copy, give us a call at (760) 439-4466 and we'll send it to you for the cost of shipping (around $5 usually). If you're in the Oceanside area, just drop by and get one (one per person) for free.

It's the best deal you'll ever get on one of the best military books ever written.

- Wayman Dunlap

Story And Photo
By Gary Christopher

Every March Florida is overrun with pilots and college students from the frozen north, eager to get a jumpstart on summer.

After the half-naked teenagers clear the beaches of Daytona and St. Pete, the pilots migrate inland to Lakeland for Sun 'N Fun, the best little air show in the world.

Florida's warm March climate and azure skies with photogenic fluffy white clouds makes it a near perfect venue for the nation's first major air show each year. Central Florida, tornado-free since 2011, has abundant retirees willing to volunteer, keeping the show free of smothering corporate sponsorship and making for a relaxing, week-long fly-in.

Sun 'N Fun is probably the second largest air show in the U.S. by number of aircraft. Now in its 38th year, it attracts the entire gamut of general aviation while improving the facilities at a steady pace.

Parking and traffic flow were improved this year to handle growing attendance.

The show is held at Lakeland Linder airport, midway between Tampa and Orlando, with Kermit Weeks' museum nearby and reportedly there's an amusement park in the vicinity if you're traveling with non-aviators.

Linder field has a near-perfect layout for an air show, with the FBOs and terminal on one side of the field and the Fly-in on the other side of the runway where numerous permanent buildings house vendor exhibits, the type clubs, FAA, and a small museum notable for some extremely rare aircraft such as an XFV-1 Salmon and a Sea Dart, the world's only supersonic flying boat.

Sun 'N Fun offers camping at your plane or at a tent/trailer camping area close to the exhibits and flight line. It leads the air show industry in food service, with quality and variety that you won't find anywhere this side of Paris.

Offerings this year included Italian, Mexican and Greek restaurants, barbecued chicken, tri-tip, and ice cream, all made on the premises and at fairly reasonable prices. A couple of outlets offer adult beverages that give a fella a fighting chance against the strong afternoon sun.

Sun 'N Fun attracts the finest air show acts in the country. Patty Wagstaff made one of her few appearances of the 2012 season, Kyle Franklin debuted a new act, Gene Soucy dazzled crowds with his Grumman Show Cat, Sean Tucker, Mike Gulian, and 40 other great performers appeared throughout the week to keep the crowds entertained from one to 6 p.m. each day.

The CAF brought their C-47 and FiFi, the only flying B-29; VMF-109 brought a couple of F/A-18s, the Marines sent a Harrier from North Carolina, and the Thunderbirds visited from Nellis for three days.

Friday night featured a spectacular night aerobatic show featuring Manfred Radius, Elgin Wells and the Aero Shell T-6 team. Aerobatics at night is another level of excitement the first time you experience it; a combination of air show and fireworks that is more difficult to fly and more exciting to watch than the "usual" air show routines.

GIRL ANGELS: The names of the angels are Kaylie Murphy (left) and Keli McLaulin.

Sun 'N Fun continues a slow steady growth, this year adding a new media center sponsored by Nikon, who graciously tended to the needs of professional photographers and showed off their newest equipment.

This event always features a military team and this year the USAF Thunderbirds performed their second show of the season. Their flight showed improvement over 2010, when they last appeared, but wasn't up to the standards of years gone by.

They have eliminated the upward bomb burst, which was always a signature maneuver, seem to fly their formation passes higher and never managed to get more than three of the six planes to cross show center together. Even the solos had trouble crossing at show center during the head on passes.

The Calypso pass was stable, but appeared to have more separation than in years past, while T-bird three was frequently out of position.

Most importantly, the show was interspersed with lengthy delays while the T-birds were Š well we don't what they were doing because they were out of visual range. The announcer spent this time trying to dazzle us with the amazing capabilities of the F-16, which the Thunderbirds started flying 29 years ago and was designed a decade before that.

Unfortunately, there's no hope of a hardware upgrade for the T-birds. Imagine them trying to get six Raptors in the air at the same time.

Recovery of six fighters should take about two minutes from the overhead break, but the Thunderbirds took seven minutes, long enough for the audience to start speculating about whether we'd miscounted, or whether one got lost, defected to Cuba, or ... ?

Flying an F-16 in the Thunderbirds is unquestionably a demanding job requiring the highest level of skill, but it is their full time job. You would think that the US Air Force would have at least five pilots that can form up on the boss for 20 minutes a day.

One can't help wondering if factors other than pilot skill are involved in the selection process. It would be really nice if they could find someone capable of choreographing an air show routine, too.

Warbirds are an important part of Sun 'N Fun air shows, with Lee Lauderback of nearby Stallion 51 flying almost every day, Bill Leff in his T-6, Corsairs, Mustangs, and a Hellcat representing the U.S. while Nanchangs, Yaks, L-39s, and MiGs prove that the Commies were smarter than LBJ told us they were in the '60s.

A new team to the air show circuit this year is Black Diamond, flying a pair of MiG-17s and three L-39 Albatrosses. The team is based at Lakeland and flying a full schedule this summer from Florida to New England.

The Black Diamond team (see cover) flies a precise routine with tight formations and great stage presence. The T-birds could learn from them.

For many of us, Sun 'N Fun is a step back in time. Attending SNF now is like attending Oshkosh in the '80s when it was all about aviation: building, flying, seeing the new equipment, and the world's best performers rekindling the memory of the elder pilots, stirring the imagination of the non-pilots, and inspiring the young to become aviators. Sun 'N Fun crowds are laid back and, more importantly, the staff/volunteers are mellow.

The FAA has an adequate presence providing all the service that's necessary with a minimum of fuss.

Each year several Caribbean nations set up shop at SNF to woo pilots to fly on down. Cayman will tell you how to cut the Cuban overflight fee down by 75%, Dominican Republic will give you 50 gallons of free gas, and the Bahamas will bend over backwards to get you there, waiving all fees, providing free hotlines to each of the many U.S. government agencies you need to talk to legally fly home.

At Sun 'N Fun one gets the impression that there are still people around who want you to fly, and that's not always the case at air shows.

Story and Photos
By Barry Ambrose

It has to be said that things were looking pretty grim on route to Riverside Airport last month for its 20th annual air show.

A low cloud base seemed to cover the Los Angeles and surrounding areas allowing little or no private flying and certainly not what an air show organizer needed on the morning of his big day.
The flying display was due to kick-off at 9 a.m. but as of 10:30 it still looked marginal.

Finally, a glimmer of hope that things would soon start to improve allowed Margaret Stivers to climb aboard the Stearman which she was soon to be wing walking on in front of the large expectant crowd.

Pilot Hartley Folstad fired up the silver beast and taxied out for some low patriotic passes with American flag aloft - a fine way to kick off the flying activities.

Air show Air Boss Chris Davis and his team were now in full swing trying to re-organize the flying display schedule as things were now way behind due the still low grey cloud cover.

Folstad taxied his Boeing B75 Stearman taxiing back to its flight line position to the crowds rapturous applause. Already waiting for departure was Frank "Dr D" Donnelly in his neat little 1946 Taylorcraft (with Swick conversion) who put on another wonderful display despite the inclement weather.

"I had to quickly improvise with a bad weather display as the ceiling was still pretty low," he said. "II hope the crowd enjoyed it though, maybe for my next display it will be a little bit better than this!"

Thankfully it was as blue patches were abundant and Donnelly put on another fine display with plenty of smoke and inverted antics ending with his now famous perfect dead-stick landing - silently taxiing in to his flight line parking space with the prop motionless - airmanship at its very best.

The crowd had swollen nicely by mid-day and was now filling most of the empty spaces on the airport, Air show Coordinator Tom Miller advised that around 87, 000 spectators were present at the height of the show.

"They were still pouring in at 2 O'clock," he said, "which was so good to see, we were a little worried to begin with as we had no idea how the weather was going to affect us both with crowds and the flying but it all turned out to be a great event and we flew everything we had planned to.!"

With another busy 2012 show season planned ahead of him Jon Melby powered up his 330 plus HP Pitts S-1 for the first of two displays.

"As well as today I have around eight shows in Mexico and about half a dozen in the USA ... that's about as many as I can handle in one year," he said.

Then Doug Jardine got airborne in his stylish Lycoming Thunderbolt Engines backed Sukhoi SU-26MX for more aerial capers that kept the Riverside onlookers stretching their necks skywards.

John Collver used his SNJ-5 Texan to take on an afterburner jet car but as always the car wins but it looks fun and the crowd loved it. With a large grass fire on the far side of the airport the Riverside Police Department sprang into action with one of their based Hughes HU-369E (500) choppers which used its fire suppressant system to good use in just one pass and the arrest of a suspect in a car.

The USAF's A-10 West Side Heritage Flight was thankfully back in action once again. Often seen with a P-47, P-51 or an F-86 it was pleasing to see the P-38L Lightning in the capable hands of Kevin Eldridge flying alongside the A-10. Chief pilot with the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino,Eldridge flew some solo passes, as did the A-10 ... both aircraft then joined together for a number of photogenic passes before both aircraft broke away in fine style away from the crowd.

Staff Sergeant Shaun Edwards was again on hand to keep the Davis Monthan based Thunderbolt ll ticking when it needed to and made sure all systems were running correctly allowing display pilot John Collier to show off the "warthog" at its best.

Before the locally based C-17 Globemaster lll (from March Air Reserve Base) made its spectacular departure to round off a wonderful show the Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing fired-up their respective warbirds.

The three Grumman's lead the way out - Ken Gottschall in the Hellcat, Gary Barber in the Bearcat and Carter Teeters in the Wildcat. Bringing up the rear was Dr. Ken Wagner in the "Lady Alice" Mustang; a fine sight and sound it was as they made their way out for a formation fly-by before making several individual passes.

Sadly its only a one day event, but the Riverside organizers can thank themselves for putting on a superb and varied show and a must see for next year.

Four of the raiders were in attendance at Dayton, Ohio: Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, Maj. Thomas C. Griffin and Lt. Cols. Richard E. Cole (Doolittle's co-pilot) and Edward J. Saylor. The fifth, Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, was unable to attend for health reasons.

The banquet commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle raid, where the crews of 16 B-25 bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet and dropped bombs on several locations in mainland Japan.

After the mission, the crews didn't have enough fuel to return home and 15 of the B-25s were either crash-landed in Japanese-occupied China or abandoned when their crews bailed out.
The final B-25 landed safely within the borders of the Soviet Union and was the only plane to survive the mission.

"It was a hard mission, but we got away with it," Saylor, who served as a gunner with crew 15, said. "And we always knew it would help morale.""

The banquet not only honored the brave men of the Doolittle Raid, but gave those in attendance a chance to show their respect and meet the living legends.

"We are honored to host the raiders on the 70th anniversary of such a historic event," said Lt. Gen. (ret.) Jack Hudson, the museum's director. "And we are grateful these amazing men chose to come here to commemorate this famous World War II mission."

During the banquet, the raiders were honored with a special movie featuring Hollywood stars such as Gary Sinise and Jon Voight, who all thanked the raiders for their service and praised them for their courage.

Several representatives from the Chinese Embassy were also on hand, as well as Hu Daxian, from Zhejiang, China, whose husband, Li Senlin, aided the rescue of Doolittle Raider crew number two, after they landed in Japanese-occupied China.

The banquet culminated a week of events held at the museum and throughout the local area, including a flyover of 20 B-25s, the most in one flight since World War II, and several autograph sessions and luncheons with the raiders.

FLAT SPIN
By David Freed
Permanent Press, $29

Cordell Logan is a wise-ass, an in-your-face Air Force Academy graduate who flew A-10s in Iraq and later worked for a top secret U.S. government agency called the Alpha group.

Their specialty was removing - permanently - people who certain American agencies decided had no reason to take up space. Consequently, Logan is well-versed in self-defense and has no lack of self-confidence.

Which is a good thing for him because he has a tendency to tick people off with his clever bon mots, smart-alec comebacks and inability to let bullies and other cretins get away with anything. But that's not his main job.

Quickly we find that he's a struggling flight instructor at an airport in the central California community of Rancho Bonita. How he got from there to here is never explained, but it's not really necessary to the story.

In fact, this is one of those books you read for the sheer joy of the way the words are arranged on the page. Freed's publicist sent along a letter with the review copy saying she was so fascinated with it that she read the entire book in one sitting.

"Yeah, right," I thought as I opened it up to scan the first chapter. Eighty seven pages and an hour later I e-mailed the author, who lives in Santa Barbara, to set up an interview. Anyone who writes this well must have a story to tell, I figured.

David Freed is one of those mysterious characters who says he's never served in the military, never been attached to any clandestine organization and never joined the Buddhist faith. Yet he seems to know an extraordinary amount of information about all three, but that's his story and he's sticking to it (although the jacket notes that he holds a security clearance from the DoD).

A member of the LA Times crew who won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Rodney King riots, a CBS news reporter who covered the OJ Simpson trial, and a war correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan, he's also a screenwriter with a deep-seated disdain for the movers and shakers of Hollywood (which is very common with screenwriters, we've found).

He has one movie to his credit, "The Iowa," but dozens more share his deft touch with dialogue even if he didn't get credit for them. When you look at his photo and then talk to him for a couple of hours, you start to believe that he really is Cordell Logan.

"He's the guy I wish I was," Freed admitted at one point. Understandable. Logan is the 6'1," 190 lb lug we all wish we were, ready to forge ahead when the odds are against him, unafraid of bulked up bodyguards and a definite babe magnet, even if he did let his eye-poppingly beautiful wife get away.

Presumably, Pacific Flyer was selected as a potential market for Freed's story since there's a lot of flying in the book, all in Logan's beat-up C-172 (although Freed owns and flies a Piper Cherokee 180C). We didn't find one error in terminology or procedure in his interactions with ATC, most of which will go right over the heads of the non-aviation public, but won't get in the way, either.

Logan finds himself involved with a mystery when his former Alpha partner turns up dead, shot point blank by a pizza delivery guy (be careful who you order from nowadays). The cops, smothered in the ongoing LA gang killings, aren't exactly anxious to investigate the whole thing as they've got bigger fish to fry.

So Logan decides to look into it himself, which is the main theme of the book. Who dunnit? And why? And why do they keep doing it?

Not that his former comrade, who just happened to have stolen Logan's gorgeous wife away from him, was a lovable character or even a friend but Logan figured he owed him enough to find out who his killer was. Plus his ex-father-in-law offers him 25 large to ask around.

Before it's over, Logan finds himself being hunted by mysterious Russians and a thug or thugs in a white Honda Accord, among others. Along the way, we meet his gregarious and give-'em-hell landlady (he lives in her converted garage) of the Zion persuasion, his disdainful cat "Kiddiot" who never eats but is putting on weight, an ex-cop that's gone over the edge (and one who's helpful but just worn out), a CIA type who assists Logan with thatering information, and a dozen other memorable characters.

The only issue is that we don't know Logan's backstory. Freed said future books are in the works so maybe we'll find out more in the next one.

Due out in May, this is one of those crime thrillers that, when you get to the last page, you find yourself saying, "Damn! It's over." Add the fun repartee, the mysterious and continuing executions, the near death experiences of our hero and his decidedly up tempo personality, then throw in the flying scenes and you have a fun, readable 300 page book that you just can't wait to get back to at night.

- Wayman Dunlap

Story and Photos
By Gilles Auliard
"My feet are sore, it must be a good fly-in."

This is how Captain Edward "Ted" Miller evaluated the 2012 Cactus Fly-in held at the Casa Grande, Ariz. Airport March 2 & 3.

Organized by the Arizona Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association, the Cactus Fly-in is the traditional fly-in kick-off of the season. It usually draws heavily from the Greater Phoenix area, which harbors one of the highest concentration of warbirds in the country.

Friday, the first day of the two-day event, dawned with cool temperatures (in the low 40's), rising to the high 60's by mid-afternoon. This would have been a perfect weather for a fly-in, except for a crosswind, blowing straight across the runway, increasing in strength as the day progressed.

As you might have guessed, even the most daring taildragger pilot thought twice about attempting to land at Casa Grande, and most of the potential attendees decided to postpone their trip. If Friday was somewhat of a downer, Saturday kept the winds manageable even for the most novice pilot.

Very agreeable temperatures reaching the mid-70s by midafternoon made for an enjoyable experience.

Swarms of airplanes made it to the-airport as bright and early as possible.

By 9 a.m., more than 200 airplanes were standing on the airport grounds, from taildraggers to biplanes and from warbirds to homebuilts.

One gauge of the success of a fly-in is the number of airplanes one has never seen in action before. In this case, the examples were numerous, and I could mention Bob Odegaard's P-51D NL151RJ "Stang," Kyle Deaton's YT-34C NX190AC, Robert Deford's surprisingly accurate Spitfire Mk9 Replica N1940K or Bill Lewallen's pristine Yak 11 NX18AW "Maniyak."

It is even better when you encounter a variant of a type of airplane you have never faced before, such as Yesterday Museum's F-5 H NX49WB painted in the colors of KN987, an example supplied to the British under the lend-lease agreement and evaluated at Boscombe Down, in 1945.

However the ultimate thrill is to be challenged by an airplane that, not only you have never seen before, but you do not even have a clue of what it is and who build it. This was the case of the Wickham B, a one-of-a-kind, all metal, twin engine, five place high wing fixed gear monoplane built by James M. Wickham of Seattle, Wash. Owned by Curtis Clark, it made the short trip form Scottsdale, to participate in the Cactus-Fly-in.

None-the-less, the ultimate treat was the presence of the only two flyable F2G-2 "Super Corsair" examples, namely Goodyear F2G N5588N, Race Number 57, and Goodyear F2G N5577N Race Number 74, both based at Falcon Field, in Chandler, Ariz.

Considered by many to be the ultimate piston-powered fighter, the Goodyear F2G was the last development of the famous series of F1G/F4U Corsair. Fitted with a 3,000 hp "corncob" 28 cylinder R-4360 Pratt & Whitney engine, it never saw service during WW II but became an icon in the history of air racing.

Well known to the airshow-going public, number 57 was the fifth production Super Corsair. Purchased by the famous racer Cook Cleland, as part of a lot of four, it never raced with him.

In the hands of Ben Mc Killian, race 57 finished third in the 1948 Thompson Trophy and won the Tinnerman Trophy the same year. Wearing its original race number and colors, the aircraft took to the air in 1999 after a lengthy restoration process by the Odegaard Brothers.

The aircraft is now owned by the "Race 57 LLC" corporation.

Race 74 was the last Super Corsair built in 1946, and was also acquired by Cook Cleland who flew #74 to victory in the 1947 Thompson Trophy races. In 1953, the Super Corsair was sold to Walter Soplata of Newbury, Ohio and stayed on the family farm until 1997, at which point it was sold to the Crawford Auto/Aviation Museum of Cleveland, Ohio.

They hired Bob Odegaard to restore the airplane for static display.

However, funding for the project ran dry and the airplane was sold to Tom Ungurean of Cunshoctom, Ohio, who contracted the Odegaard Brothers to restore the Corsair to flying status.

The airplane was finished in the markings it wore during the1949 races in the hands of Dick Becker.

On the Antique side of things, surprises were few and far between. However, the Spartan 7W "Executive," N17617, owned by Triple C Aviation of Scottsdale (owner of the heavily modified P-51 racer "Precious Metal") stood out. If the airplane is a little rough on the edges, it still has more curves than any starlet.

Year after year, the Cactus Fly-In delivers a real smorgasbord of airplanes not seen anywhere else. This unique mix fills every kind of appetite in a relaxed atmosphere, which makes Casa Grande a favorite with the public and the Southwestern pilot population.

By Russell "Rusty" Skinner

After 12 years, I have finished building my experimental Viperjet aircraft.

This will be the first customer built Viperjet to fly. I expect this to take place the first week of April at Chino Airport in California. The Viperjet is an all composite aircraft with a turbojet engine.

It is a General Electric CJ610-6 and develops 2800 lbs. of thrust. I purchased the aircraft kit in November 1999.

It was the first aircraft purchased from Viperjet and thus gave them the money they needed to produce the molds for a production aircraft. It took many years to receive all of the parts and, to this day, there is no builders manual or blue prints to my knowledge or any of the customers I have spoken with.

I have built this project by myself, without any outside help. The building project is not for the faint of heart.

As for my building experience, I spent over 10 years building, tuning and racing top fuel dragsters. After that, I built and raced blown fuel flat bottoms and then moved on to sprint cars.

Years later, I built a Rotorway helicopter, so building exotic fast machines has always been a part of my life. My flying career started in the mid-60's at age 21 at Fullerton, Calif., where I received my private pilot license.

Over the years, I have obtained a commercial, multi-engine, instrument rating and helicopter rating. I currently own a twin engine Aero Commander.

Building and flying a jet just seems to be the normal progression based on my lifestyle. I was also exposed to fighter jets as I served in the U.S. Marine Air Wing during the Vietnam War.

The person who is going to test fly my Viperjet is Lt. Commander Doug (Bones) Medor, U.S. Navy. His experience includes F/A-18 time.
He served two tours on carriers and participated in "Desert Shield." Doug also is a Top Gun graduate and later in his career went on to be an Aggressor Pilot and then an Aggressor Instructor.

Today, Doug flies for U.P.S. Doug is also a flight instructor, so he will be instructing me towards obtaining my type rating in the Viperjet.

By Ron Sawyer

I'm a Korean Vet; got drafted off the family farm in California's Central Valley.

After completing anti-aircraft training at Fort Bliss,Texas the Army singled me out because of my high score in physical fitness and sent me to Alaska for firefighting training. After fire school, I was assigned to Fort Richardson, near Anchorage.

I eventually became the driver of a red fire truck. We were on 24 hour shifts, so I saw my chance to learn to fly. I was just a private first class, with little money.

I hitchhiked to Merrill Field to take lessons in a 1946 BC-12D Taylorcraft, 65 HP on skis. To earn some money, I set pins in a bowling alley for 10 cents a line. My instructor was the best there was!

Dave Beyer was a Navy dive bomber pilot in WW II. Solo flights were to Talkeetna, Squintna and back to Anchorage; Seward, Kenai, Homer and back. I won my wings flying over the frozen tundra and glaciers.

I got a little float time in the summer at Lake Spinard in a 65 hp T-craft. The Cubs, Champs and T-crafts had no radios and no ELTs, so if you got lost in Alaska they spent little time looking for you, you were just gone.

The family farm was being sold when I got out of the Army, so I enrolled in Northrop Aeronautical Institute, Inglewood, on the GI Bill. I graduated with my A&P license. Right out of school I went to work for GE in Ontario, working on J-79 engines for the F-104, and J-85 for the F-5.

My love for flying started in Downey, Calif. We lived near the end of the runway at the Vultee Aircraft Factory. I was eight years old when WW II broke out and I saw thousands of those BD- 13 "Vultee Vibrators" take off and head for training fields all over the U.S.

At 78, I'm still passionate about flying our Taylorcraft that we have owned for 28 years. My wife, Rosemary, and I flew our 1946 BC- I 2D back to Alliance, Ohio to the National, where our plane was built.
We got to meet the test pilot who flew it for the first time, Reese Edwards. That was 25 years ago.

We were inspired to begin the Taylorcraft Rendezvous here in California. We like to call it a Rendezvous, that's what fighters and bombers used to do. This June (I st and 2nd) we will be looking forward to seeing Taylorcrafts here in Columbia, Calif. for the 23rd year.

Columbia has a grass runway and a nice campground with showers, and easy walk to town. Columbia is a preserved Gold Rush town, fun to see and good places to eat.
Make left traffic for Runway 29 and land on the grass.

Ron can be reached at (209) 536-9415 or e-mail him at tcraftpilot@wildblue.net.

For a group of USAF F-22 mechanics who had never worked with wood or fabric, the rebuild of a WW I Nieuport 28 was a challenge they met with enthusiasm and superlative skills.

One of the oldest existing USAFs fighter units is the 94th "Hat in the Ring" squadron, made famous in WW I by Eddie Rickenbaker.

The 94th has a historic lineage, Nieuports and Spads in WW I, P-38s in WW II, later F-86s, F-4s and F-15s, and now the F-22 Raptor. For over 25 years, the 94th displayed a full scale Nieuport 28 replica outside their squadron building at Langely AFB, Va. in honor of their first combat fighter.

Last summer a freak windstorm destroyed the Nieuport and a saddened squadron vowed to restore it. Donations flooded in from 94th alumni worldwide; only problem was that the current F-22 maintenance guys didn't know much about working on 1917 wood and fabric aircraft.

Several contractors offered to replace the replica at inflated prices but their quotes were well beyond the squadron budget.

Jon Goldenbaum, president of Flabob's Poly Fiber, heard of the disaster. Goldenbaum was a member of the 94th when the replica was originally built, at the time he was an F-15 pilot whose hobby was antique/classic aircraft.

In those years, he owned and maintained a Taylorcraft that he flew at Langley when he wasn't in an F-15. Since Goldenbaum was the only pilot in the unit who knew anything about fabric aircraft, he wound up assisting builder Ken Kellett assemble and install the airplane in front of the 94th.

Later, Goldenbaum gave Kellett a ride in an F-15, a memory they share when they meet at air shows today.

Since the windstorm, Goldenbaum coached the 94th F-22 maintainers on antique aircraft restoration via e-mail and phone.

The 94th guys installed a wood shop in an F-22 hangar then launched out with enthusiasm on new skills, cutting wood, welding steel and forming aluminum.

In January, Goldenbaum and top Poly Fiber technician Hualdo Mendoza flew to Langley to help finish the restoration and teach the high- tech F-22 guys how to cover a 1917 WW I fighter with fabric. More than 20 Air Force technicians worked on the project.

Soon fabric components were in the paint shop receiving an authentic WW I camouflage paint job with the proud "hat in the ring" emblazoned on the side.

The replica was re-dedicated in February, then installed in its place of honor in the front of the 94th. If you get a chance to visit Langley AFB, don't miss seeing the 1917 airplane completely restored by 2012 F-22 maintainers, with a little help from the past and Flabob.