Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

Who's Jackson? Your son?

local player, not my son…

 

[Stealth57]

Glen Campbell covering the Foo Fighters with a T-bird being played by his bass player.

The bird cuts through everything.

 

[TBird1958]

Glen Campbell covering the Foo Fighters with a T-bird being played by his bass player.

Love that! Glen Campbell is a fave of mine, had never seen this, very cool!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I know. Many possibilities. Given the B-17 was the only other big thing in the sky in front of you it's certainly difficult to think about. Mechanical failure (likely but unlikely it would direct it right to the B-17), trying to do a cool swoop on the B-17 that was above skill level, looking everywhere but where you are headed, and a few others, and then your other option that you don't want to think or believe. I'm not sure we'll ever know. But it's horrible all the way around.

those Bells are really complicated machines with the engine behind the cockpit and all…..that said, from he clip, don’t think he ever saw the 17….there’s also the age thing, wouldn’t be the first time one of those pilots suffer a stroke or heart attack behind the controls….
does anyone know what B-17 it was or where is flew out of?…can’t seem to find online….

 

[Blazer]

those Bells are really complicated machines with the engine behind the cockpit and all…..that said, from he clip, don’t think he ever saw the 17….there’s also the age thing, wouldn’t be the first time one of those pilots suffer a stroke or heart attack behind the controls….
does anyone know what B-17 it was or where is flew out of?…can’t seem to find online….

First of all, don't you think it's preposterous to think a genuine WW2 veteran would be flying a machine like that? The Commemorative Air force' pilots are young guys. As those machines themselves require people in peak physical condition. "Fly-by-wire" wasn't around for forty years after WW2's end. It was all wires and pulleys, a guy in his nineties would never have had the strength to get a plane like that into the air.

Also, let me repeat my earlier post about this.

Look at the layout of the cockpit, see all the struts surrounding the pilot?

They're there because of THIS feature.

Because by design the Kingcobra has the engine behind the cockpit and a Supercharger behind the engine, there simply is no way to fit a Bubble canopy like for example a Mustang. As this cardoor also shows, it restricts downwards and sideways view out of the cockpit.

Here's what you see when you're in the pilot's seat.

Be honest, would YOU be able to see a bomber flying underneath you if you were trying to make a turn to the left and have your plane tilting to the left as that picture from just before the impact shows?

 

[TBird1958]

those Bells are really complicated machines with the engine behind the cockpit and all…..that said, from he clip, don’t think he ever saw the 17….there’s also the age thing, wouldn’t be the first time one of those pilots suffer a stroke or heart attack behind the controls….
does anyone know what B-17 it was or where is flew out of?…can’t seem to find online….

I think '17 was the "Texas Ranger ", at first it seemed that it was "Sentimental Journey" as it was pictured in one news release that I saw.

 

[TBird1958]

First of all, don't you think it's preposterous to think a genuine WW2 veteran would be flying a machine like that? The Commemorative Air force' pilots are young guys. As those machines themselves require people in peak physical condition. "Fly-by-wire" wasn't around for forty years after WW2's end. It was all wires and pulleys, a guy in his nineties would never have had the strength to get a plane like that into the air.

Also, let me repeat my earlier post about this.

Look at the layout of the cockpit, see all the struts surrounding the pilot?

They're there because of THIS feature.

Because by design the Kingcobra has the engine behind the cockpit and a Supercharger behind the engine, there simply is no way to fit a Bubble canopy like for example a Mustang. As this cardoor also shows, it restricts downwards and sideways view out of the cockpit.

Here's what you see when you're in the pilot's seat.

Be honest, would YOU be able to see a bomber flying underneath you if you were trying to make a turn to the left and have your plane tilting to the left as that picture from just before the impact shows?

Gotta tell ya, I met the guys flying "Sentimental Journey" this past August, they were not young at all, easily over 50.

 

[Blazer]

Gotta tell ya, I met the guys flying "Sentimental Journey" this past August, they were not young at all, easily over 50.

Still doesn't take away from the fact that none of them weren't even born when the second world war was raging.

 

[dagrev]

First of all, don't you think it's preposterous to think a genuine WW2 veteran would be flying a machine like that? The Commemorative Air force' pilots are young guys. As those machines themselves require people in peak physical condition. "Fly-by-wire" wasn't around for forty years after WW2's end. It was all wires and pulleys, a guy in his nineties would never have had the strength to get a plane like that into the air.

I think you misunderstood the age thing that was suggested. I doubt Chuck was thinking one of a tiny handful of remaining WWII pilots was capable and doing the flying and knows that would be near zero on the probability scale. Most of the guys doing that kind of flying here are not young (often retired pilots or older enthusiasts from what I've seen). I suspect that was what he was thinking since that would be more common and logical here.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

First of all, don't you think it's preposterous to think a genuine WW2 veteran would be flying a machine like that? The Commemorative Air force' pilots are young guys. As those machines themselves require people in peak physical condition. "Fly-by-wire" wasn't around for forty years after WW2's end. It was all wires and pulleys, a guy in his nineties would never have had the strength to get a plane like that into the air.

Also, let me repeat my earlier post about this.

Look at the layout of the cockpit, see all the struts surrounding the pilot?

They're there because of THIS feature.

Because by design the Kingcobra has the engine behind the cockpit and a Supercharger behind the engine, there simply is no way to fit a Bubble canopy like for example a Mustang. As this cardoor also shows, it restricts downwards and sideways view out of the cockpit.

Here's what you see when you're in the pilot's seat.

Be honest, would YOU be able to see a bomber flying underneath you if you were trying to make a turn to the left and have your plane tilting to the left as that picture from just before the impact shows?

I think it's preposterous that you would think I'm implying that since WWII vets are in their late 80's or early 90's,,,,what I do know is that the casualties were all retired airline pilots with over 30 years under their belts...recently an older pilot ate it in his 51 at an airshow after a confirmed (autopsy) stroke...

 

[Stealth57]

I think it's preposterous that you would think I'm implying that since WWII vets are in their late 80's or early 90's,,,,what I do know is that the casualties were all retired airline pilots with over 30 years under their belts...recently an older pilot ate it in his 51 at an airshow after a confirmed (autopsy) stroke...

Late 80's would a young whipper snapper for WWII. My dad was anti-aircraft in the European theater. He was drafted in 1942 at the age of 18. He would have been 98 last September.

 

[dagrev]

I think it's preposterous that you would think I'm implying that since WWII vets are in their late 80's or early 90's,,,,what I do know is that the casualties were all retired airline pilots with over 30 years under their belts...recently an older pilot ate it in his 51 at an airshow after a confirmed (autopsy) stroke...

The unfortunate pilot of the Kingcobra. In all pics he seem to be about 60 or more.

 

[dagrev]

It's that time of year again.... Going to have to feather the Thunderbird nest for the Winter. (Pic from Saturday.)

 

[PaleAngel_90]

It's that time of year again.... Going to have to feather the Thunderbird nest for the Winter. (Pic from Saturday.)
View attachment 4873466

What car, model and year is that car?

 

[dagrev]

What car, model and year is that car?

'09 Buick.

Kind of like the blue one @GBassNorth has.

 

[bobyoung53]

This thing never gets old. Used it today. A former sound guy and drummer complemented the bass after church today. He said, "You have some basses that sound amazing--but nothing sounds like that one. I can tell when you're playing it without even looking." I told him I feel the same. I don't know what it is, but there's some magic this bass has that others just don't.

View attachment 4872644

I'm trying to resist the urge to try a 60's thunderbird because I know I'll probably want one but you guys aren't helping.

 

[bobyoung53]

What car, model and year is that car?

I like Buicks, they run forever and I know I've posted this one before but here's my '94 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, it looks good when cleaned up too. I originally started buying these as equipment haulers but I like them so much I usually drive this around instead of my other car. It's old enough and big enough now that young people give me the thumbs up on the highway sometimes. One young girl stopped next to me at a light last year while I was back for a little while and was laughing her head off while giving me the thumbs up, it made my day. This thing moves right out too.

 

[bobyoung53]

Maybe they will make a 17 string Thunderbird one day. Going to have to beef up the neck a bit. Clearly a "just because you can" kind of bass.

A friend of mine sent me that video the other day saying "get one of these!" I told him it had 13 too many strings on it.

 

[GBassNorth]

'09 Buick.

Kind of like the blue one @GBassNorth has.

Truth be told, I’ve only ever owned one Buick. It was a red 1977 Buick Skyhawk. Total POS, it came with the first wife in 1978, I had no say in the matter. By 1979 I replaced it with a red Fiat 124 Sport Spider (huge improvement, low maintenance, zero issues). By 1983 I replaced the first wife with a new one (huge improvement, low maintenance, zero issues).

 

[bobyoung53]

I can't find it any more, but there was this clip where the collision was examined by an experienced pilot and here's what he had to say.

This is the cockpit of a P-63 Kingcobra, note that it has doors very much like the ones on a car.

And this is what you see when you're the pilot actually flying the Kingcobra. Forward visibility is adequate to say it mildly, but sidewards visibility is worse, as that car door and the struts that keep it and the panels of the cockpit in place hamper visibility even more.

The guy said that based on the evidence that the footage shows, the Kingcobra, which was flying in formation with other fighters (a couple of Mustangs, Spitfires, and the likes) over shot with which the plane went out of formation and was turning to get back into the line. In doing so, tilting his right wing up and blocking his downwards view completely. The pilot never saw the B-17.

As for the B-17, even if the crew saw the Kingcobra, there's very little they could do. A B-17 was never designed to pull nimble evasive moves, it's simply too big for that.

I saw the video too and also didn't think that the Cobra saw the plane underneath, either that or it was a mechanical malfunction.