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Thanks for sharing. Looks like some great pieces of history. I know you will enjoy your participation in restoring one of these old warbirds. I was involved with the P-38 Glacier Girl some 25 years ago. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Rex
Holy heck - that is one of my favorite legends - the glacier girl. I had no idea you were involved. Would love to know more, Rex!
Is the P-38 still down in Williamsburg, or Middlesburg, or wherever the owner/financier was?
I have a love for those WWII warbirds that exceeds my wallet, but the real treasure was all those young men that cinched up their cojones and fought the great fight, so we could enjoy all these years free from the oppression and fascism that they beat back (not to mention all those that beat back the front lines of the attempted take over of communism)(not trying to invoke PR&C here). Those warbirds reflect that selfless glory that those guys expended for our freedom. My father taught me that love for those planes.
Last edited by Easy Rhino; 11-17-2017 at 08:00 PM.
My dad was a WWII Navy carrier pilot - learned to fly in a Brewster Buffalo, then to the Pacific flying F4F Wildcats, then F6F Hellcats, then F4U-5 Corsairs, then finally home at war's end. Called back to Korea, flying Corsairs, then transitioned over there into the Panther and Cougar and home again.
My uncle Wes commanded the 8th Air Force in Europe as a 2-star General, then was Deputy Commander of SAC as a 3-star under Curtis LeMay; lots of military pilots in our family.
I’ll second that. Maybe I missed your last post on this, Tom.
This museum in Colorado Springs sounds like it’s worth the trip all on it’s own. I have a sister that lives there now, so free lodging!
I will "third" it. I'm also sorry if I didn't post about it lately.
This is a great thread. My dad was born in '50 and remembers p-38's still flying. About ten years before he died we saw Glacier Girl in KY. It's been sold I believe.
Thanks for sharing. The P-38 is my Dad's favorite WWII plane - he was a kid during that era.
I always enjoy reading about and seeing these photos of the love, pride and time invested in getting these warbirds back up and flying - like what was done with that P-38 and the work that Tom is doing with the A26.
I took my kids to see a B-17 that was here in town and it was awesome standing on the tarmac as it fired up for takeoff. Really great experience.
My Dad's friend and co-worker was a B-17 co-pilot that was shot down and spent time in a German POW camp. For those interested, here's some information on Mr. Ziegler!
Holy heck - that is one of my favorite legends - the glacier girl. I had no idea you were involved. Would love to know more, Rex!
Is the P-38 still down in Williamsburg, or Middlesburg, or wherever the owner/financier was?
Glacier Girl now lives in Texas and is still flown on a fairly regular basis. I won't hijack Mark's thread with pics of Glacier Girl. PM me Kevin and I can send you some pics of the restoration and first test flights.
Glacier Girl now lives in Texas and is still flown on a fairly regular basis. I won't hijack warren's thread with pics of Glacier Girl. PM me Kevin and I can send you some pics of the restoration and first test flights.
It's amazing to me how mass production can turn out Corvettes and Warbirds by the score, but restoring one is a Herculean effort in contrast. Esp the aircraft.
The pictures are your uncle and Curtis LeMay, right?
Any pictures of your Dad?
Yup - Uncle Wes and LeMay. Don't have any of my dad in uniform. Before Wes was Deputy Commander of SAC, he was the SAC Inspector General - the guy who swooped in unannounced in the middle of the night with three airplanes full of specialists who then conducted the 3-day O.R.I.'s (Operational Readiness Inspections).
It's amazing to me how mass production can turn out Corvettes and Warbirds by the score, but restoring one is a Herculean effort in contrast. Esp the aircraft.
A restoration project like this CAN BE done in a few month--------------------------PROVIDED THE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE, THERE IS A FULL TIME, WELL PAID, WORK FORCE THAT IS DEDICATED, EXPERIENCED AND A FACILITY WITH COMPLETE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT IS AVAILABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANY AND ALL REQUIRED TASKS.
FIRST, THE PROJECT HAS TO BE COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLED, PARTS CATALOGED (LOTS OF PICTURES HELP), INSPECTED AND DETERMINED IF THEY CAN BE REBUILT AND REUSED.
When the project is figuratively down on it's hands and knees, begging for every penny and dime (as our group is), making do with whatever tools and equipment is available (or has to be fabricated) the workers are strictly volunteers, scrounging all over the planet for replacement parts, begging overhaul facilities (such as the facility that rebuilt our engines) for any and all help that they can afford------------------------ then it takes a LONG, LONG, LONG time to accomplish the restoration. When these planes were built new, on mass production assembly lines, it was done by experienced aircraft workers who were proficient because they performed the same task each day (out of necesity, our group members have had to become a jack of all trades). We only work (REGULARLY) one day a week (Sat) and some afternoons. We may have 4 people working on Sat, or we may have 12 (I MAY miss 3-4 Saturdays per year). EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT ON AN AIRPLANE-----------------ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS 70+yrs OLD AND HAS BEEN NEGLECTED (AS OURS HAS BEEN) FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS. When driving a car, if something goes wrong, you just pull over to the curb and call AAA. THERE ARE NO CURBS IN THE SKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, IT TAKES SOME TIME TO COMPLETE A RESTORATION SUCH AS OUR A26!!!!!!! I don't know how to explain it any better!
Great stories, my Dad, Uncles, and their friends were all WWII vets. They're all gone now but their memory lives on. It was a tough time and life at home wasn't a lot better but that generation always had the best personality I have ever met. Granted there are good and bad in every group but all the WWII guys I knew and worked with were smart and knew how to get things done. They forgot more then I would ever know.
As a kid in the 60's I built all those model planes, taking the time to detail them. I still have a few left 50 years later.
When I hear a kid today whining about things like their smart phone isn't charging or all they do is tweat, or go to FB I wonder how they would have been back in the 40's to 60's? If it was 1942 now would our work force be able to transition like that generation did? Maybe it's me but when I see the youngest guy at one of my tech seminars in his 40's I can't help but think we're screwed. I hope I am wrong.
11-17-2017, 07:51 PM
