From: bolton8@juno.com
Date: Sat Nov 22 2003 - 09:26:36 PST
Approximately 30 miles east of Phoenix AZ is a small airport called
Falcon Field. During WWII Falcon was a training base for Royal Air
Force fighter pilots. Currently it's a noncommercial airfield and home
of the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. ( The post-PC
Confederate Air Force )
Falcon Field is also home base for the CAF's 100% restored, flyable,
B17G 'Sentimental Journey'. It used to be home field for the last, and
only, flyable Heinkel He-111 bomber. This Heinkel was owned by the
Spanish Air Force until the 1970's when it was sold off. Powered by two
Rolls-Royce Merlin engines it was completely restored by the CAF, painted
in Luftwaffe splinter camo, and marked 9K + GS to represent that of KG 56
which participated in the Battle of Briton. Restoration included four
demilled MG-34's with 75rd saddle drums, one MG-15, and an MP-40 mounted
in original storage bracket.
This He-111 was flown to CAF exhibitions across the country and
provided
airplane enthusiasts with a once-in-a-lifetime experience: to actually
see and hear the ONLY flyable Heinkel-111 left in existence. Something
a static museum piece can never do. For $2 you could go inside the
grounded plane and take pictures to your heart's content.
In June of this year the Heinkel was flying to an exhibition in
Colorado when one of the engines malfunctioned and the plane went down.
Both pilots were killed in the crash, and the plane destroyed. The CAF
held a memorial service for the two pilots at Falcon Field this past
August.
As of now there are only two He-111's left in existence, neither one
flyable.
One is located in England at the Imperial War Museum, other I do not
recall.
And this brings us back to the original question posed by the Memphis
Belle thread.
Do we want last of a species aircraft to be seen in their most
magnificent of all presentations, FLYING ?? And in so doing run the
risk of losing this aircraft for all eternity. Or do we want to make
it a dust collecting static model for future generations ?? The upside
being you are providing future generations with an experience that all
the colour photos, and all the movie clips in the world can never
provide. Being able to run your hand down the fuselage and feel the
rivets.
LANCE MVPA 22125
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