From: bolton8@juno.com
Date: Mon Nov 24 2003 - 06:24:56 PST
I agree with the consensus that classic planes should be kept flying.
There is no comparison between watching, hearing, and feeling, the roar
of a multi-engine as it makes a low majestic pass. There is also no
comparison between a meticulously restored plane sitting stationary in a
museum, and a restored aircraft scattered across 500 yards of a mountain
side. Keep 'em in the air where they belong until there is only one or
two left in existence, then ground 'em permanently. You can ALWAYS
build a replica WWII plane, you can NEVER build an original.
During WWII my father was in the Royal Canadian Artillery as an
antiaircraft gunner -- BOFORS Gun. He arrived in England toward the
end of the Battle of Briton, and has been both bombed by, and shot down a
He-111.
Last October he came to Arizona for a visit and I took him out to
Falcon Field to see the Heinkel. For quite some time he walked around
the aircraft looking at the airframe and swastika. Even though he was
standing in Arizona in 2002, it was very obvious his mind was in England
1940. He went inside the plane, and I heard for
the first time the story of when he was bombed by a He-111 while standing
in the chow line. That Heinkel is now gone forever, along with the
supressed memories that it brings to the surface when veteran's view it.
A member of the Champlain Fighter Museum told us about the former
Luftwaffe fighter pilots that visited Falcon Field a few years ago.
They have one of the last flyable Messerschmitt Me-109G's there.
However due to the insurance rates it is never flown, just taken outside
and the engine run for a while.
The Me-109G's Daimler-Benz DB 602 was turned over and revved-up on the
runway's apron. The former Luftwaffe pilots had tears running down
their cheek's as they listened, and felt the unique sound of that
Daimler-Benz. I defy anyone to
find me a photo or a movie clip that will have the same effect.
LANCE MVPA 22125
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