Category: Back in the day

Busy, Busy World

(With apologies to Richard Scarry.) My brother and I had a copy of "Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World" when we were kids, and I must have read that book a few thousand times. My wife also had a copy that she fund when we visited her parents a year or so ago…I do love the way he drew cats!

I had intentions of posting a few more RDUCON photos, but I haven't had the time–or, frankly, energy–to tweak them and get them posted. While we aren't exactly bustin' at the seams at the job, I have had some things to keep me busy, and with the slow period, we've all been trying to catch up with personal things (doctor and dentist appointments, personal leave, etc.) and, believe it or not, keep the shop equipment up and running. I spent almost a week with a paint brush and Safety Yellow paint working while we rehabbed some newly acquired ground support equipment for the shop. A good deal of it had been through two floods in Cincinnati, and it showed. Picking rust, priming, and painting was the order of the day…

Add to that, last week I attended a half-day battery seminar. And, during our clean up sessions, we located three Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) aircraft batteries, two of which were still in good shape. So, yesterday I discharged them and I spent this morning tearing one down to its component parts (cells, case, thermistor strips, shims, etc., etc.) and washing all of it. Tomorrow, I'll be re-assembling it and tumbling the hardware to clean it. Once the first battery is back together, I'll do the same for the other. After that, I have two days chock-full of fun–main charge, top charge, capacity check, and a possible deep-cycle. Repeat. Locate any bad parts and cells, repair, and repeat.

And, during this fun-fest, the state held a mock disaster drill next door. So, we got to watch the dog-and-pony show roll into town yesterday as they set up their circus tents and command posts and media centers and such, and got to watch today as the "victims" were airlifted in (actually, they were waiting on the C-17 in the hangar next door–after the airplane stopped, they walked across the ramp into the airplane, were "injured" or "killed", and toted back off the airplane on litters and body bags), their "injuries" evaluated, and were sent via ambulance or helicopter to the local trauma centers. A few hours later, the airplane flew off. I left work early today to tend to some personal business, but I'm told they repeated the process a few hours later.

Meanwhile, I'm still mulling over just how I plan to attack the A-10A paint job–I did a little repair work where the seams popped open, and I re-attached the parts that came off. Some of the seams needed to be re-filled and sanded, so that got done a few nights ago. I took some time this evening to continue dressing the seams with some 1800 and 2400 grit polishing pads, too. A quick re-mask of the clear parts, and I'll be ready to try again…

Meanwhile, a few comments on my "Thundering Jets" post of a few days ago: about the same time that I posted that article, Phil Friddell posted a piece on Monogram Models on his Replica In Scale blog. I agree with Phil–Monogram was the best in the business back during their heyday. The cockpit and other detailing was crisp, sharp, and accurate–careful painting was the only "detail set" you needed. Sure, the panel lines were of the raised variety–and we didn't care. We were used to them being that way on every kit–Monogram's were usually more petite than the others. One thing that I don't like is that these days, the Revell reissues of Monogram's classics are molded in a different plastic. Monogram used to have a semi-hard, very shiny plastic that took paint well and could be polished very easily when it had to be (buffable metallics, anyone?). Back in the day, an article in FineScale Modeler answered the question–Monogram added a larger proportion of clear styrene beads to their mix than the other manufacturers did, yielding that shiny plastic. These days, the Chinese companies that are molding the kits seem to add more vinyl to the mix, making the plastic softer. And, for whatever reason, the fit is not as good as it once was. The A-10A I'm working on is a Revell reissue, and while Monogram's original was no Nobel Prize for Well-Fitting Model Kits recipient, the Revell reissue seemed to fit even worse. These days, I'd rather buy an original Monogram issue of a kit second-hand than a Revell reissue. Still, though, Revell-Monogram kits are still a very good product for the money. And, if you are interested in 1/48th scale B-29's, F-102's and F-106's 9and many others), you go Monogram or you do scratchbuild.

Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.

May 18, 2011
The month of Indy is upon us…

May. Spring is on the wane, the heat and humidity levels are rising, and the racers are back at Indianapolis. Well, maybe not quite yet, since their race in Brazil ran a day longer than it was planned to due to rain…

I remember watching footage of the 500 as a kid–you'd usually catch it on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" a few weeks after the race ran. I didn't follow it as closely as some fans did back then, but I knew of it and of the storied drivers who attempted to beat the track. Some won, some lost…

I was in college when I really started taking an interest in the race. I got familiar with their qualifying format, Bump Day, Carburetion day, and the like. Back then, you might have 50 or 60 cars vying for a spot in the starting grid. Indy, unlike other races, sees the fastest 33 cars start the race. It doesn't matter if you're the defending Champ, if you aren't quick enough, you go home–as Smokey Yunick said in his memoirs, "Turn in your hero badge and try again next year."

When the Split came in 1996, I lost interest. It seemed to me then that North American open wheel racing was in serious trouble. I wasn't far off the mark–the upstart Indy Racing League (IRL) sputtered on with their low-buck scheme using one or two approved powerplants and chassis to make racing affordable, while the established Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) seemed to hold all the cards–other than the Memorial Day race at the Brickyard, they had the well funded teams and still fostered a sense of innovation. CART had better backing, and most of the established teams stayed with CART after the split. After a few years, though, CART's armor started to tarnish when several big name teams–Penske, Ganassi, and what is now Andretti Autosport, to name a few–defected to the IRL. Their goal? Run ans win the Indy 500. As CART teams, their chances were limited under the IRL's rules which only allowed a certain number of non-IRL teams an opportunity to qualify. CART went insolvent in 2003, re-branded itself as ChampCar, and then folded in early 2008. The two series were reunified under the IRL (now IndyCar) banner.

But the IRL wasn't the first time that open wheel racing in the States had issues. The Indy 500 was originally sanctioned by The American Automobile Association, and remained so until the multitude of racing fatalities that occurred in 1955–Bill Vukovich died in a fiery crash at Indy, and over 200 hundred people were killed or injured at that year's running of the 24 Heures duMans when Pierre Leveigh's Mercedes went airborne and crashed into a group of spectators, to name a few. AAA got out of the racing business. The United States Auto Club (USAC) took over sanctioning duties for North American open-wheel racing (along with short track, sprint cars, and briefly, stock cars) until the late 1970's. With attendance, purses and revenues on a decline, and a sense that the sanctioning body wasn't doing their job, a group of team owners drafted the "Gurney White Paper", which was inspired by the way Bernie Ecclestone had reformed Formula One. CART would promote the races under USAC sponsorship. When that was rejected by USAC, CART took over. The rest, as they say…

These days, a good year sees maybe 35 to 40 cars make a qualifying attempt. I do certainly hope that the new overseers of IndyCar take a long look at what Indy has become. Do we need four weeks at the speedway? After all, the cars haven't used carburetted engines since the 1960's or earlier, so what sense is having Carb Day? Knock it down to two weeks, and you'll save the teams money and maybe be able to add a race to the schedule.

If you want a good idea of what Indy qualifying used to be like, you need to read Smokey Yunick's memoirs. While largely though of as a NASCAR personality, Smokey's real love was Indy and the 500. As he says, they had a little. skinny rule book and they fostered innovation. And Smokey was certainly an innovator.

I do look forward to this year's running–it is the 100th running of the Indy 500, true, but the quality of the racing has improved. In a twist of irony, the IRL under previous leader Tony George had turned into what CART was when the Split took place–a few large, well funded teams were the perennial winners, the others were also-rans. Once they defected from CART, they quickly became the teams to beat, and the smaller, lesser known teams suffered as a result. It seems that the new leadership at IndyCar understands this, and it also seems as if some of the former ChampCar teams have caught up to the long-standing IRL teams in terms of speed and quality. New drivers have come along, both those from the defunct CART/ChampCar ranks and from the various developmental series.

And, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the "girl racers". While ladies had run Indy before–Lyn St. James and Janet Guthrie have both run the race–lately it has been the Danica Patrick show. Before Danica was Sarah Fisher, now a team owner, and the forgettable Milka Duno–Milka came to the IRL from the Grand American Road Racing Associations' Rolex Sports Car series, where she was a perennial back marker. If she couldn't get it done at sub-100 mile per hour speeds, she certainly became a hazard at 200+ mph. Lately, two new young ladies have entered the series: Simona deSilvestro and Ana Beatriz. Simona and Ana, I believe, have what it takes to win races–Simona had the quickest lap this past weekend at the rain-soaked Brazilian race.

And my favorite to win? This year, I'd like to see Sarah Fisher's hard work pay off. She's due for some good fortune at Indy, and why not this year?

Whoever you cheer for, enjoy the month of Indy. Try to catch some of the qualifying sessions. They're so different from the way qualifying is usually done, and it can become habit-forming.

Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

May 3, 2011
Remember record stores?

Today is National Record Store day. For those of you under 25, a record store was where you went to buy music in the form of vinyl albums and tapes–both cassettes and 8-Track tapes. After 1982, you could also buy Compact Discs). But there was more to the record store than that–you could get all sorts of neat stuff–concert posters, T-shirts, buttons, guitar picks, drumsticks, headphones (those clunky ones with the plastic ear cups), stereo patch cords, and phonograph styluses.

The store I remember as a kid in Ft. Lauderdale is Peaches Records and Tapes next to Holiday Park on Sunrise Boulevard. Not only was the place packed with all sorts of musical recordings, but various recording artists used to make it a stop whenever they were in the area. There used to be a sort of "Walk of Fame" out front, where these musicians would sign their names and add their handprints to wet concrete. Hollywood Boulevard it was not, but to see the signatures and handprints of The Sex Pistols outside your local record store was kind of cool.

It also seemed that the smaller the stores were, the more neat stuff they'd carry. All of these stores were truly Mom-and-Pops, no large chains for the most part–although Camelot Music seemed to be a decent place (there was one in Daytona Beach in the Volusia Mall, and they made several dollars off of me over the six years I was there).

By the time I graduated from college, the music industry had changed a bit. 8-Track tapes were history (the last one I saw in a store was about 1983), albums were looked down upon because of their "dirty" sound quality, and cassettes were reaching obsolescence. Digital music was stealing the show in the form of CD's, and a lot of the acts from the '60s and '70s were compiling the now-familiar Box Set–they'd take their catalog, pick out their seminal efforts, and wrap them up in a new, shiny package for you to buy. There were some available in vinyl and tape, but I believe that the record companies were betting on the CD versions–you'd buy the compilations, and then you'd have to buy (or re-buy) the rest of the catalog. Purists, by the way, weren't too fond of digitalized music–it was cold, too clean, and in some cases you could hear background noises (coughs, chairs falling over) in the re-mastered works. I'm no audiophile, believe me–I like what I like, but the "distractions" don't really bother me.

After a while, more an more stores started to carry more music than they had previously. The discount stores carried a small selection, as did the department stores. There was also mail order in the form of Columbia House and RCA Record Service, where you bought an introductory offer ("Buy 10 records or tapes for a Quarter*". The asterisk led you to the rest of the story–you needed to buy so many at the regular price after that before you could cancel). But the bookstores like Barnes and Noble began carrying a good deal of music. The electronics stores carried a large selection. All of this served to take business away from the locals.

Before too long, someone figured out how to take digital recordings and package them into data files. Then they figured out that they could be shared, swapped, or sold. These days, a lot of "albums" aren't available in stores–you purchase them on the Interwebs and download them. And you can only imagine what that's done to the local record store–if you can find one.

Alas, music, too, was a niche market.

Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

April 16, 2011
“I think that tree needs a friend…and here he is.”

I don't recall the circumstances that led me to discover that there was more to PBS that "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Compnay", shows that I watched as a kid. I was in my last year of college, and one Saturday I was up early–well, early for me at the time, as I had a bad head cold and the runny nose wouldn't let me sleep. My roommate and I had a small TV, and the cable did work–but the same old lament, nothing good on. I flipped through the channels (all ten or so that we got), and finally stopped on the local PBS station (WMFE, Channel 24 from Orlando, if you must know). It was the top of the hour, and I was greeted by a man with a reddish-brown afro streaked with gray, a gnarly beard also streaked with gray, a huge paint palette with a few smears of oil paint, a canvas, and some brushes. He spoke in a soft voice, and let me know that today he was going to paint a mountain.

The man, of course, was Bob Ross, the show was "The Joy of Painting", and paint a mountain he did. I was mesmerized–he took a blank canvas, a handful of brushes, some oil paint, and a half hour and painted a landscape. After that show, I was hooked. I would tune in every week to watch as Bob would take that same old blank canvas and turn it into a nice little scene, all the while commenting on how "we need trees in our world where the critters can live" and "we don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents", always in that same soft voice. Every now and then, he'd have one of his rescue critters on the show–a squirrel, or maybe a fox–and he'd tell us how he rescued them and was getting them ready to go back to their homes. His son also painted, and every now and then he'd let Steve do a painting. Of course, Bob Ross became an enterprise–he sells more books and painting supplies now that he's gone than he ever did while he was alive, I'm sure. He has certified instructors that travel the country, teaching people how to use the "Bob Ross wet-on-wet method" to create their own masterpieces.

Bob Ross' mentor, William Alexander, also had a painting show that would air during the week. Perhaps the most interesting of the painting shows was the one featuring Gary and Kathwren Jenkins–Gary was a hoot. I guess you have to have a shtick, and Gary certainly did–he and his wife would paint many different subjects, from landscapes to florals. I must say, these were all very entertaining.

As I watched more PBS, there were other shows–"This Old House" was nearing their 10th anniversary. I remember watching them work on the Weatherbee Farm with a couple who's sweat equity didn't really seem to be making the cut. Again, though, I was taken in by the craftsmanship of Norm Abram and the "Hey, can I do that?" interruptions from Bob Vila. Through the years, the main host has changed a few times (Bob got fired, Steve Thomas took over and did a fairly decent job–he's since left and been replaced by Kevin O'Connor, a decent host in his own right), the projects have changed (they went big for quite a few years before going back to what made them great–renovation older houses with owner assistance), but the gist is still there–you can do this, and we'll show you how. After a while, I also started to watch "Hometime", back when Dean and JoAnne Liebeler were playing like they were married. Now, JoJo wasn't Dean's first partner–Peggy Knapp was, and I remember watching that first season and was amused when they changed co-hosts and the format following that season.

In Ft. Lauderdale, we also had Chef Jean Pierre, he of the Left Bank bistro. Another fun to watch chef, he taught us all what tomato concasse is, and there was always the mother of TV chefs, Julia Child. I never tired of watching Julia cook–she was entertaining and funny. There was also the "Great Chefs" series where you would hear about a few chefs and listen to them cook. Nathalee Dupree was also on, cooking her Southern dishes…

Along with the cooking and painting shows, every now and again you could catch an episode of "The Hobby Shop" and "Adventures in Scale Modeling". both produced by South Carolina ETV, and both hosted by Mike Lech. Bless his little pea-pickin' heart, Mike tried. His shows were fun to watch, because you never knew what that week's episode would bring. The intros to "Adventures" were sometimes hilarious–"The F-14 Tomcat is the Navy's Top Gun. Today we'll build a model of a 1969 Camaro…"–and the show itself had some moments, too. Mike would enter the workshop by descending a staircase that, if you looked closely, ended at the studio ceiling. He'd try the Bob Vila "Hey, can I try that" and meet with an epic fail on purpose so the guest would correct him and his technique. In later years, the projects grew more ambitious–I recall Bruce Radebaugh's kitbashed B-25G–and the editing got better, but by that time the writing was on the wall.

But my favorite PBS show, by far, was "The Frugal Gourmet" with Jeff Smith. I knew how to cook by the time I was 13, but I learned a lot about cooking and culture from watching Jeff. I learned how to stir-fry, I learned about exotic (for the time-remember, this was 1987) spices and seasonings and how to use them. I got to watch as he travelled the world, learned how different cultures ate, and then showed you how to cook the dishes. He made me want to try his recipes. I did, and they worked. Unfortunately, the show met a very quick demise after molestation and sexual abuse charges were made against Mr. Smith–the cases were settled out of court, and he largely disappeared from the public eye. His books have been out of print since then. The shows have not been re-broadcast in any way, shape, or form. I doubt that you'll ever see DVD boxed sets of the show As another of my favorite TV chefs, Alton Brown, said about Smith: "Unfortunately Smith became embroiled in a sex-abuse scandal in the mid-1990s involving young men who had worked for him. Not only did his career screech to a halt, but his earlier work was also tainted in the process. And that's a real shame, because were it not for Smith, I know of at least one would-be cook who'd still be on the sofa ordering takeout." Amen.

Most of those shows are gone. These days, we'll still watch "This Old House". Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Shop" is also a hoot–how he hasn't lost a limb by now amazes me. "The New Yankee Workshop" was also a favorite, until the series ended last year. There are some new PBS shows we watch, but it seems that the type of shows I liked are a dying breed, at least on PBS. Wth the advent of satellite, digital, and cable TV with 600 channels, if you can't find it, it ain't there…

Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and, as The Frugal Gourmet would tell us, I bid you Peace.

March 30, 2011
300 channels…nothing on

Does anyone remember what "UHF" and "VHF" meant on a television set? If not, you probably don't remember life without cable TV and/or MTV. But I grew up in that generation of over-the-air, broadcast TV, where you got (if you were lucky) the three major networks and several local channels on the UHF dial. In South Florida, Channel 4 was the CBS affiliate, Channel 7 had the peacock, and if you wanted to watch ABC you tuned to Cahnnel 10. The UHF channels were 23 (which was the Univision channel), 33, 39, 45, and 51 (which handled the Telemundo duties). The two we got best were 33 and 39, although when we first moved to Ft. Lauderdale, we would watch Channel 51 because that's where you could see Tarzan (the Ron Ely version), "Championship Wrestling from Florida" (loved Gordon Solie, the MC), and "Creature Feature". Later on, we would also catch an episode of "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" or two…

Sunday mornings were CBS mornings–one of the local TV celebrities was Chuck Zink, aka Skipper Chuck. On Sundays, Skipper Chuck would read the funnies from the Miami Herald. We didn't get the Herald, but the funnies in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel were the same funnies–that's when we learned what syndication was.

During the week, we'd get to pick between reruns of "The Three Stooges", "Gilligan's Island", or "The Mickey Mouse Club". A few years later, we'd get "Flipper" and "The New Mickey Mouse Club" to add to the playlist. Lest you think we were children of the Idiot Box, we didn't watch too much afternoon TV–we had to do our homework and chores before we were allowed to watch any TV. We also had a canal out back–part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' drainage projects in South Florida–an more often than not we'd go fishing in the canal. Before the hydrilla got out of hand, there were a lot of fish in the canal–bluegill, catfish, largemouth bass, and even cooters. When we weren't fishing in the canal, we were riding bikes or paddling canoes up and down the canal. After we were done, though, the TV would go on…

Sunday evenings were always the same–We'd watch "The Wonderful World of Disney" and "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom". That changed as we got older–we'd watch "60 Minutes", find something else to watch for an hour, and then it would be time to get ready for bed. Of course, if it was football season, we'd watch the Miami Dolphins play…

Funny thing, though–when I was a sophomore in high school, my father had to have back surgery. The occupant of the other bed in his hospital room watched the soaps–so, as a result, so did Dad. And, when he came home, he got the whole house hooked. Funny thing about soaps–the last time I saw an episode of "Days of Our Lives" (about 1994), it was no different from what I saw in the 1980's.

When I was in college, we had our nightly rituals. In particular, Tuesday nights were "The A-Team", "Riptide", and "Remington Steele"; Thurdays would find us watching "Magnum, P.I." (or "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties"), "Simon and Simon" (or "Cheers" and "Night Court"), and "Hill Street Blues"; and Fridays playlist would be "Hunter" (or "Crime Story") and "Miami Vice". Other favorites from the era include "Kate and Allie", "Newhart", "The Golden Girls", "Facts of Life", and the final seasons of "Quincy, M.E."–actually, "Quincy" was a favorite before I went to college…

Once cable came along, the options grew. You could watch Morton Downey Jr. on WWOR from New Jersey. You could watch more wrestling from Georgia on WTCG (later WTBS and "Superstation TBS"). And, after August 1981, MTV was there to bombard you with music videos.

Since my college days, I have had very few "Must See" shows. I would catch "Mystery Science Theater 3000" every Saturday, I very seldom missed an episode of "ER" (up until it became as much a soap opera as "Chicago Hope" had been). The early years of "South Park" would find me on the couch, watching to see what trouble Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman would get into. "Law & Order", too, was regularly watched–even reruns on A&E. For some odd reason, I'd also stop at The TV Food Network. Their early shows were fun–some intentionally, some not.

Lately, though, I don't watch much network TV. NBC's Thursday night lineup is a favorite (that would be "The Office", '30Rock", "Community" and "Parks and Recreation"). We'll also watch "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain" on Sunday nights to keep us up on the week in motorsports. Other than that, we're pretty much surfing. We'll find something we like, watch it until it goes back to reruns ("NCIS", "Bones", "Wings", "Major Dad")…

Our most recent indulgence has been "The Smoking Gun Presents: The World's Dumbest…" on truTV. Why? I have no idea…TV has indeed become the "vast wasteland" that Newton Minnow warned us about…

Next time, I'll tell you how I discovered PBS, Bob Ross, and "This Old House". Until then, be good to one another. I bid you Peace.

March 29, 2011
A few of my former charges

Today, we'll look at a few airplanes I knew rather well. The first is a Douglas C-118A (DC-6A), Constructor's Number 44625, Constructor's Serial Number 560, USAF S/N 53-3254, N614CA. The company I worked for at the time acquired the aircraft to replace another C-118A we owned that was being withdrawn from use due to corrosion issues (coincidentally, the airplane she replaced was C/N 44624).

^{There's nothing like the sound of four Pratt and Whitney R-2800's at full song.} ^{Four Charlie Alpha makes a low pass.}

^{Alas, both the airplane and the FBO are now gone–Associated Air Center closed and was razed sometime around 1991–it is now where the "Green Belt" is on the south side of KFLL.}

Both of the above photos were taken at the Ft. Lauderdale Airshow in 1990, one of the few times Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has hosted such an event. The pilot was chastised by the Air Boss that day–the pilot was told that he was never to fly a C-118 so low that the controller in the tower could get a clear view of the top of the airplane!

This was a good airplane for us, she flew a lot of hours and performed as you would expect a Douglas product to perform. I have approximately 10 hours of Flight Engineer training time in my long-lost logbook, and I believe that eight of those hours were in Four Charlie Alpha.

Four Charlie Alpha met her demise in the mid-1990's. She was down for a 'C' or 'D' check when one of the mechanics put his hand through one of the inspection holes in the wing and pulled out a handful of corrosion that was the wing spar cap. I left the company at about that time, but this photo shows the airplane in a partial American Airlines "Thunderbolt" scheme with the outer wing panels and tail removed. A sad end to a good ship…

The next airplane was one of my favorites to work on, simply because she never broke–and when she did, the fixes were fast and easy. Convair 440, Constructor's Number 391, N4826C, began life with Delta Airlines and ended it with Dodita Air Cargo. During the time I worked on her, she was flying for Florida Air Transport, and had spent most of her post-Delta life with the company. At the time, the company had a contract with Dow Jones to deliver "The Wall Street Journal" to several locations in the country. At one time, the company owned a bunch of ex-DL Convair-liners based in St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Riverside, and Ft. Lauderdale (by the time I got there, there were two airplanes in Riverside, two in OK City, and two in Ft. Lauderdale).

^{Not the greatest photo, I know, but it was taken sometime around 1989…}

^{A few things to note–look carefully at the nose of Two-Six Charlie, and you can see the ghost of the "Dow Jones and Company" logo. Also, the C-118A (C/N 44597, S/N 501, AF 53-3226, N766WC) in the foreground has an interesting story that I might tell you some day…}

^{Two-Six Charlie at the 1990 KFLL Airshow}

^{Again, not the greatest quality, but in the background you can see another long-time resident of the south side's Corrosion Corner, Lockheed SP-2E (P2V-5) Neptune, BuNo 131410 N88487, one of the few Neptunes to escape the scrapper's torch. I would eventually work on this airplane, too…}

The company sold Two-Six Charlie (along with another of our Convair-liners, N912AL) to Dodita right about the time I left the company in 1995. Two-Six Charlie met her demise in 2004. An engine caught fire and the crew ditched her 38 miles south of Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands. The co-pilot escaped and was rescued, but the captain died when the airplane sank in some 1,000 feet of water. She had 45,750 hours on the airframe when she went down. Another good ship, I'm sorry to see that she took someone with her at the end.

As I dig up more photos from my archives, I'll post them. I hope you enjoyed them.

Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.

March 22, 2011
Spring is here…

Back when I was a kid living in Florida, the arrival of spring went largely unnoticed. Face it, when winter temperatures rarely duck below 40 degrees, there isn't that much difference between seasons. You knew it was Spring when you woke up at 6AM to temperatures in the mid-80's (and humidity to match). And sure, we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, so there was that big college crowd. But as a kid, what did I know from Spring Break? All we knew was that the beach was crowded with a bunch of semi-conscious and half drunk college kids, and a new batch arrived every week, and that went on for about a month and a half.

Then I went to college in Daytona Beach.

Now, Embry-Riddle didn't do a Spring Break as such when I attended, but those of us who were wise would find a way to have our own version of Spring Break. One year, I had my schedule planned out so that I was done with classes by 2PM every day. That year saw an amazing stretch of clear, sunny days (from mid-January to nearly April), so that meant I was at the beach no later than 3PM every day…it didn't always work out that way every year, and after a while it got old, but it was fun while it lasted…

Back in those days, Daytona Beach was a sleepy little Central Florida town most of the year. Mid-January brought the race fans for the sports car race, the stock car races, and the motorcycle races. The motorcycle races coincided with Bike Week, one of the largest East Coast gatherings of bikers. As soon as Bike Week ended (usually early February), the college students began arriving, a new batch every Sunday, until late March or early April. Towards the end of the college students' run of the town, families started arriving for their own Spring Break. The town started to go back to normal until late May, when the summer crowd moved in. And, in late August, the sidewalks were rolled up, the banners welcoming this week's tourist groups came down, and the town went back to sleep for the winter…

I recall my first Spring Break in Daytona Beach. My roommates in college at the time were from Panama and the Dominican Republic, and they wanted to see what it was all about. So off to the beach we headed. 1983 was probably the start of the real big Spring Break festivities in Daytona, and you could tell. It was a combination circus/party/trade show. Want to test-drive a brand-new Dodge Shelby Daytona? There you go–sign up and do it. Free samples of the latest alcoholic beverage? Are you 18? Okay, then, here you go. Tobacco? Same deal–you had to be over 18, and they'd give you free samples. Posters were everywhere, as was a whole bunch of other SWAG (as in Stuff We All Get)–painter's caps emblazoned with the logo of a local bar, sun visors, mugs, hats, you name it. MTV was there, alerting everyone to their existence–they launched barely a year and a half earlier. The movie production companies were there, too, advertising the next year's releases–that was about the time that the movie "Spring Break" was opening in theaters (25 March 1983–the movie was shot on Ft. Lauderdale, and if you look, you'll see "Cobra Wrestling" t-shirts being waved in one of the bar scenes). Yes, I did manage to get one of the movie posters…don't know what happened to it.

There were the free concerts, too–Daytona Beach has a bandshell and numerous pool decks, an they got put to good use. Some of the acts I got to see? A Flock of Seagulls, The English Beat, The Fixx, Starship, Cheap Trick, Southside Johnny, Four-In-Legion, and Vixen. (In addition, Embry-Riddle hosted free concerts featuring the likes of Missing Persons and Foghat). Chances are, if they were popular, you could catch them in concert during Spring Break for free.

Every year, Spring Break would bring something different. In the mid-80's, the City Fathers in Ft. Lauderdale began to pass laws that, while not outright bans on Spring Break festivities, put a huge damper on the things that were going to be permitted–this after residents got fed up with the damage done by 'Breakers. Of course, the city forgot that those two months or so of less-than-societal behaviour put a lot of money into the city's bank account. Oh, well–their loss was Daytona Beach's gain.

In 1986, MTV began live broadcasts from Daytona Beach. With MTV, Spring Break in Daytona Beach became a big deal. As the years passed, more people came to town, things got rowdier, and similar to events in Ft. Lauderdale, students died when too much liquor met up with 12th floor balconies overlooking pools. You know that Redneck joke, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this?" It was happening more and more frequently. As the popularity grew, the events drew more traffic, and some partiers died in traffic accidents. By the mid-1990's, Daytona Beach followed Ft. Lauderdale's lead and passed city ordinances that pretty much put the kibosh on Spring Break. No matter–new venues like Panama City Beach and South Padre Island, Texas were all too happy to take in the yearly masses of revellers.

These days, Spring Break is still alive and well. 'Breakers are returning to Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona Beach, although not in the same numbers. Most students, attracted by low "all-in-one" pricing, low airfares, and liberal drinking laws, are heading to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Mexican beaches to do their partying.

But I can say, "I was there when…"

Oh, and an interesting footnote–for as rowdy as they are portrayed in films and TV, the bikers were actually more polite, more courteous, and friendlier than 99% of the Breakers. They left the place cleaner, they weren't drunk in public (well, not that often), and they actually exercised self-control. I guess that's one reason the city welcomes the bikers year after year.

If you are heading out for Spring Break, enjoy yourself, but be smart. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

March 21, 2011
Modeling Regression (Or How I Cured AMS)

Do you ever look back on things you did as a kid? Do you ever wish you could have a "Do Over"?

The other day, my wife was surfing eBay, looking at older model kits. I glanced over at the the screen and immediately recognized a snapshot of a box. The more she looked, the more kits I saw that sent me in the Wayback Machine to the mid-1970's. A while later, I went over to the Old Plastic Model Kits website and did some surfing of my own. Those images kept me in the '70s for a while longer…

The first thing I checked out was the MPC Profile Series kits. MPC marketed the Airfix line of 1/72 scale kits in the States back in the day, and they came up with the idea of tying the kits to the contemporary monograph series of the same name. The kits differed from the standard Airfix/MPC fare by offering several decal options with each kit. The box top was plain white with color profiles of the aircraft featured on the decal sheet. When I used to go to Lionel Playworld, I would see these kits all over–there must have been a full aisle dedicated to them. They were a little rich for my blood, and by the time I appreciated them for what they were, I was firmly established as a 1/48 scale man. Shame, too–some of those kits still hold up today.

Staying with MPC for a while, does anyone remember the "Pirates of the Caribbean" tie-in with the Walt Disney attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World? MPC did a series of seven "Pirates" kits as well as a series of four kits tied to "The Haunted Mansion". I built one of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" kits as a kid–I though that "Zap/Action!" feature was pretty neat…

I was also good for a good number of the MPC car kits, AMT big rig kits (like the Kenworth W-925 Conventional from the TV series "Movin' On"), and a few Revell and Lindberg ships. I recall building Revell's 1/426 scale USS Arizona a few times (and their 1/720 kit of the same ship once or twice, too), and Lindberg's 1/525 Essex-Class aircraft carrier, I believe in the USS Ticonderoga boxing.

If you want to walk further into your youth, drive your browser over to Schiffer Publications and get copies of Remembering Revell Model Kits, Monogram Models, and Aurora Model Kits, all by Thomas Graham. If those books don't stir up memories, nothing will.

What is the purpose of this nostalgic walk in the park? Just that–a refreshing trip down memory lane. One of the comments I made to my wife–I think it was about an Aurora kit of the Piper Aztec C–was that back then, none of us (the kids on the block) really cared if the model was in some wierd off-scale. None of us really cared if it was accurate. All we knew is that it was kind of neat. And we built them in the space of an afternoon, painted them, slapped the decals ("stickers" in those days) on, and if the model survived a week, we must not have been feeling well. We played with them. Only later did I become attuned to the research and historical aspects of modeling. Those silly looking crosses, stars, bands, and circles actually meant something. The colors the instruction sheet called out were done so in order for you to build a model of some famous pilot's airplane, or driver's race car.

As I got older, the research aspect of a model became appealing. I still like to do as much research as i can on any given subject before I build a model. But I'm happy to say that I haven't fallen into the trap of being so wrapped up in minutiae that I don't build at all. If I ever do, I have a sure-fire cure. Read on…

If you happen to be one of those modelers who haven't touched a kit in months because you "can't find the reference on the color of the button fourth down from the right on the back-seater's left console", and are recognizing it for what it is (the dreaded Advanced Modeler's Syndrome, or AMS), here's a way to break the cycle–go to the local hobby shop (or even dig deep in your stash) and find one of those kits from your youth. Build it. Sure, you might be tempted to "bring it up to code", but don't. Just build it. Yes, you can fill seams, and airbrush the final color scheme. Just don't get too wrapped around the axle about little things.

I am thankful that Round Two Models has brought back the MPC, Polar Lights, and AMT kits (including the TV tie-ins); and J. Lloyd International has resurrected the Hawk Models line and revived the Lindberg line. Moebius Models, too, has kept up with the Sci-Fi TV tie-ins from the '60s and '70s. For as much as I enjoy building a good representation of an F-16 or Essex-Class aircraft carrier, I equally enjoy busting out the likes of a USNS Seaview from time to time, too…

Whatever destination you seek, enjoy the journey.

Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

March 14, 2011
The Florida Air National Guard, aka The FANG

(Author’s note: This information was originally published in the IPMS/USA Flight 19 Chapter newsletter, The Debrief, way back in the dark ages, sometime around 1997 or so. It has been updated–more than a few times–since the original publication.)

I remember the first time I saw an aircraft from the Florida Air Guard in flight–Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, AFROTC Det 157 Pass In Review, Fall semester 1982. Two FANG F-106's zoomed over the formation a few times. Since then, I was on a mission to research the colors and markings of the airplanes that served the Florida Air Guard through the years.

The 159 FS, 125 FG can trace its origins to the 352FG of the 353FG from World War II. During the war, the group was equipped first with P-47's, then P-51's. At the close of hostilities, the Group was disestablished and allotted to the National Guard. The unit was federally recognized on 9 Feb 1947 as the 159 Fighter Squadron (Single Engine), and was originally equipped with F-51D’s. The unit called the Thomas Cole Municipal Airport in Jacksonville, FL home. In only its second year of existence, the Florida Air National Guard became one of the first jet-equipped ANG units when it transitioned into the Lockheed P-80C. The unit was re-designated the 159FS (Jet) on 1 Aug 1948, but did not become fully operational as such until the following January.

_{The FANG's hangar at T. I. Cole Municipal airport with P-51 Mustangs all in a row}

_{The FANG's flight line with early P-80s adorned with the "Florida Rockets" demonstration team insignia}

During the Korean War, the unit was called to active duty. On 10 Oct 1950, the 159FS joined two other ANG units to form the 116 Fighter Bomber Group at George AFB, CA. The unit also received new equipment in the form of Republic F-84Es. Transferred to Misawa AB, Japan, the unit provided air defense and saw combat duty over the Korean Peninsula. The unit was released from active duty on 9 July 1952. One of the notable achievements while on active duty was the unit’s participation in Operation High Tide, the first practical use of air-to-air refueling in a combat zone.

_{FANG F-84's in Japan, 1951}

^{KB-29 refuelling an F-84 over Korea in 1952}

Returning to Jacksonville, the unit was again re-designated, this time as an interceptor unit, the 159FIS (now an asset of the Air Defense Command) re-equipped with the North American F-51H. It retained the Mustangs until 1954, although at one time plans were to re-equip with F-86A’s. The unit received only four Sabres, and the Lockheed F-80C-10-LO (re-manufactured F-80B’s and C’s) became the mission aircraft in 1954.

_{FANG F-51H Mustangs in flight}

_{A late-model FANG F-80C-10-LO circa 1955. Look at those tip tanks.}

The Florida Air National Guard reached group strength on 1 July 1955 and was federally recognized as the 125FIG (AD). The unit has remained an air defense unit, operating with F-86D’s from August 1956, converting to F-86L’s in June 1959, then operating F-102A’s (July 1960), F-106A’s (Fall 1974), F-16A (ADF) (April 1990, coinciding with the unit becoming TAC-gained), and finally, the F-15A/B in late 1996. The unit currently flies the F-15C/D Eagle as its primary mission aircraft.

_{A FANG DogSabre}

_{A FANG Deuce pops the 'chute as the mains touch down. I can almost smell the rubber burning…}

_{The most colorful F-106A of them all, the FANG's Bicentennial "City of Jacksonville"}

_{A FANG F-16A–not an ADF, though!– at Wright-Patterson AFB, 1987}

_{A FANG F-15 flies over the Space Shuttle Endeavour prior to mission STS-108}

The unit has been a part of Air Combat Command since the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command in 1992. The unit now flies out of the Jacksonville International Airport, having moved there in 1968.

From a modeler’s standpoint, you will need to model the following aircraft: F-51D, F-80C, F-84E, F-51H, F-80C-10-LO, F-86D, F-86L, F-102, F-106, F-16A, F-16ADF, F-15A, and F-15C. Fortunately, all of these aircraft are available as kits in one form or another. I prefer 1/48 scale, and for those models, I recommend the following:

F-51D: Tamiya or Hasegawa, with a nod to the Tamiya kit as being slightly easier to build.

F-80C: Monogram, since you don’t have a choice. You may want to see if you can beg, borrow, or steal the January 1989 issue of FineScale Modeler, in which Bob Steinbrunn converted this kit to the YP-80. A lot of the details are different, but there is a lot of information in there that you can use on the F-80C.

F-84E: The best result can be had by simply buying the Revell issue of the kit–it is a proper F-84E. Your other two viable choices would be the Tamiya or ProModeler F-84G kits. If I understand correctly, the ProModeler kit is closer in shape and detail to an F-84E. You’ll need to fill the slipway door for the refueling probe on the wing and the engine suck-in doors on the fuselage sides on the Tamiya or ProModeler kit. If you use the Tamiya kit, you’ll also need to scratchbuild refueling probes for the tip tanks. There are other differences as well.

F-51H: Classic Airframes or HiPM. Personally, I am going to kit bash the two, taking the best parts from each. The CA kit is more accurate shape-wise. (Of course, if you are into such things, Collect-Aire makes/made a resin kit…)

F-80C-10-LO: Monogram again, only replace the tip tanks with those from a Hobbycraft or Testor’s T-33.

F-86D: Get the Revell of Germany issue of the Dog Sabre, because it has the proper braking parachute fairing on the tail. Wow, an out of box build!

F-86L: Use the Revell of Germany F-86D and swap wings with a Hasegawa F-86F-40, or be adventurous and extend the wings yourself. You’ll need to make other additions such as the SAGE antenna yourself, but it is no big deal. One thing to keep in mind–Hasegawa’s F-86F-40 does not include extended wing slats.

F-102A: Monogram and ProModeler. FANG flew both Case X and Case XX winged Deuces, so it is best to have both kits. For the adventurous, C&H Aero Miniatures also make a TF-102 conversion set. Now, c’mon–you really, really want a Tub, dontcha?

F-106A: Monogram. Again, no choice here, but it is a stellar kit. I am in the midst of re-scribing one as we speak–no mean feat, but worth the effort in my book. Airwaves does a conversion to the F-106B that is pretty comprehensive. C&H also do one, but I have not seen it, so will not comment other than to say if it is like their Tub, it is worth the asking price.

F-16A and F-16A(ADF): Hasegawa’s F-16A, either out of box (for the F-16A) or suitably modified with the spotlight on the nose, data link antennae forward of the windscreen, and bulge on the tail (for the ADF). At one point, someone was supposed to do an Air Defense Variant update set, but it never saw the light of day. Revell supposedly did an ADF kit, but you’d be best to start with the Hasegawa kit and go from there. Now, if Tamiya were to include Block 15 jets in their superb F-16 family, go with them.

F-15A and F-15C: Monogram. Believe it or not, this oldie is still the most accurate F-15A on the market. If you can, get the kit released as a C model–it isn’t truly a Charlie, but close enough–, that version has crude representations of the turkey feather-less exhaust cans. With a little sheet and rod, you can do the rest (and I know you can!)…if you must have an engraved panel line F-15, go with Hasegawa’s kit. It is mostly a Charlie model, however, so you’ll have to backdate it to an Alpha yourself. Either that or break out the scriber…

Now, if you build in 1/72, here are the ones to use:

F-51D: Probably Hasegawa’s, but Tamiya just shrunk its quarter-scale kit…

F-80C: Airfix, or Sword.

F-84E: Tamiya or Academy. Same comments as the 1/48 models, although I haven’t really looked at the Academy kit. Again, surf over to the F-84 Thunderjet website.

F-51H: Beech-Nut did one a few years back, and it wasn’t great. If memory serves, didn’t MPM do one recently? If so, I’d probably start with that one, having seen the Beech-Nut kit…

F-80C-10-LO: Again, Airfix or Sword, with Hasegawa T-33 tip tanks.

F-86D: Hasegawa. Make sure you get the release with the parachute pack. You can use an Airfix kit, but why?

F-86L: Hasegawa–try to find the JASDF kit, as it may already have the extended span wing.

F-102A: Hasegawa, no choice.

F-106A: Ditto.

F-16A and F-16A(ADF): Hasegawa, suitably modified. Revell of Germany recently produced an F-16 Mlu kit that may work, too–you may need to bash an F-16A kit and this one to get the correct combination of parts…

F-15A/F-15C: Probably Hasegawa, although the old Revell or Monogram kit may be just as good.

As far as other types go, you can get the T-33 (1/48 Hobbycraft or Testor, 1/72 Hasegawa), and there are two-seat F-106B conversions (Airwaves or Falcon in 1/72 for the Hasegawa kit, Airwaves and C&H Aero Miniatures in 1/48 for the Monogram kit). The only TF-102 conversion that is still available is the C&H Aero Miniatures in 1/48 for the Monogram kit. Airmodel did a crude vac conversion in 1/72, if you can find it…

If you are bent on having an F-86A in your FANG collection, good news! Cutting Edge has both 1/72 and 1/48 conversion sets! Or, you can follow Paul Boyer’s lead and convert one yourself!

As far as goes support aircraft, FANG employed various types through the years such as C-45's, C-47's, T-6G’s, C-130's and C-26 Metroliners. If it feels good, do it!

Decals are out there for FANG birds, too! Experts’ Choice has a few sheets for the F-16, F-84, and F-106, and SuperScale had several sheets featuring FANG F-16's. Both Scalemaster and Archer’s Fine Transfers offered the Bicentennial “City of Jacksonville” markings, SM in 1/72 and Archer in 1/48–they are hard to find, but are really striking! The good news in 1/72 is that Hasegawa just re-issued the F-106 with these decals included. Get them while you can, though, as this is limited run. Also, TwoBobs did a run of FANG F-15's, but they may be gone by now.

Fortunately, the rest aren’t hard to come up with using black letter/number sheets and the Experts’ Choice ANG crests. Trust me, would I steer you wrong? Don’t answer that just yet…

My personal take on building the models–I am in the process of re-scribing a Monogram F-106, and recommend it only for those strong heart, pure of spirit, and only after purging your mind of all impure thoughts! It is quite nerve-wracking, but I feel that it looks better. If I were doing this in 1/72, I might want to update and detail the F-102 and F-106 from Hasegawa. Fortunately, I believe Eduard have released photoetched brass sets for most of the aircraft you’ll be building. While this will tart up the cockpits, the weapons bay on both the Deuce and the Six need help! It is easiest to build the models with the weapons bays shut, but if you must have them open, get thee to copies of the relevan
t Detail and Scale volumes.

If you use the Academy 1/48 F-16, get a replacement seat at the very least. The kit seat looks somewhat akin to a La-Z-Boy. The kit isn't all that accurate, but to those who find it acceptable, go for it.

Otherwise, build your models as you normally would. Paint schemes vary from highly weathered to pristine–the early equipment was second-and third-hand, and it showed! Ghosts of the “U.S. Air Force” titles were visible on the bare-metal aircraft, and the bare metal wasn’t polished to a showroom shine.

The F-102's in the ADC Gray scheme were clean, but the Deuces in the SEA camouflage tended to weather a bit. The F-106's were very well kept. The F-16's and F-15's are well kept, too, so I would refrain from weathering any of them much. Perhaps a slight fade to an SEA camo’d F-102, but not much more.

Check your references as pertain to cockpit and gear well colors, as they vary from interior green, chromate yellow, black, gray, and white.

As I close this installment, a word on research is in order. A frequent question is “How did you find that out?” Well, in the days before the Internet, you pretty much had to scrounge for every bit you could find. To a large extent, that is still true, but the Internet has made a lot more information available. However, just because you read it on the Internet (or in print, for that matter) does not necessarily mean you should take that information as the Gospel truth.

Most of my research on this subject was done pre-Interwebs, and it was actually fun. The challenge wasn't so much the basic information itself (i.e., aircraft types and dates they were assigned), as there are a few good books out there that cover the U. S. Air National Guard. The challeneg back then was finding photograhs of the airplanes. Various books, magazines, interviews, and other sources yielded most of what I needed. The rest sort of fell into place through various friends in the hobby and the aviation industry. Today, a Google search and a trip through Wikimedia Commons will turn up more photos in a minutes than I was able to get in ten years. Count your blessings. It wasn't always this easy.

Thanks for reading. From time to time, I'll do posts of this sort, as I have a few favorite Squadrons that I research.

Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.

March 2, 2011
Modeling Memories

I remember my first model. My father bought home a Revell 1/32 scale F4F Wildcat kit. He had built models as a kid–he contracted Rheumatic Fever as was pretty much bedridden for a year. As a diversion, he built balsa wood models. He wanted me to enjoy the hobby, too, I guess, so he bought the Wildcat. He and I read the instruction sheet a few times, and he explained to me that in order to build the model correctly, I had to follow the directions in order. We started to build the model–he had bought some paints, too (if memory serves, one of the Testor's PLA Enamel sets), so we painted the cockpit parts in colors close to what the instructions called out. What's Chromate Green? Well, we had a green color, so that worked. The first night, we painted the parts, then set everything aside to dry overnight. Actually, I think we put the kit and supplies on top of the refrigerator…

We would build a little bit each night. With each step completed, I could see an airplane start to emerge from that bunch of plastic parts. Some steps I could do myself; others I would get Dad to help me with. After about a week–I'm not quite sure, as I was young at the time–we had a nearly finishe model. We couldn't find the hole in the wing where the pitot tube was supposed to go, so Dad took the tip of the hobby knife and made one. When everything was glued together, we set the model aside, again, to dry.

The next night was paint night. I helped paint the model to match the pictures on the box. Dad explained to me that it was better to apply a thin coat of paint, let it dry, then apply another coat. Above all, he said, we needed to let it dry overnight…

The following evening we applied the decals, and "my" first model was finished. The model was placed on the bookshelf for all to see and admire. To this day, though, I don't remember what became of the model–we moved not too long after, so I suppose it must have been damaged in the move. No matter, it wouldn't be my last model…

There's something refreshing about that story–I built a model, spent time with my Dad, and wasn't worried if the final product wasn't perfect. Later, as we got older, Dad helped my brother and I each purchase a Guillow's balsa wood kit (I think I got the Cessna 170 and my brother got the Piper Cherokee) and he assisted us in building–well, almost building–them. He would remind us that the balsa wood kits were his kind of modeling, and that we had it easy with those plastic kits to which I, for one, had become addicted. I don't think either of those Guillow's kits got built, but he'd go on about the plastic kits we'd build, telling us that if we were real model builders we'd tackle a wood kit–yet to anyone who would listen, we were the family's artistes-in-waiting.

Later on, I would buy and build Guillow's 3/4" scale Spitfire (it didn't fly, I built it as a static model), and my brother built a Dumas boat kit, which was waiting for a motor and radio control gear when he discovered BMX and Daisy's contribution to settling the Old West .

Dad's gone now. I don't think my brother has touched a plastic model kit since about ten years ago when we (my brother, my wife, my nephew, and I) got together and built (what else?) Snap-Tite kits. My nephew was seven or eight at the time, and I don't think he's taken up the hobby (habit?)–he's been exposed to it, so he knows what it is about. Each of us has seen and participated in the hobby, even of that time was brief.

We will always have those memories of how we were each introduced to the hobby.

Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

February 16, 2011