Morning ride/ lots of pics

[Mailman]

So I took off this morning in search of old gas stations / garages for the contest.
But I took some other photos that weren't related and thought I'd post them here.

Murals in Old Downtown Avondale Az

Edit: Since this post was first written , I have been informed that this is NOT associated with the Confederate Air Force. It is the private collection of Hans Lauridsen.
http://lauridsenaviationmuseum.com/

Then I rode out to Buckeye Az looking for old gas stations , and when I was done I rode out to the Buckeye local airport. The Confederate Air Force restores old planes out there and I went out to get a photo of this plane which used to be parked at the entrance to the airport.

Well it was GONE! How rude! So I'm looking around and I can see , way off in the distance , these enormous outdoor sheds with old planes parked in there. There was a really long gravel road leading back there so I turned onto it and thought , well I'll just see how close I can get to them.

Turns out pretty close. Haha

It was a REALLY interesting place and I really wanted to look around , there were many more planes, but it was early on a Sunday morning and no one was around and even though I never passed any No Trespassing signs, I had the distinct feeling they would not welcome my nosing around so I made my visit brief and then high tailed it out of there.
On the ride home I rode through the beautiful mountain foothills community of Verado.

Then I headed for home. Really fun morning was out for about 2 1/2 hours and the bike just ran like a champ. What a beautiful morning!

 

[MaxPete]

Wow - very cool and I love old planes!! I saw a C47 Dakota, an A26 Invader, a C119 Packet, a Grumman Goose and a B25 Mitchell.

Dammit - I'm comin' over Mailman! I'll be there on....Wednesday.

 

[Mailman]

Wow - very cool and I love old planes!! I saw a C47 Dakota, an A26 Invader, a C119 Packet, a Grumman Goose and a B25 Mitchell.

Dammit - I'm comin' over Mailman! I'll be there on....Wednesday.

Well come on down! I'd love to see you!
Really? You identified all of those planes? I was wondering what they were. The B25 Mitchell was the one they were working on the engine correct? Is that the same bomber that flew 30 seconds over Tokyo?
I wish I had the time and freedom to walk around there and really look. That outdoor hanger was huge, and they were working on a dozen different planes. I didn't even stay long enough to take pictures of them all.

 

[azman857]

Hey Pete, once your finished there C'mom down here and we'll go to PASM and get a tour of the D-M Boneyard. Pima Air and Space Museun has a B-36 and an Avro Shakelton. Mailman, yes the B-25 was used in the Doolittle Raid in '42.

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - the Mitchell was used on the incredible Doolittle Raid.

In mid-April of 1942, about 5 months after Pearl Harbour, the USAAF and the US Navy worked together to launch about 16 (I think) Army B25-B Mitchell medium bombers off the USS Hornet aircraft carrier. The Mitchell was chosen because it was fast, could carry a meaningful bomb load and had the power and performance to take off from the carrier. The Navy cranked the Hornet up to full speed into the wind and the Army pilots revved up the two Wright R2600 radials on the Mitchell's, held the yoke right back into their bellies and released the brakes. Everyone got off OK and the raid was a total, surprise for the Japanese and relatively few shots were fired at the planes over Japan. It was a huge blow to the prestige of the Japanese military regime off the day.

There was no way the planes could land back on-board the Hornet (no arrester hooks plus they were really too big) and so they flew on to land in China. None of the planes survived intact, but nearly all of the crew survived. The actual amount of damage to the Japanese homeland was small - but it was a very gutsy move on the part of the US and really one of the first significant boosts to American morale after the sneak attack on Hawaii.

When the raid was announced by President Roosevelt, he stated that the planes had operated from a "secret US base" and when asked later where it was, he said "Shangri-la". Incidentally, the last surviving Doolittle Raider who is 102 years old, just went for a ride in a restored B25B a few weeks ago. What a thrill that must have been!

Really quite the story!

 

[Mailman]

Wow that really must've been just an unbelievable experience for those young men.
My father was in World War Two and loved all things military. When he was in his eighties I found out that a functional B-17 was going to be flying into a local airport and would be conducting tours. I picked him up and surprised him by taking him to go see that plane. He was like a kid again, the vets that conducted the tour were so respectful to my father. We got to climb up into the plane and crawl over every square inch of it. I was a little surprised to see how much oil was leaking from these engines. Oil stains streamed back on the wings behind the engines. Then after our tour we were delighted to see them fire that plane up , one engine at a time, VERY smokey at first but then they cleaned up after a while. The plane then taxied down the runway and took off. It looked like slow motion compared to a modern plane.

 

[DanielBlack]

One of my clearer young memories was going to an airshow with my dad. We crawled through a B-17 and a B-24. The guys in front of us in the 17 were a veteran ball turret gunner (those poor boys) and his son.

The feature I recall most vividly is how darn small they are. Fortress? Foxhole, maybe.

 

[robinc]

Wow Bob, you live in a pretty cool place. Our Southwestern Ontario flat farmland is pretty boring in comparison. I'm coming with Pete!

 

[DanielBlack]

ERG Conference?

 

[robinc]

 

[Mailman]

ERG Conference?

I love it! Yeah guys come on down! I'm telling you February in Arizona is like July in Ontario! It's the prettiest time of year. When you guys get to the point you can't stand the miserable weather, c'mon down!

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Great photos ! Just discovered them. Like the murals and planes, both.
As you've said previously, "all things mechanical" interest you (and your late father who restored the Oliver),
so your fascination with the planes makes sense.
me, too, but I won't hijack your thread with my own additional pics from yesterday.

 

[Mailman]

Feel free to add anything you want. This thread will disappear into obscurity within a week anyway! Haha

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Feel free to add anything you want. This thread will disappear into obscurity within a week anyway! Haha

Interesting how that happens.

 

[xjwmx]

They changed Confederate Air Force to Commemorative Air Force. No doubt the name disturbed some Yankees.

 

[nj1639]

They changed Confederate Air Force to Commemorative Air Force. No doubt the name disturbed some Yankees.

More likely it disturbed generic malcontents.......

 

[DanielBlack]

Or perhaps they came to their own conclusion?

From the CAF Wikipedia page:

Following a 2001 membership vote, the group changed its name to Commemorative Air Force effective January 1, 2002.[3] Many felt the name Confederate Air Force was confusing, did not accurately reflect the purpose of the organization, and was detrimental to fundraising efforts.[16] This name change was deemed by some fans to be a move of political correctness. According to CAF chief of staff Ray Kinney, "In many people's minds, the word 'confederacy' brings up the image of slavery and discrimination. We, in no way, are associated with that kind of stuff. So, it gives us, in a way, a black-eye."

 

[xjwmx]

There's a video where a guy puts gopros around the inside of a B-29. It's amazing how hi-tech they are. It gives you a sense of what they considered to be at stake with the war, and a sense of the resources they were willing and able to expend.

 

[Mailman]

Or perhaps they came to their own conclusion?

From the CAF Wikipedia page:

Following a 2001 membership vote, the group changed its name to Commemorative Air Force effective January 1, 2002.[3] Many felt the name Confederate Air Force was confusing, did not accurately reflect the purpose of the organization, and was detrimental to fundraising efforts.[16] This name change was deemed by some fans to be a move of political correctness. According to CAF chief of staff Ray Kinney, "In many people's minds, the word 'confederacy' brings up the image of slavery and discrimination. We, in no way, are associated with that kind of stuff. So, it gives us, in a way, a black-eye."

That's very interesting, I was unaware they had ever changed their name until this morning.