A Veteran USMC Pilot Reunited With F4U-1A Corsair He Flew In WWII

[DougGuy]

I thought this is a perfect 100th birthday..


https://youtu.be/Km-BJpE4-R0

[RugerFan]

Remarkable!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Electrod47]

What a lucky guy!!!

[45_Colt]

I'm having trouble putting words on this post. I am so happy for this guy, can we leave my thoughts at that... Thanks, and thank you Mr. Fighter Pilot and WW2 Veteran.

45_Colt

[Winger Ed.]

Way cool.

We have one at the Quantico air museum.
Back in the late 70s, while it was being prepared for display, I got to climb around on and in it.
Even if you can't crank it up and take off- There's nothing else quite like sitting in an old war bird.

To see one take off and fly is something to behold.
In North Dallas a guy has one.
It sings a song you can hear for about a mile.
Being unloaded- without guns, drop tanks, or bombs, he'd get it rolling, pull the stick back and it'd go straight up.

[myg30]

If my dad was alive he’d want to shake his hand and thank him for saving his life and the men he was with in the south pacific on the islands. Several times in his diary he mentions the jap planes bombing the island and here come the Americans to shoot them down.
I’d like to shake his hand and thank him for saving my dad and for me being here today !
God Bless you John. Happy Birthday
Semper-fi

Mike

[Thumbcocker]

Maybe there is hope for the human race.

[jeepyj]

What a wonderful post.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Fantastic!

[MUSTANG]

Northwest Montana has an Air Museum too; called the Stonehenge Air Museum (https://www.stonehengeairmuseum.org). They have on display many interesting aircraft including the Corsair. A couple of years ago on one of my wife and my visits, the owner (Former Marine) was walking the floor. We had some interesting discussions on the Corsair which he still flys on occasion.

The museum also has a unique display of an "Inflatable Plane", designed by Goodyear as a means for downed pilots to "Fly Out Of" enemy territory.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Goodyear_AO-2.jpg/440px-Goodyear_AO-2.jpg

[square butte]

I remember going to an airshow in Kalispell about 25 years or so ago - we lived there then - and watching Fifi do a few low level passes along the length of the runway - Wowza. The A10 Warthog demo was pretty spectacular as well. I remember the local Corsair

[Rapier]

How many opportunities at a museum do you get to fly the one of your birds with the original combat pilot, now 100 years old, not many. Very rare indeed.

[Winger Ed.]

How many opportunities at a museum do you get to fly the one of your birds with the original combat pilot, now 100 years old, not many. Very rare indeed.

Oh yeah.
It's probably harder to get into the cockpit of them now than when they were new.

They won't show the back story, but that old pilot would have had to get a flight physical, probably do a bunch of time in
a simulator, and do a couple of 'check rides' in other planes that were similar,
but way cheaper to fix or replace if there was an accident.

Even current military pilots have to go through all that if they haven't flown 'in model' for a year or so.
Being that old, and not having flown one in so long---
the powers that be are going to be REAL careful about letting him fly a antique 'single seat' war bird.

You often see old vets that were crew members catching a ride in some of the old WWII bombers in their old station--
as cool as it is, they ain't driving them.

[pworley1]

Happy Birthday! Thank you for you service.

[45_Colt]

Oh yeah.
It's probably harder to get into the cockpit of them now than when they were new.

They won't show the back story, but that old pilot would have had to get a flight physical, probably do a bunch of time in
a simulator, and do a couple of 'check rides' in other planes that were similar,
but way cheaper to fix or replace if there was an accident.

Even current military pilots have to go through all that if they haven't flown 'in model' for a year or so.
Being that old, and not having flown one in so long---
the powers that be are going to be REAL careful about letting him fly a antique 'single seat' war bird.

You often see old vets that were crew members catching a ride in some of the old WWII bombers in their old station--
as cool as it is, they ain't driving them.


He was given a ride in it, he didn't fly it. A rear seat was added someplace along the way when the bird was restored.

45_Colt

[WRideout]

Does the museum offer Space Available to people with a military ID?

Wayne

[buckwheatpaul]

Doug, That is so wonderful...it made my heart soar along with the major!