For warbird fans only

[Joe 1320]

Life around Sebring can be both boring and exciting........ my house is right on the approach path for the airport. There have been 16 A6s practicing formation flying and buzzing the house on their way to the landing strip. I gotta tell ya that at that low height, you can plainly see the pilot, not to mention the whole house shakes. There is nothing like watching 16 warbirds flying in formation at 100 ft. altitude to get the senses charged. Yesterday I was flying the jumbo jet about 1/4 mile away and was way higher in altitude than these guys. At one point I had to do some serious avoidance manouvers to get clear. Darned near had a mid air mishap. this place at times can be like stepping back in time.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Joe, wouldn't other pilots get freaked out about seeing a Jumbo Jet heading in their direction? I mean, you don't have a lot of time to make decisions about whether it is a model or a real plane - I would think that could shake someone up.

[Joe 1320]

Joe, wouldn't other pilots get freaked out about seeing a Jumbo Jet heading in their direction? I mean, you don't have a lot of time to make decisions about whether it is a model or a real plane - I would think that could shake someone up.

Um... yeah. I was freaking out on the ground. I was doing my best to do some serious avoidance manouvers. The next goup of four that came in stayed about a couple hundred yards away. No doubt that this was all over their radios. I gotta find a less populated area to fly the big stuff.

[Steel2686]

Great story, Joe. I could sit by an airport and watch planes take off and land all day, especially military. There's an airport (Stewart) about 45 minutes away that my family likes to use because it's not busy like Kennedy or Laguardia. It's a shared commercial and military landing strip. Everytime I pick someone up, I get there early to watch the C-130's take off. It's just an awesome site.

[bru333]

I gotta find a less populated area to fly the big stuff.

AMA list of clubs in FL:
http://www.modelaircraft.org/clb.asp...7403D&state=fl
They list a club in Sebring. Some clubs will let you use the field for a small fee if you don't want to join. I'm not a big fan of clubs...too much member politics/infighting...better to find a land owner that will let you fly on their property for nothing...

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Great story, Joe. I could sit by an airport and watch planes take off and land all day, especially military. There's an airport (Stewart) about 45 minutes away that my family likes to use because it's not busy like Kennedy or Laguardia. It's a shared commercial and military landing strip. Everytime I pick someone up, I get there early to watch the C-130's take off. It's just an awesome site.

I share your excitement about watching planes take off. When I was on the Kitty Hawk, I used to go up to the 07 deck on the structure and watch the planes take off and land. It was such a power rush to watch the Intruders, Corsairs, Phantoms & Tomcats - you got the feeling you were pretty much invincible - a floating island with a magazine full of nuclear ordinance that could take on most countries with the help of the AWACS and the ever-present guided missile frigate. Then at the Naval Station, we would lie on the burm near the end of the runway (doing our drug of choice) and the jets would take off right over us - what a rush that was. Aside from that I lived on Air Force bases for 12 years while my dad was a pilot, and we were at Beale in '65 when the first SR-71s were delivered and talk about some excitement - My dad arrested a guy just for taking a picture of it - you gotta see and hear that plane to believe it. We had those AND U2s, and the guys that flew those looked like astronauts since they could fly into the thin air. Very cool.

[bru333]

Aside from that I lived on Air Force bases for 12 years while my dad was a pilot, and we were at Beale in '65 when the first SR-71s were delivered and talk about some excitement - My dad arrested a guy just for taking a picture of it - you gotta see and hear that plane to believe it. We had those AND U2s, and the guys that flew those looked like astronauts since they could fly into the thin air. Very cool.

Just very cool?! I'd say extrememly cool!!

I've always lived on or near an air base. Father was career Air Force. When he retired we moved back to Hawaii and we lived across the bay from the MCAS. I could watch the planes land from the road. When the Blue Angels performed there they flew right down the street, about 100 feet up (it seemed a lot lower!), to set up for some of their manuevers. I can vividly remember being 7 years old in Grand Forks watching the B-52's take off, very noisy and lots of smoke!

[JeffM]

Cool stuff, grab some pics will ya?!

I love A6's..

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Just very cool?! I'd say extrememly cool!!

I've always lived on or near an air base. Father was career Air Force. When he retired we moved back to Hawaii and we lived across the bay from the MCAS. I could watch the planes land from the road. When the Blue Angels performed there they flew right down the street, about 100 feet up (it seemed a lot lower!), to set up for some of their manuevers. I can vividly remember being 7 years old in Grand Forks watching the B-52's take off, very noisy and lots of smoke!

I was in Grand Forks AFB in 68-69 and we had a LOT of B-52s coming and going to VietNam - they were in Camo at that time.

Here's some of the T-birds

Pics aren't the best (I got the res too low - Sorry!). these were taken at Luke AFB in AZ.




Here's one of my dad who has passed away a couple years ago. He flew an F84-F and was trained to drop a tactical A-bomb.

[bru333]

I was in Grand Forks AFB in 68-69 and we had a LOT of B-52s coming and going to VietNam - they were in Camo at that time.

Wait a minute! That's when we lived there! We got there in late '67 after my Dad got back from 'Nam. We left in June of '69 for Honolulu.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Did you go to Eielson School, or Twining? Remember when the base theater raised the price from $.15 to $.25 and all the kids were like WTF?

This is a test...

[bru333]

I do recall to get to school I walked across a big field (water tower?) across the street from the house (duplex). I think we lived on Holly Drive, it was a curved street, had a little park/play area right behind the house. I remember digging a tunnel in the snow drift behind the house with some other kids. My Dad shoveling the driveway then the snowplow blocking it up again when it came by. Breaking one of the windshields in the '61 VW Bus we had with a stale tootsie roll I threw at one of my sister's (Doh!). Don't remember much else about things outside of home and family.

edit: My Mom says it was Carl Ben Eielson Elementary. The Carl Ben part sounds familiar...

[Joe 1320]

I
Here's one of my dad who has passed away a couple years ago. He flew an F84-F and was trained to drop a tactical A-bomb.

Awesome. One of these days I'm going to go for my pilot's license.