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'I Agree 100% With Chuck Yeager'

Panther_99FS

Panther_99FS

Retired SOH Administrator
In the Feb 2009 issue of Flight Journal magazine, in the "Tail View" column, Yeager says:

"Stop Wasting Warbirds"....

"There are many P-51s in excellent flying shape today...They are beautiful aircraft. Unfortunately, many of them are being destroyed today mostly by spoiled rich pilots at the Reno Air Races..."
 
I have to agree also. If they want reno racers then have build there own airframes and engines from scratch...:censored::bs:

Ben
 
I'd be happy if they outlawed historical aircraft.

Racing, in any form, should advance the technology... and racing 60 year old warbirds doesn't qualify on that front.

Allow turboprops in the same SHP range as powerplants and build new airframes... let's see what can be accomplished.
 
We were at Mojave in October 1978.
I was not amused by the antics of the Whittington Brothers at all.
Idiots with too much (Drug) money and no sense of history.
Good on you General Yeager, you still have the 'Right Stuff!' in spades.
:applause::applause::applause:
 
Silver Fox said:
I'd be happy if they outlawed historical aircraft.

Racing, in any form, should advance the technology... and racing 60 year old warbirds doesn't qualify on that front.

Allow turboprops in the same SHP range as powerplants and build new airframes... let's see what can be accomplished.
Click to expand...


:ernae::ernae:
 
but then you could argue that if that they'd spent how many millions it cost to run the planes that they should be allowed to do what they want with them?? And after all its not like theres a shortage of mustangs compared to other types :kilroy:
 
but then again, there are no new mustange being built, and a s long as there are none built, who will replace the ineviteable losses?

i remember that clip of the racing corsair going down in flames, and the pilot bailing "safely".

who will build a dozen new corsairs for the ones gone down?

Or that aerobatics team that took Harvards to water level and had the wheels on the water surface?
good looking stunt, but they did it over and over again, with 4+ planes in formation.

Their leader argued in the same way "there are still plenty of Harvards left, so what, we dont need to be careful..."

ah yea?
:icon31::cost1::banghead:
 
I have mixed feelings about this issue. Aircraft were designed to fly and I enjoy seeing vintage aircraft in there element. I also enjoy the occasional ride in a vintage aircraft. On the other hand, they are old and once gone, there won't be any more of them. But what would an airshow be without these airborne beauties?

As for racing, there are accidents and sometimes aircraft end up being destroyed. It's a sad day when an aircraft, or worse yet, a pilot/crew, are lost. In the end, aircraft are private property and as such may be used as the owner sees fit, as long as both are within safety rules. The FAA can, and they have tried on more than one occasion, to ground aircraft over a set age and pilots over a set age.
 
The reality is, if it weren't for these spoiled little rich kids, few of these aircraft would be around, and fewer would be flying.

Spoiled little rich kids often make the world go 'round, and someone can always argue that their monies could be used more appropriately for some other just cause.

The wonder of a free market is that spoiled little rich kids get to use their money for pretty much whatever they damn well please.

Thank goodness.
 
There's spoiled rich kids who restore warbirds...

And there's spoiled rich kids who take restored warbirds and turn them into racers....

Give me the former...
 
but then, would those planes converterd into racers been flying if they hadnt?

its an agruement that cant be won really, both sides of it have valid points :engel016:
 
i don't follow racing, so i can't offer a comment on the entire issue.
however, it seems sensible to me, as silverfox said, that racing should be about finding new limits with new technology. i'm not saying no to mustang racing, i'm saying that to me, there should be some sort of class run with all new technology, if there isn't one already.
 
i feel the same way..but not so much about the mustangs..they seem to be a dime a dozen...and i hate to see the so called "restorers" put duel controls and second seats in a single seat ac...put that 5th fuel tank back in there..even if its dummied to hide the new avionics...stop the two place mustangs please...but what bothers me about the reno airraces are the sea furies being used up...those are few and far between...and sooo many are being cut up into unrecoqnisable airframes for racing...thanks sanders bros...i live in auburn cal and i see then fly over the canyon and i admit i get excited to see them,but id rather see them in military colors and restored....tom dwelle of auburn..nella oil..he owned and flew critical mass..last i heard they are rebuilding it and bringing it back as a warbird....but it was so cut up and modified im not sure it can be done myself...
 
Last time I looked there were maybe? a hundred airworthy P-51's, and how many total aircraft have been destroyed at the reno airraces? not many IIRC. With all due respect to Mr. yeager he's almost 90 years old. We now have more people restoring, flying and buying, doing airshows with these old birds than ever before. But it takes lotsa money, and I think it great that they spend it on keeping them flying. How many of us remember the first time we heard a mustang flyby? and now the next generation can have the same joy we did. Granted there will always be the tragic crash, and some rich kids will always be spoiled. And oneday the last flyable 51' will make a smoking hole in the ground.. So enjoy it while you can.:mixedsmi:
 
They need to Upgrade the Sport class to the Unlimited. Planes like the Nemesis won the sport class at 489 mph. They are plenty fast and should be the only type of planes to race in that class now. The warplanes need to be preserved.
 
I'd have to say I agree. Here's something I learned about a long time ago, which is related. I was lined up for a ride in a P-51...and on the day of the 'event' I got a call and was told it would not go. It was because the owner was on the east coast trying to locate an engine part. The boat racing types used Merlins back then, and apparently were going thru parts in a hurry...never was able to get it re-scheduled :banghead:
 
Thank God we have organizations like the Commemorative Air Force, The Collins Foundation, The Lone Star Flight Museum and others who restore the old warbirds and then keep em flying.
 
Hey All,

It's Christmas so I'll tread lightly but pose a few contrarian perspectives about several points made...

Racing, in any form, should advance the technology...
Click to expand...
A couple comments though.

0) Why does racing have to be about advancing technology? Maybe just racing in what earlier generations used makes for a better race in which the human element outweighs the technical element. Some might argue that the essence of racing is human against human not machine against machine. The ability to substitute technical ingenuity for a deficiency in human ability is certainly not justifiable as the ultimate criteria for the ultimate in racing of any kind. It's just some people's opinion that it is.

1) If all racing is about technology why do we test for the presence of "technology" in blood?

2) Supply and demand - if there is a big enough demand for P51s build more - it's being done with the otter - we have the technology.

3) If the demand to save WWII birds is really that great - pay for it. They can all be saved - all it takes is money.

4) Don't you have to wonder about respecting and saving the symbols of the past when humankind has virtually no ability to learn from what they represented?

Just a few thoughts as I watch out the window for the big snowstorm supposed to hit Vancouver Island any moment and add to the 20 odd inches of snow already on the ground.

No offense intended

-Ed-
 
In a 100 years there will be no more warbirds flying. Then there will be a market for new-build warbird designs. Heck this has already started, with the 262 Project, new Yak-3's from Russia, along with I-16's etc.
But then again, they don't teach real history in schools anymore, so this may all just be a old un-PC memory...:isadizzy:
 
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