Growing up on USAF bases in the 50’s I suspect it was a C-47. While in Japan I remember seeing the “Baka” kamakazi on display at what was then Johnson AB.
But my biggest warbird thrill was after years of waiting, finally seeing a pair of fire fighting B-17s at Mesa Arizona’s Falcon Field in the summer of 1976.
I’ve rarely been so excited (aeronautically speaking) 🙂
Back then in the US, if you wanted to see some warbirds, there was a lot of travel involved.

I for one believe it is as important to preserve the heritage of all nations in the UK as it illustrates the whole spectrum of aviation. There are many people working hard behind the scenes to preserve many different aspects of aviation, none of which are any more or any less important than each other.
To effectively tell somebody that they are working on the wrong aircraft because it’s not British will do nothing to encourage them or others from continuing in any form of preservation.

Yak 11 Fan, I agree fully….

If you look at the new $200 million National Air Museum outside Washington, it’s filled with plenty of foreign aircraft…everything from a JU-52 to Concorde.
You can’t tell a nation’s aviation story by being exclusionary…a half told history serves no one.

Phillip, I agree that at times it looks like U.S. aircraft are getting a lot of the U.K. preservation effort and money, but that doest’t mean other nation’s aircraft should be ignored. Like it or not, the B-17, B-24 and P-51 have a greater place in U.K. aviation history than many obscure native designs.
Ask most people on this forum and I’d wager they’d rather see a flying B-26 in the U.K. than a Vickers Virginia.
Even as an American I’d love to see a Sterling.
When the IWM or some other national group announces planes to build one, I’ll send a cheque. It’s only fair to pay back the Brits for keeping the Sally B alive.

I guess it’s more a conflict of culture.
The rich countries against the poors. Of course most of the muslim countries are very poor, therefore their population stuggle to improve their life style.

I don’t see the poor Islamic countries going after the oil-rich ones….only western, Islamic pro-western and non-Islamic targets.
Sounds like it may be religion based to me.
How is killing kids or tourists is supposed to help them improve their lifestyles?

The solution is elsewhere and erradicating the poverty around the world sounds like a good start to me.

I hate to tell you but most of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, hardly an impoverished country. Bin Laden isn’t poor, and he’s not fightintg for the poor people of the West Bank.

The problem here isn’t about money…it’s about ideology, land, religion and people who want to impose their will on other people.

Has anyone heard any Islamic country or cleric condem this action?
I haven’t.
As long as many (notice I did not say all) Muslims look the other way, and a lot of westerners give tacit approval by not condemming this act and rationalizing it away, saying “they have their reasons”, this kind of outrage will happen again.

[QUOTE=Snapper]There are countless deaths, including of children, in Chechnya, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Israel. Perhaps us wonderful people in the west should check that we are without sin before casting stones. I do not, I hasten to add, condone what has happened in the school – how could anyone possibly do so? Its indefensible – but don’t preach to me about the evil of Islam or the good of the west unless you understand the former and can see further than your nose on the latter. We live in bad times, and that’s from ALL angles.
QUOTE]

Maybe some stones need to be cast…this kind of attrocity HAS to be condemmed by all civilized people. The “lets see it from their standpoint” mentality only goes so far…the 1960’s kind of John Lennon idealism won’t work with people who see nothing wrong with killing. What’s next? call a world conference to better undertstand why Hitler murdered 6 million?
I’m sure we could ask a historian and find out he had some twisted reason too.
This is not an attack on Islam, and I’m not advocating “killing ’em all” or some other Rambo-esque solution. But as long as people are too busy blaming Bush, Blair, Putin, all Jews, all Muslims, the EEC, the UN, etc, etc, etc, instead of the people who actually did this, they’re going to get the message that the civilized world is too busy fighting among itself to stop them.
All it takes for evil to prosper is for good people to do nothing…or give up.

Sorry girls, you’re not my style.
Anybody got a shot of Emma Thompson and a Spitfire?
Diana Rigg (circa 1966 please) and a Lancaster?

Concerning the international fight against terrorism, it might be best if we remember a quote from the American Revolution…

“If we don’t hang together, surely we will all hang separately.”
Benjamin Franklin

This attrocity shows the kind of people civilized nations are facing.
Whatever your opinion of Putin, Bush, Blair, or position on the mideast, if something isn’t done soon by a united group of nations (not necessarily the UN), we’re headed for a new dark age.