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tomroyal

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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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February 21, 2003 at 7:34 pm in reply to: kermit weeks/lancaster #2091565

tomroyal
Participant

RE: kermit weeks/lancaster

Best I can do would be to send a photo of the 5 or so containers sitting on the back lot of Fantasy of Flight. As far as I know it’s been in the containers for quite some time, so I’m imagining photos of it are going to be hard to come by.

August 23, 2002 at 3:09 pm in reply to: Florida update #2108412

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Florida update

Thanks for the photos Bob. You were very fortunate to be able to see the P-51C fly, apart from seeing it’s arrival at Sun ‘n Fun in 2001 I haven’t seen it fly since. I’ve been out there about half a dozen times this year so far, and have seen the Storch fly every one of those times. If anybody needs some Storch photos, I have plenty. 😀

August 21, 2002 at 6:13 pm in reply to: Florida update #2108592

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Florida update

Luckily, I have the good fortune of living on the coast here in Central Florida, and I manage to visit Fantasy of Flight frequently, as well as the other museums in the area.

My last visit to FOF was about three weeks ago. The B-24 was back in the maintenance hangar and the B-26 was inside also. I always get a little bit irritated when I hear people refer to these planes as being neglected. Believe me, these planes are not being neglected.

The problem Fantasy of Flight is currently facing is lack of space. These guys don’t have room to work. Some of you may not realize this but the presentation hangar, immersion experiences and generally the whole building you have visited was not originally intended to be the attraction, but was going to be used for maintenance and restoration.

Stage II of the attraction is now in place, and groundbreaking took place back in May on the construction of a mock WWII airfield near the entrance. Plans are for the B-17 immersion experience as well as all WWII aircraft to be moved to this new facility when it is complete. Once this is done it will free up a LOT of space for ongoing maintenance and restoration.

From what I’ve gathered there are plans in the future for the creation of a Golden Age hangar area, as well as a potential seabase for the Sunderland.

Remember, this attraction is just in it’s infancy, and it’s already amazing. If anybody ever has any questions about what’s going on out there please don’t hesitate to drop me a note.

Best regards,

Tom Royal
http://www.warbirdjournal.com

May 9, 2002 at 12:47 pm in reply to: nice mix? #2109655

tomroyal
Participant

RE: nice mix?

Thanks Steve,

It was fascinating to watch. You could definitely hear the F-15 throttling back and forth to maintain the proper airspeed, while it seemed the F-86 was completely silent. The 51 was probably the loudest of the three, which can’t be said too often.

Three excellent pilots though. The F-86 was being flown by Dale Snodgrass, who’s quite well known for his F-14 demonstrations.

Regards,

Tom

May 8, 2002 at 3:53 pm in reply to: nice mix? #2109677

tomroyal
Participant

RE: nice mix?

I’ve seen a few different variations on the Heritage Flight. The most common would probably be the P-51 with the F-15, but I know that they do throw in a P-47 sometimes. I’ve also seen the P-51 with an F-15 and A-10, and P-51/F-16/A-10 combo.

My favorite of the ones I got to photograph so far though was P-51/F-86/F-15, in sequential order, representing 3 generations of Air Force frontline fighters.

I always enjoy seeing the heritage flights, and it definitely makes for an interesting sound.

Best regards,

-Tom
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March 11, 2002 at 4:58 pm in reply to: Caption competition #2112819

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Caption competition

“No, we’re not lost…. and yes, this IS a shortcut.”

February 25, 2002 at 2:57 pm in reply to: Any Storch Fans Out There? #2113997

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Any Storch Fans Out There?

Hmmmm. I’m not sure if I like the Argus or the radial better. I think the radial makes it a little tougher looking maybe, or maybe just like a regular Storch who ran into the sliding glass door too many times. 🙂

February 21, 2002 at 10:14 pm in reply to: Any Storch Fans Out There? #2114384

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Any Storch Fans Out There?

Thanks Phil. I’m currently using a Nikon N90s, and was using my Tamron 200-400mm lens for that shot. I was also fortunate enough to be standing fairly close to the grass runway.

Best regards,

Tom

February 21, 2002 at 4:40 pm in reply to: Any Storch Fans Out There? #2114437

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Any Storch Fans Out There?

Usually when it’s being displayed the engine panels are on, but every time I’ve seen it flown they are off.

The Storch probably sees the most airtime there at the museum, being flown just about every day for the last few months, so maybe they keep the panels off so they can maintain the engine easier. Sounds like a good question to ask on my next visit.

Tom Royal

February 21, 2002 at 1:37 pm in reply to: Any Storch Fans Out There? #2114469

tomroyal
Participant

RE: Any Storch Fans Out There?

Thanks.

That’s definitely a real Storch, and one of the few wartime German examples that are still flying. It’s very authentic, as is usually the case with Kermit’s restorations.

I’ve never seen a 335, other than in pictures. I think NASM has one in storage. They definitely are a unique looking aircraft though.

Tom

February 20, 2002 at 7:48 pm in reply to: B26 query #2114539

tomroyal
Participant

RE: B26 query

Thank you for the compliments.

Kermit’s Marauder is currently the only airworthy one out there.

Flak Bait is at NASM, as we discussed earlier, and I know there is one at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. Naturally these planes will not be flying.

The Military Aircraft and Preservation Society in Ohio is restoring a B-26, The Empire State Aerosciences Museum in New York is also restoring one and the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in France is restoring one as well. I’m not sure if these are being restored to flying status or not however.

So I guess that makes 6 Marauders in all.

I’m attaching another pic from this weekend. Enjoy!
Attachments:

February 20, 2002 at 2:37 pm in reply to: B26 query #2114666

tomroyal
Participant

RE: B26 query

Looks like I remembered correctly. I didn’t have my flash packed with me so I wasn’t able to get any good detail shots of the interior of the bomb bay, but it is indeed one bomb bay. I took a couple of shots of the open doors for reference.

Feel free to email me with any questions.

Tom Royal
Attachments:

February 15, 2002 at 2:34 pm in reply to: B26 query #2114859

tomroyal
Participant

RE: B26 query

When I saw Flak Bait at NASM a couple of years ago it was just the nose section they had displayed. They were planning on restoring the entire aircraft however, but I’m not sure whether or not that restoration has begun.

As luck would have it, I’m heading out to Fantasy of Flight tomorrow, so I’ll take a look at Kermit’s B-26 and report back.

If I remember correctly, the B-26 has one bomb bay, with 2 bi-fold type doors, so when the doors are closed, it does appear to have 4 individual doors. The doors fold outward.

With any luck the doors will be open tomorrow, and I’ll try to take some detail photos.

January 16, 2002 at 8:49 pm in reply to: What's your favourite airshow moment? (So far!) #2117901

tomroyal
Participant

RE: What’s your favourite airshow moment?

Probably my favorite moment would be during the 1998 Tico Airshow in Titusville, FL. My dad and I were wandering around the airshow grounds, getting ready for the show to start and heard a low rumbling in the distance. A quick search of the skies saw what appeared to be a B-25 headed right towards us, fairly low.

As it got closer, I quickly realized that it was not a B-25, but was in fact Kermit’s B-26, fresh out of restoration. Kermit made a low pass directly over our heads, and then circled around, landed and taxied over to the flightline. I had never seen a B-26 before, and it was a most welcome surprise. My grandfather flew in JM-2s (Navy B-26), and it was nice to be able to match up some of the visual sites I saw that day with the stories he told.

Tom Royal
http://www.warbirdimages.com
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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)