China ClipperI read his story, Stuka Pilot, as a kid, and still have the paperback…
Amazing how much he flew in the war! Unstoppable…
China ClipperAwful about Mirabella, and all the airports (and restoration outfits and museums) damaged in Hurricanes Charles and Frances. Now Ivan has hit on or near Pensacola with the USN naval aviation musuem and Eglin AFB, FL
Sad to lose wonderful birds to storms like these!
Tnx for the news about Mirabella… They have done mx on Jimmy Buffett’s aircraft for years…
China ClipperThe old Itazuki Tower song…
I have the LP at home somewhere of the whole collection of crazy pilot songs …
China ClipperJimmy Buffett, singer (Margaritaville and other Caribbean style), songwriter, author and most of all pilot (only 3 planes right now) makes many many references to his Grumman Albatross, Hemisphere Dancer (recently retired to Universal Studios Orlando FL) and the Cosmic Muffin, a boat made from a former Boeing 307 stratolineer… which used to be Howard Hughes’s.
http://www.margaritaville.com/adventures/dancer.htm
http://www.planeboats.com/index.html
His song, Jamaica Mistaika is about landing his Albatross in Jamaica, and getting shot up as a suspected drug runner… rather funny…
http://www.margaritaville.com/discography/wind.htm#Jamaica%20Mistaica
China ClipperAbout40+ yrs ago, one summer, when I was a “wee lad” in Miami, Fl, I recall a song being played on the radio
The Flying Blue Angels…
We’re the Flying Blue Angels, way up high
Jet smoke streaming as we zoom across the sky…
Mach 1 is the speed of sound
The Angels broke right through…
The day the next one comes around
We’ll break through that one too…
Can’t recall the rest…
Not bad for an old fa**’s memory…
If any one can find the whole song I would LOVE to know…
China ClipperAs I recall, the CAF lost their HE 111 earlier this year on a takeoff, perhaps out of Arizona, with the sad loss of the crew also…
My wife got me the DVD also, for Father’s Day… I still need to crack the wrapper, now I am motivated…
China ClipperAG, imagine running into you again…. ; – )
over here off the Gulf, dodging the hurricane season (knock wood, so far)
no sense in trying to reason with hurricane season…
China ClipperRadar, SY,
You’ve nailed it on the head.
The losses suffered by those who wait… Whenever I see a service star hanging in a home or office window, I wonder what those who wait are enduring…
A Marine Lt who belongs to our church and is back from 2nd tour in Iraq was in the service last week. He was blinded (temporarily in 1 eye) when an RPG hit his helmet in a patrol ambush. Needless to say, he got an instant and long standing ovation… He had an amazing positive attitude. But I won’t go into that as it may be perceived as too political about the war. Point being, he gave in his service.
The lives touched in war are not just those who are maimed or die… but their families and friends around them….
I think that is what I felt when I watched the movie, “Saving Private Ryan”…. a profound sense of loss for the GIs and their families… You saw them as real people, not movie stars.
Tnx for the follow on thoughts…
China ClipperRememberance from wife /widow
SY AiB,
Tnx…
JV!! Thanks VERY MUCH for your translation… It adds MUCH to the meaning and remeberance!
The website also largely relates to a bridge built over the Leopold Canal, perhaps an action advancing on the Germans?
Maybe the Typhoon was giving close air/anti tank support to the crossing?
Thanks again.
China ClipperSorry, I did not see the thread when I looked thru the topics. Tnx for pointing it out since it had the video clip.
Looked steady til she dropped. Bet it surprised everyone on board! OUCH>
China ClipperThanks for the tip! 7pm Central here! Will try to catch it!!!! Outstanding!
China ClipperGhostly Beech
Graeme, I hope you had a good time here in the US.
Amazing to find someone who not only has seen it, but was not even from around there.
Given your description, it was probably the same…
Tnx for the comment!
China ClipperWildcat loss, Houston TV news video report
Today, Oct 20, it shows up on top of first pg,
Topic “Pilot Identified” with small pic of wreck.
Click to go to video report from near crash site. Shows wreck on scene and being trailered away. Interviews and shots from air show also.
China ClipperWildcat Lost, Missing Man Formation
The Wings over Houston Air Show concluded Sunday with the missing man formation, a tribute to lost pilots. (see photo)
from: http://www.khou.com
Sunday at the event closed I heard announcer makje specific and repeated mention of the loss Saturday and pilot Johnson.
Our thoughts and prayers go to his wife and family…
China ClipperWildcat Loss at Houston Wings Over Houston Oct 18 2003
Here is a picture taken from Channel 11 tv website, one of our local stations… http://www.khou.com
(see photo attached)
(missing man formation flight photo in second note to follow)
Pilot killed in crash remembered at Sunday’s air show
08:45 PM CDT on Sunday, October 19, 2003
By Natasha Ghoneim / 11 News and Associated Press
HOUSTON — HOUSTON — Less than a day after one of their own crashed and died, pilots flew above Ellington Field for the Wings over Houston Air Show. The World War II plane crashed Saturday, two and a half hours after the show ended for the day. The plane was on its final descent when it crashed in a field along Clear Lake Boulevard about a mile away from Ellington Field.
The Wings over Houston Air Show concluded with the missing man formation, a tribute to lost pilots. One plane drops out of formation and flies west — Sunday afternoon that plane represented 62 year-old pilot William Johnson. A FM-2 Wildcat, a vintage World War II-era warplane, went down around 6 p.m. Saturday night near Ellington Field killing the 62-year-old pilot, William K. Johnson of Parkton, North Carolina. He was a member of the Carolinas Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, a nonprofit group based out of Midland that restores and flies World War II aircraft.
The plane crashed after the Wings Over Houston air show had ended for the day in a wooded field just north of Clear Lake Boulevard, between Highway 3 and I-45 in southeast Houston. No one else was injured in the crash.
“It’s the nature of the beast sometimes,” said one pilot. The matter of fact mantra amongst Johnson’s fellow pilots was, “fly on.” “We came here to do a job. In a way, we go up to honor those persons.”
Johnson’s friend flew a World War II FM 2 Wildcat, similar to the one he died in. The plane is a single-engine Grumman FM-2 Wildcat, which were manufactured in 1937 and used by the Navy in combat through WWII. The FM-2 Wildcat has a wingspan of 38 feet and can fly more than 300 miles per hour. That speed and size made it an asset for American fighter pilots in World War II especially against the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre. The plane involved in the accident is owned by Midland-based CAF, the release said.
Meanwhile, in a field less than a mile away, few seemed to notice as FAA investigators collected the remains of the rare plane. Not many people actually saw the crash Saturday evening. Johnson’s plane was one of six that was landing after a promotional video shoot.
“It’s the nature of the beast sometimes,” said one pilot. The matter of fact mantra amongst Johnson’s fellow pilots was, “fly on.” “We came here to do a job. In a way, we go up to honor those persons.”
Johnson’s friend flew a World War II FM 2 Wildcat, similar to the one he died in. The plane is a single-engine Grumman FM-2 Wildcat, which were manufactured in 1937 and used by the Navy in combat through WWII. The FM-2 Wildcat has a wingspan of 38 feet and can fly more than 300 miles per hour. That speed and size made it an asset for American fighter pilots in World War II especially against the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre. The plane involved in the accident is owned by Midland-based CAF, the release said.
Meanwhile, in a field less than a mile away, few seemed to notice as FAA investigators collected the remains of the rare plane. Not many people actually saw the crash Saturday evening. Johnson’s plane was one of six that was landing after a promotional video shoot.
Beth Jenkins co-piloted a B-25 that landed right before Johnson’s plane crashed behind her. “I didn’t know how close he was behind us when we were flying,” she said. “So, yes, it’s close to home.”
Johnson was a Vietnam veteran from North Carolina. He spent his career in air traffic control and he had airline transport, commercial and helicopter pilot ratings.
“That’s what makes this all so confusing,” said Ralph Royce, air boss, Wings over Houston. “What happened that day that was different?”
There are a couple of theories floating amongst pilots about what caused the plane to crash into the field. One is the plane got sucked into the turbulence of the B-25. The other pilot was trying to build distance to land safely behind the B-25 when the plane stalled, flipped and crashed.
Johnson’s fellow pilots tried not to focus on the crash but on the patriotic mission they shared, spreading the wonder of World War II airplanes.
The FAA could not be reached for comment about the investigation.
Air show officials say there haven’t been any fatalities during air shows in America for the last two years. The last fatality during the Wings over Houston Air Show was in the early 1990s.
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