Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Stealing an Fw 190 - Shturmovik Flies Again

Warbirds Briefing eNewsletter
Flight Lead
A Note From the Editor
Harold Cannon, hcannon@eaa.org

Pentagon Flyby
I didn't know it going in, but EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 was to be the start for one of my greatest aviation adventures. If you've ever looked skyward during the opening ceremony at an NFL game and wondered what it would be like to be in that military
Harold Cannon
formation streaking overhead, I can now tell you I have a good idea.
On September 30, Admiral Mike Mullen retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The only flyby was conducted by four T-34s, all privately owned by members of EAA/Warbirds of America. Read more
    
Test Flight
Maintenance and Restoration News

Ilyushin Il-2 Flies Again
Plane to Join Flying Heritage Collection
Earlier this month a restored Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik" airplane flew for the first time in decades after a six-year restoration effort by a Russian company. The Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington, has confirmed what had been rumored since news of the
IL2
flight first broke: that the aircraft will arrive there in early 2012. The airplane, which was restored from fragments found in the marshes near Pskov, flew in early October in Novisbirsk, Russia. Il-2s were among the most-produced military airplanes in history, yet no known flying examples existed until the unveiling of this airplane. Read more

Fw 190 First Flight Video
Video of the first flight of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 restoration that we reported on this month was forwarded to EAA by aircraft owner Don Hansen. N4190 flew on Sunday, October 9, and is mostly 
FW-190
a Flugwerk restoration, but the original aircraft - Fw 190A-8 Werknummer 173056 - was produced in 1944 at the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG in Marienberg, Germany. The take-off-to-landing video features a unique perspective from the tail-mounted camera. Read more and watch the video
   
Owning and Flying a T-34 - Part 1
Todd McCutchan was enamored with the T-34, but it almost was an unrealistic love as he longed for an aerobatic aircraft that could also travel. The T-34 airframe had its challenges, but thanks to the T-34 Association, Todd would find a path to owning and flying a Beechcraft T-34A.
Todd McCutchan
In the first part of this two-part report, Todd looks at the history of the T-34 and how he found his own Mentor. 
Read more
   
GI News
Updates on Warbird and Squadron News

Firefighting Torpedo Bomber Lands at Museum
"Hear that?" Maurice Owen said to a reporter from the Missoulian as he stepped outside the Museum of Mountain Flying hangar in Missoula, Montana. "Do you hear a rumble out there? That's it." A minute later, there it was. The 
Torpedo bomber
proud museum's newest addition-a retrofitted, single-engine World War II torpedo bomber-roared out of the west, 500 feet above the airport. Read more
   
Signature Count on the Rise at Canadian Air & Space Museum Petition
A petition to save the Canadian Air & Space Museum reached 1,091 signatures over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Simple mathematics would tell us that if each supporter would convince four other people to sign the petition, and they did so within a couple of days, that the thousand-plus signatures would become over four thousand in two days, sixteen thousand in four days, and on and on. The museum and six other tenants of 
Poster
Downsview Park at Toronto, Ontario, are still on notice that they have to be out in six months, but the volunteers at the museum still hope for a miracle. Read more
   
B-17 Tour Sponsored by WOA Squadron 4
In early September, Squadron 4 in Aurora, Illinois, hosted EAA's B-17 Aluminum Overcast. The squadron has developed quite a following among the veterans, a number of whom were in attendance. On his 20th birthday, Bill Thorn flew his 19th mission as top turret gunner on Fertile Myrtle in August of 1943. It was 
Squadron 4 logo
the disastrous "Double Strike" raid on Regensburg and Schweinfurt - 600 men lost and 60 planes down for the U.S. 8th Army Air Forces. Read more
   
Navy Test Pilot to Enter Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame
Edward T. Schneider, the youngest graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School, who made history as a test pilot, will be honored with induction into the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame in Lexington on November 12, 2011. Read more
Edward Schneider
  
News From Squadron One
In an effort to highlight local squadron activities, Briefing will be featuring a squadron newsletter each month. Squadron One, based in Nashville, Tennessee, had a very active year including training events, 
Squadron 1 newsletter
several air shows, many fly-ins, and of course a strong presence at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Read the latest issue of Twelve O' Clock High.
  
Build Your Own Aircraft - EAA SportAir Workshops Can Show You How!
Take hold of your dream of building your own aircraft! Learn the skills and techniques required at EAA SportAir Workshops. These two-day workshops take place all over the U.S. and cover a variety of aircraft-building topics. You could master the basics of aircraft sheet metal, discover how to weld,
EAA SportAir Workshops
figure out how to fabric cover airplanes, gain confidence with composites, excel in electrical systems - and more! You'll receive hands-on training and guidance from the experts at EAA. We provide the facility and all the tools and materials, so the only thing you need to show up with is a desire to learn! To find a workshop near you, or to register for a workshop, click here.
  
Mission Profile
Featured Stories
  
My World War II POW Experience - Part 4
We continue with Walter J. Nachtwey's story of when he was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. In Part 4, Walter shares his many memories of living at Stalag Luft III, a German POW camp. At first, the lifestyle was repulsive, but after months of getting used to it, 
POW
Walter and his fellow captives adjusted and learned to play the hand they were dealt. Read part 4
   
Parachute Lines Save B-17 Tail After Midair With Me 109
In another feature highlighted in this month's Briefing, you can read about the improbable adventure of Bruce Carr and the stolen Fw 190. For another incredible tale of bravery from our greatest generation, read below the story of the B-17 named All American and her perilous trip home. Read more
Midair

Stealing an Fw 190
Recently a friend sent along an e-mail of a young World War II fighter pilot returning in a stolen Fw 190. Had to be Bob Hoover, right? Well, no. The story was about Bruce Carr. WWII had plenty of hard-to-believe stories, and you see more than a few of them recounted here in Briefing. This one from Airforce-magazine.com is outstanding. By the way, Carr's P-51 was named Angel's Playmate because as a churchgoing young man on his 
Bruce Carr
first flight above 30 thousand feet he was sure that was where angels belonged. Read the article

Glider Restoration Project Update
Syd Cohen of Wausau, Wisconsin, holds up models of a Waco CG-4A and a C-47. A World War II-era glider, the Waco often would be towed by a C-47. The owner of a real, life-sized version of the glider used it first as a camper-trailer, then as a hunting shack. 
Syd Cohen
Later, relatives of the man donated it to the Menominee Range Historical Museum in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Between 2005 and 2009, Cohen and other aviation buffs from the Wausau area helped restore the glider. Read more
  
Webinars: Gifts, Donations, Taxes, and Your Chapter
This webinar will teach you how to manage the tax and recordkeeping requirements when your chapter receives (or is contemplating receiving) cash, aircraft, partially completed kits, tools, or other donations. Patti Arthur will walk you through the basic rules, forms, acknowledgement letters, and recordkeeping requirements for accepting donations to your chapter.
All webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT unless otherwise noted. To find out more about upcoming EAA Webinars and to register, visit the webinars page.
EAA gratefully acknowledges the support of Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. for their generous sponsorship of our webinar programs.
Issue 9, October 2011

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Gun Camera
  
VIDEO
United States Air Service
Video
How is your World War I aircraft history knowledge? Here is a brief video that covers the United States' participation in the air war during WWI. 
  
PHOTO GALLERY
Fairey Swordfish Flies Again
Gallery
The Swordfish sunk more German U-boats than any other aircraft during World War II. One surviving airframe was miraculously rehabilitated last July by the staff at the Vintage Wings of Canada museum in Quebec. The aircraft just made it to AirVenture Oshkosh after flying for the first time after restoration only days before.

EAA RADIO
Invasion From the North: The Swordfish
Swordfish
Rob Fleck, president of Vintage Wings of Canada, and other museum staff sit for a Warbirds in Review session during AirVenture 2011 to talk about the Fairey Swordfish. The Swordfish sunk more German U-boats than any other aircraft during World War II. Miraculously, the museum staff was able to get the aircraft airworthy and to Oshkosh after flying for the first time after restoration only days before. You can hear both multipart programs under the Warbirds in Review section of the AirVenture 2011 EAA Radio archives. Read the story

Events
October 29 to 30, Concord, North Carolina
Celebration of Flight at Concord Regional Airport (JQF). Fly-in pancake breakfast, Young Eagles flights, fly-bys, food, and kids activities. E-mail
November 9-13, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Mississippi Gulf Coast Veteran's Day Fly-In at Trent Lott International Airport. Public Air Show on Friday. Huge flyover on Saturday; casino party Saturday night. 
E-mail

November 13, Rockford, Illinois
EAA Warbirds Squadron 4 General Meeting at Courtesy Aircraft (KRFD) featuring the Veterans Forum.
E-mail

Monthly, Chino, California
EAA Warbirds Squadron 16 meetings are held every month on the first and third Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Planes of Fame Air Museum, Briefing Room, 7000 Merrill Avenue, Chino, California 91710.
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