Bear In The Air: July 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

Harrison Ford flies “Duggy” at Oshkosh

news in from the EAA Air Venture at Oshkosh… really great show and we see by this picture that the DC-3 “Duggy” was present…

http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10001313-5.html?tag=mncol

Young Eagles, Chairman, Harrison Ford flies “Duggy”...

http://www.duggy.com/DUGGY2009/DUGOSHK05.html

Friday, July 24, 2009

My first flight by DC-3

We heard from Hilmar Ilton Santana Ferreira
Salvador - Bahia - Brazil

I love a lot DC-3 aircraft.
I am a Brazilian, now 72 years old, I had my first flight by the DC-3 plane of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB-Força Aérea Brasileira) "Correio Aéreo Nacional -CAN" ( National Air Mail ). It was free; Otherwise to me it was then impossible to travel by plane.
I remember the first time, a long time ago,. the trip was from Petrolina, Pernambuco, where I was born, to Fortaleza, capital city of Ceará state. We were ready on the runway to begin the flight, than the aircraft went back to the airport terminal and one began to fix the engine .
We waited a long time to repair the machine an then we went into the beautiful DC-3 and go ahead in a so happy voyage.
One of the most beautiful thing of DC-3 was the position of its wheels: two at front and one behind, just contrary to present day aircrafts.
What a memory from the DC-3!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

US Navy BuNo 17221, LC-47H Blog

We found this blog set up by Richard Wesley

http://ferrymeadaeronauticalsociety.blogspot.com/

Lots of great pictures and the restoration process.

Monday, July 20, 2009

DC-3 seen in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania

We heard from Martin Ireland:

Last week I returned from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and took off from a tiny dirt airstrip by Ngaruroro crater in a DHC-6 Twin Otter to Kilimanjaro Airport. When I arrived, I saw a DC-3 taxiing onto the apron in front.

When I asked our pilot she informed me that there were a couple Dakotas still knocking around, used by Safari rangers to transport big cats to vets and sometimes for the Flying Doctor Services to airstrips servicing Masai villages.

I think it was originally donated by the Australian Flying Doctor Service and, due to the dry climate and simplicity of the DC-3, is still operational on a regular basis.

'Regional Air Service' (RAS), a civil derivative of the military 'Regional Air Transport' (RAT), operating out of Kilimanjaro Airport inherited all sorts of elderly planes, including DC-3's from Uganda when Idi Amin's regime collapsed. Many of these are still flying. There's also a Lockheed Electra parked on the apron at Nairobi's regional airport too.

Woman's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) officially recognized

Jessica Tribble Press Release:

PRESS RELEASE: New Fiction in the Midst of Historic Recognition - - Margit Liesche, Hollywood Buzz

Since they made history as trailblazing female pilots for the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II, the three hundred surviving octogenarian Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) have gone largely unrecognized.
No longer. Congress has just awarded these adventurous ladies the Congressional Gold Medal--the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Congress--for extraordinary service they performed more than six decades ago. President Obama signed the enabling legislation today. The actual award ceremony is expected sometime this fall.
In this historic moment of recognition, a timely new novel by Margit Liesche, Hollywood Buzz, captures the spirit of these intrepid women and sheds light on their courage and strength.
Hollywood Buzz is Liesche's second WWII home front novel based on actual events and well-known figures. Jacqueline Cochran, the real-life leader of the WASP, plays a key role in its plot.
Ms. Liesche, who has been praised by reviewers for the way she skillfully weaves historical facts through her mysteries, is thrilled to anticipate the unfolding plans to bestow such a high honor tothe WASP.
"With this book, I set out to cast much deserved sunlight on this band of flying sisters," Liesche says. "I want to be there in person to see these inspiring women receive the top Congressional award they so richly deserve."
To learn more about the WASP and Hollywood Buzz, visit www.margitliesche.com. To purchase the book or to order it for your library, please go to www.ingrampublisherservices.com , Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite independent bookstore.
Praise for Hollywood Buzz:
"Fascinating reading and a perfect WASP profile. The story is true to the WASP spirit and love of adventure. I loved every line." -- F.G. Shutsy-Reynolds, WASP Class 44-W-=5
"...an adventure honoring the underappreciated women who made such a difference." Kirkus Reviews.
---
More about the WASP:
Between 1942 and 1944, 1,074 women earned their wings as WASP. Collectively, they logged more than 60 million miles, flying essential non-combat military missions so that their male counterparts could be deployed to combat. They towed targets for air and ground gunnery practice, tested new and refurbished planes, ferried the military's biggest bombers and fastest fighters, transported personnel and cargo, and trained navigators and bombardiers on the ground.
The WASP were never awarded full military status and were ineligible for officer status. Following the war, the women pilots paid their own way home. And for the 38 women who died in the line of duty, their families were saddled with the costs to transport their bodies and arrange burials. It was not until 1977 that the WASP were at last granted veterans' status.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

66th Anniversary of operation Husky

That month will mark the 66th anniversary of operation Husky,
the invasion of Sicily.
The paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division had a hard fight for Biazzo Ridge.
[and of course the fight for other targets like:
Niscemi -
Objective X,
the roadcrossing
Objective Y,
Vittoria,
Santa Croce Camerina , and all other places in the area].

Our thanks "Jan Bos" for this information… and to all who served and special thanks to those who did not return… Well done and thank you…