Like the checklist before start. And all the sh&%t exploding.

Good friend of ours was a Jug Pilot.....Ken flew a 300HP Stearman out of Beagle right up until he died of cancer...

Most memorable story he ever told me was of a strafing run he was doing just behind enemy lines when his prop was shot off by anti aircraft fire.....He had enough speed built up from the dive that he pulled up and was able to make it back across the lines and belly her in a field. Couple of GI's in a jeep came rolling up to the airplane all excited because they thought it was one of those new jet planes that everyone keep's talking about (prop shot off remember....LOL)

Ken jumped out of one and bellied in the next 3. Said that after hitting the silk on the first one he would never do it again because the tail came within inches of taking off his head. Any time he would take off in the Stearman I did my best to get a ride from him. We would take that thing up and have the best roller coaster ride anyone could buy......you just cant take an airplane up like that without hanging from the straps at least once or twice.....I still miss the old guy and have all sorts of pictures from his old hanger put away in a box.

Brian.

Thanks for the video. Always been may absolute favoriate airplane of any type.

Best,
O-2

Cool story Brian!

Thanks for the great video...

My Dad flew P-47's in the Pacific theatre out of New Guinea. He shot down a Val and a Kate, along with flying a lot of close air support.

He also had a lot of great stories that he finally shared with me after I took him and another one of his P-47 pilot buddies to the CAF airshow one year while it was still in Harlingen. Got a few cocktails in those two, and they told stories that were hair raising, hilarious and everything in between...

Tom
S-7S

Sever the sky...