About an hour ago I pulled up in front of Big Frog to pick up samples of the 2nd Annual Texas STOL Roundup T-shirts (shameless plug).

As I got out of my truck my ears were greeted by the sweetest sound in aviation - radial engines. As I gazed up through the trees in childlike anticipation my ears told me this bird had more then two engines. B-17 perhaps I thought, not uncommon to see one flying in south and central Texas.

I stood in the middle of the parking lot...just waiting. And in a few moments there she was - a B-29 Superfortress. Or more accurately THE B-29 Superfortress, FiFi. The only one still flying. Tears welled up in my eyes and a huge smile came over my face. I stood there watching and listening to her until she was out of view and the sounds of her engines now memory.

I went into the store, picked up the shirts, and mentioned to the 20-something clerk what had just flown overhead. The response was as expected, the deer in the headlights look. I explained B-29's had flown in World War 2. She had no idea what World War 2 was. I further explained that B-29's were the planes that dropped atomic bombs on Japan. No idea what an atomic bomb was. I get it, for the current generation if it isn't on a cell phone or tablet - it doesn't exist. That's sure a sad commentary.

But I didn't let it diminish my experience. Very, very cool.

Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward...for there you have been and there you will long to return.
-Leonardo daVinci
(how did he know that?)

Man thats awesome Barnstormer. We don't get to see planes like that in Canada often, if ever. But any radial engine plane that flies over will cause me to stop what I'm doing and listen as well.

Reading the subject line, I expected this sound...
Pictures of the T shirts please if at all possible.

If you don't mind me preaching.... it's our JOB to tell young people what World War 2 was, the atomic bomb, the millions of deaths in civilian and military lives, crimes against humanity in Germany, what we did to Americans of Japanese ethnicity, Churchill allowing his own city to be bombed because of cracking the enemy code... all of it, Passing down knowledge and history is how humans become educated. Ain't no other way. What is 50 years from now kids aren't taught about what is happening in the world today?

When you run across some kid who doesn't know, don't walk away in disgust, TELL them. If their parents are too stupid or to wigged out on meth to have taught them, they still need to know.

Tell them that they can Google it on their smartphone.

Sweet video of the P-51, but I have to agree with the OP about the sweet sound of the radial. From the cockpit.....

Beamer pilot wrote:Reading the subject line, I expected this sound...

Okay Beamer, you got me there - all except at idle that is. Sounds like a VW bug. Radials on the other hand, sweet all the time, even at idle.

Beamer pilot wrote:Pictures of the T shirts please if at all possible.

I debated putting these here, but what the hell - thread drift.
http://www.texasstolroundup.org/t-shirts.html

Can't make it but I ordered one. Thanks.

I may have said it here before but my Dad flew PBY firebombers when I was a kid. He would occasionally make a low pass over the house prompting my Mom to literally drop whatever she was doing (broken glass or dish on occasion) and scramble outside to look. The last time he flew over the house was 29 years ago and to this day I stop what I'm doing and go look when I hear a radial. I run to look when I hear multi radials. Incidentally I found that my Mom still does as well when this summer while I was home on leave and a pair CL215s came over Mom's house. Her speed is amazing for a woman of her years.

Phil, You are correct. There is NO sweeter sound than that of radials.

SD

Wonderful story, I'm sure it was pretty awesome seeing and hearing her.... I can't stand my generation. They expect everyone to bow down and serve them. They don't want to have to work for anything and if something is too hard they'll give up. They're the laziest, snobbiest, and furthest away from Biblical teachings. I'm sad to say that I am part of the worst generation this world has known...

Public school is still K-12, right? What do they teach these kids over the course of those 12 or thirteen years? Seems like the three R's -- reading , writing, and 'rithmatic-- are still needed in the (post-12th grade) real world, as is a basic understanding of our history. I don't expect kids (or myself) to know what date Washington crossed the Delaware or when Lincoln freed the slaves, but I would expect them to be taught a basic outline of what's transpired over the past 240 or so years, and why. Hopefully with a little more emphasis on the why, instead of just memorizing names & dates. If for no other reason than "those who don't learn from the past are destined to repeat it".

When I saw the Title of this Thread, the first thing that popped into my mind was this...



EZFlap and hotrod... I appreciate your sentiments. If anything, teaching today's youth about historical events hopefully will offer them insights, so that the mistakes of the past won't be repeated. My parents were personally affected by one of the events EZFlap mentioned; a dark chapter in American History that, hopefully, will not rear its ugly head... especially given recent World events in the News.

Scary thing is these folks actually can vote.

If one cannot remember WWII, how can we hope to explain the Tar Baby we call the Middle East.

(Tar Baby....Joel Chandler Harris....Uncle Remus) In case this reference is lost.

TD

I love the sounds of both radials and Merlins--why be picky? Just like I like classical and rock & roll--it's all music, right?

A story about coming in low:

My Daddy was in one of the 44 classes in B25s at La Junta. At some point, they were flying several in formation to the east coast. He had called my grandparents in Shaker Heights that they would be flying over, gave them an approximate time, and so we were all out on the front lawn to wait. I must have been about a year and a half old at the time, and maybe I "remember" this because I heard about it so often. But I distinctly remember Grampa picking me up as a flight of somethings flew over quite high, maybe 5000' AGL, and saying "I bet that's your Daddy up there." We all waved, of course. Then just as we were about to go back into the house, the rumble of about a dozen radials could be heard, and suddenly literally at tree top level, a half dozen B25s flew over the house at cruise speed. THAT was my Daddy!

Daddy died in April 1948, when as a brand new P51 student on only his second flight, he was directed by his instructor to follow him through (separate airplanes) in a victory roll on the way back to Cheyenne from his first high speed cross country. He fell out of the top of the roll into a spin, and although he was able to stop the rotation, he had insufficient altitude to pull out.

But I still love the sounds of both radials and Merlins.

Cary

My Dad had a spray plane with a 1340 Pratt Whitney and I've heard the twin Beechs flying for UPS from Springdale to Dallas every night. I've been to Oshkosh and heard lots too. But the sweetest time I remember was when I was out at a friend's place south west of the McCall airport and the guys had the PB4Y fire bomber out playing around and that baby sounded sweet as they flew by at about 500 feet.

A PB4Y floats pretty well when both the retardant tanks and the fuel tanks are empty.
http://www.mailtribune.com/article/2008 ... /810190336

The B29 " Doc" has been restored in Wichita Ks. and should be flying any day .
http://www.b-29doc.com/index.php
Doug