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If you were a pilot during WWII, what aircraft would you fly?
I'd probably go with the F4U Corsair. The only issue I'd have is flying over the vast stretch of Pacific ocean......don't like the thought of having to bail out over that....
Flying a Spitfire over England during the Battle of Britain is probably my second choice.
Something far from enemy planes, guns, etc. Some sort of pilot duty that only flew in the continental US (if that duty existed). Preferably near a base near lots of women and nice weather like in Southern California, Oxnard Air Force Base? Something in Southern California, San Diego, Los Angeles?
Maybe some sort of comfortable transport cargo job - oh, and it has to have a fully function restroom, preferably during daylight hours, no second shift. Perhaps some big cargo plane which would provide the type of experience need for airline jobs. Maybe a DC-3?
I used to be a private pilot, and what I flew was incredibly tame compared to what we are talking about here, but I once paid for a ride in a P-51D Mustang in which a second seat (in tandem behind the pilot) had been installed. This would be my choice, indeed it would be my dream come true. First, from my reading I would conclude that the P-51 and the F6 Hellcat were the two best performing single-piston-engine fighters of World War II, so this would be the pinnacle of the first part of the air age before jets took over. Second, I don't know what is more exciting than the sound of that big V-12. If that sound doesn't get one's blood flowing, then one is dead!
I used to be a private pilot, and what I flew was incredibly tame compared to what we are talking about here, but I once paid for a ride in a P-51D Mustang in which a second seat (in tandem behind the pilot) had been installed. This would be my choice, indeed it would be my dream come true. First, from my reading I would conclude that the P-51 and the F6 Hellcat were the two best performing single-piston-engine fighters of World War II, so this would be the pinnacle of the first part of the air age before jets took over. Second, I don't know what is more exciting than the sound of that big V-12. If that sound doesn't get one's blood flowing, then one is dead!
I too used to fly in the LA area (San Val and Pioneer at VNY); I got my commercial, CFI, instrument, and multi.
Anyway I was lucky enough to get a backseat ride in an F-4 Phantom with a Navy captain. He gave me Mach 1.1 and 6 gs. I also got a ride in an F-18D with a Marine Corp captain. I am glad I didn't puke on either ride.
I too used to fly in the LA area (San Val and Pioneer at VNY); I got my commercial, CFI, instrument, and multi. Anyway I was lucky enough to get a backseat ride in an F-4 Phantom with a Navy captain. He gave me Mach 1.1 and 6 gs. I also got a ride in an F-18D with a Marine Corp captain. I am glad I didn't puke on either ride.
We parked our Mooney at Van Nuys. That was a long time ago - mid and late 70's. It had the old manual gear - a long lever between the two front seats that mechanically lowered and raised the gear. I loved it because there were no electrics or hydraulics connected with the gear that needed service or that could malfunction. I had only my instrument rating, not any of the others you had. Wife and I flew the Mooney to Alaska and to the Carribean (Haiti, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Virgin Islands) among other places within the continental U.S. Those were the days! I remember landing at LAX before the requirement for an encoding altimeter kept us out.
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We may have been neighbors.
