Model Airplanes

Favorites for Stewart: The Shop Around the Corner, Call  Northside 777, It’s a Wonderful Life, Rear Window, Man from Laramie, Anatomy of a Murder, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Flight of the Phoenix.

Article source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hank-and-jim-scott-eyman-on-his-new-book-about-henry_us_59ff4d8fe4b05e3e1f0a0218

Next Saturday is Nov. 11, Veterans Day. Soon the Register-Mail will be publishing its annual supplement honoring local veterans. I contributed photos and the names of the some of the veterans in my family so they will be recognized in the supplement, but I couldn’t afford to list all of the veterans in my family — there are too many of them. All of the males in my father’s generation served in either World War II or the Korean Conflict. My grandfather Allison served in the Navy during World War I. My great-great-grandfather Root enlisted in the 86th Illinois Volunteer Regiment and was wounded at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Civil War. I never served. I was 14 when the last U.S. troops came home from Vietnam, which seems young, but I was old enough that I wondered what I should do if the war continued. Following family tradition and joining the Coast Guard seemed like a reasonable option.

The supplement intrigues me. The photos of young people, dressed in their uniforms, usually smiling proudly for the camera, start to tell something of the story of those vets. The names and dates of service also tell part of the story. But we only get a bare bones outline of what that person did. I always want to know more about each individual pictured. I’ll fill in a bit of the story of a couple of the veterans whose photos I submitted.

My father, David, enlisted

Article source: http://www.galesburg.com/opinion/20171104/stuart-allison-remembering-stories-of-honor-tragedy

Bi-annual events are tough to cover. Happening only every two years, it means do you write about it, or do you wait until the date is near and then produce a piece which by then is already completely out of date?

I’ve been going to the Big Bear Air Fair for several years and for me this is always the dilemma. As a result, I’ve generally left it alone. But this year, I decided that I would hope that people’s electronic calendars are sufficiently advanced to be able to flag the Air Fair for 2019.

They should do it, as it’s a fine event to see. Plus, there is no cost — either for entrance or parking.
It usually runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring a hat, as it’s very bright up at 6,750 feet in the clear mountain air.

I took along She Who Must Be Obeyed and after 15 minutes the lack of headgear became a problem. Naturally, not wanting S.W.M.B.O. to be uncomfortable, I took advantage of the many vendors and bought her a very nice hat.

The Air Fair this year had about 35 planes of very different types. Two Ospreys had flown up from Camp Pendleton and were sitting crouched on the runway. They are interesting aircraft with their engines on swivels so that they can take off like helicopters and then once they are high enough the engines tilt forward to fly like a plane. They are noisy though.

Having paid out large amounts for a hat,

Article source: http://www.sbsun.com/2017/11/04/trevors-travels-mark-your-calendars-for-the-next-big-bear-air-fair/

For two decades, they have gathered in a big, mostly vacant field in Fallbrook, drawn together by their love for — some would say obsession with — radio-controlled airplanes and helicopters.

In blissful isolation from the residential neighborhoods and retail centers miles away, members of the Palomar Radio Controlled Flyers club have enjoyed building, repairing and flying their somewhat pricey and noisy aircraft without annoying anyone. Because there hasn’t been anyone around.

That’s about to change.

“Within a 1.1-mile radius, 1,100 homes are going in and right past that tree line is where Palomar College is building a new campus,” said Steve Gebler, the incoming president of the club.

Time has reduced the thousands of B-17 bombers that flew over enemy strongholds in World War II  to just a few.

But one is on display this weekend at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport for people to view.

“From World War II on, it’s been the most majestic aircraft,” pilot John Bode said. “It’s the most unique experience you’ll ever have in an aircraft.”

Bode described the ordeal the B-17 crews endured on their missions, often traveling eight hours in bitter cold to drop a payload on strategic sites in Germany.

“I want you to think of a 17-, 18- or 19-year-old boy who’s going off to fly in combat,” Bode said. “You’d have these hours of misery, a few minutes of terror, then more hours of misery.”

Seeing the “Flying Fortress” from the outside may not prepare one for the tight quarters inside.

“These airplanes were made at the height of American industrial might,” Bode said. “We produced about 13,000 of these. They were not built for comfort.”

Passing through the door, it is obvious that the same metal on the outside of the plane is also on the inside of it.

“They were not heated aircraft,” Bode said. “They were not pressurized aircraft.”

Today, with cellphones available for communication, it’s hard to realize that an entire section of the plane was devoted for communication so the radio man could talk to the other airplanes in the squadron.

The B-17 in Tyler, called Aluminum Overcast, is maintained by the Experimental Aircraft Association of Oshkosh, Wis. According to EAA, between July

Article source: http://www.athensreview.com/news/local_news/wwii-bomber-flies-into-tyler/article_83805542-c0e7-11e7-978c-e7618e7bf728.html