The advent of the World Wide Web has had a dramatic effect on the lives of many people in all sorts of ways. Some have been good, some bad, some tragic. I for one are fortunate to be able to belong to the first category. Besides 'meeting up' with the British India group through which I have re-established contact with old friends I have also made new ones. And friends outside the group. One of these being a retired United States Army Aviator named Walter Powell. He has supplied the pictures on this page and some of the data and all of the pilot's opinion. I thank him for his time and trouble and I hope you find the interest I did in seeing these images.
Walter Powell standing in front of a 1956 Chryster DeSoto a few years ago!
Basic Flight School Class Picture; White Hat Class, 58-3, Camp Gary Texas, 1957.
AIRCRAFT
Founded in 1928 at Downsview, Toronto, as a constructional and service facility.
U6-A, Beaver, (formerly the L-20)
Built: by De Havilland of Canada.
Engines: 9 cylinder Pratt & Whitney 450 h.p.
Capacity: Pilot +5 Passengers
Maximum gross weight for takeoff 5100 lbs
An off-the-shelf aircraft manufacture which had good short field capability. Cruise at 105 knots. TAS. This non-combat colour scheme (which was red & white) was used to enhance search and rescue efforts in a desert environment.
This Beaver, number 32798, was manufactured in 1953 and is shown flying over the desert range are of Fort Bliss in Texas, about 1960. By the mid-70's Beaver were no longer on the Army inventory.
Pilot's comment: Slow as hell. Note: In surplus, this aircraft, with wings removed, would make a good farm tractor!
Clyde V. Cessna who was originally a motor mechanic, built his first aircraft at Enid, Oklahoma in the Spring of 1911. In 1917 he moved to Wichita, Kansas. He founded Travel Air Manufacturing Company with Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman on the 5th February 1925. He disagreed with Company policy on aircraft design and in 1927 built a self-financed monoplane which developed into Airmaster and the Model 195 series of four seater cantilever high wing cabin monoplanes. The Ceens-Roos Aircraft Company was established with Victor Roos on the 8th september 1927, unfortunately Roos backed out and on the 31 December the present Cessna Company was incorporated.
O1-A, Bird Dog, (formerly L-19)
Built: by Cessna Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas.
Engine: Continental 0-470, horizontally opposed 6 cylinder unsupercharged, developing 213 h.p..
Capacity: The fuselage was narrowed and 2 place seating arranged in tandem.
A near off-the-shelf model in that all components are from the Cessna 170. The Bird Dog was an excellent short/rough field performer. Cruising speed 87 knots. Intended primarily for observation, the Army used it as their Basic & Advanced trainer.
Pilot's comment: Fun to fly! ...an excellent airplane for getting off the ground if you really didn't want to go anyplace! I went through basic training at Camp Gary, TX, starting in Aug. 1957 and completed advanced training at Ft. Rucker, Al in Mar. 1958; "White Hat Class, 58-3"...all in the Bird Dog!
This American Company produced in 1948 the Hiller UH-12 and subsequently supplied the aircraft to civilian operators, and as H-23B and OH-23C/D Ravens to the US Army and to foreign air arms under the MDAP programme.
H-23D Helicopter
Built: by Hiller Aircraft Corp.
Engine: 6 Cylinder Horizontally Opposed Engine by Franklin.
Capacity:
Pilot Comment: Compared to most light observation helicopters, it had the autorotative characteristics of a red brick! I personally like to fly the Hiller although pilots who were H-13 qualified didn't care much for it! When in Korea, I was the unit, and 8th Army, standardization instructor pilot for the H-23. When I went to helicopter school in 1960(?), the H-23 was used as the primary training helicopter.
Founded in 1932 by the late Walter Beech and Mrs. Olive A. Beech, who in 1978 was still Chairman of the board. Pioneer designer and constructor of lightplanes, had manufactured more than 40, 000 aircraft by 1978. Delivered the 10, 000th example of its Beechcraft Bonaza Model 35 in February 1977, at which time the Bonanza was entering its 31st year of production.
The U8-D (Formerly L-23D)
The U8-D (Formerly L-23D) is a twin engine, off the shelf aircraft made by Beech Aircraft. In civilian life it's call the Twin Bonanza.
The one flying is over the "green spot" (a definable location to call tower for landing) is another Ft. Bliss aircraft.
Pretty nice aircraft for its day....would true out at 165 kts easily. The Army used them as VIP transport pretty much, however the RU8 series were used for electronic warfare work (packed with electronic gear & radars)
H-37, Mojave, at Pyngtaek, Korea
Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972) founded the company as Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation on the 5th March 1923. In 1929 the company became a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (United Technologies). The XR-4 of 1942 was the first practical US military helicopter. Sikorsky helicopters are operated by Air Forces of around 30 nations and by civil operations worldwide.
Having shown some of the accidents with the ships here are some from the plane brigade! In these cases no one was actually hurt nor lives lost.
How not to park your plane
Nor like this
Terminal parking
I'm informed that this one is an example of getting excited upon engine failure and feathering the "good engine" by mistake....think that's the way the accident board called it. None of the about were caused when Walter Powell was the pilot!