RE: Off Subject! Any Military/ex-Military here?
Good to hear from you, bassfisher. On 6 Aug '45, I was, oddly enough, in the B-25. I flew all my combat with the 500th (Rough Raider) Squadron of the 345th (Air Appache) Bomb Group, 5th Air Force. We were flying out of Ie Shima, at that time our closest base to the Japanese homeland. The 25 was a rock-solid old bird, and with the version we flew, salve to the ego of a frustrated fighter pilot - - we had fourteen forward firing fifties and an extremely low level mission; straff and skip-bomb. The only negative is that with all those guns, and engines with no collector rings, "HUH ?" and "EH ?" have been the most used words in my vocabulary for the last 65 years. One day about 38 years ago I was ferrying a Citabria from Oklahoma to Iowa, and right smack in the middle of the flight I realized that between take-off and that instant I had not consciously done any of the many things I should have been duing to assure a successful outcome to the excursion. I had been sitting there fat, dumb and happy, totally unconscious of what was going on around me, thinking that something as mundane as that little plane was beneath my concern, and unconcerned that what really was beneath me was extremely solid, really quite near, and definitely unforgiving. So at that moment I pledged that I was approaching my last landing at the controls. On final at my destination, an uncontrolled airport, I had the urge to land out of a loop. If someone didn't like it, they could lift my ticket; I was done with it. "I done it." I kept the pledge I made to myself that day, and have only flown as a passenger. Fortunately, my youngest son became a pilot, and an aerospace engineer. He owned an antique Luscomb and lived in Alaska, and we had many fantastic flights in that beautiful country among the mountains and the glaciers. Unfortunately, he succombed to cancer seven years ago. Once again, God bless you and every man, woman and child that offers himself to the service of his country!
Posted on: 5/5/2009 12:50 AM by Author "baltiggle" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8741611

RE: Off Subject! Any Military/ex-Military here?
Wouldn't you know it? I had to get to the last page of the thread to find someone with more time in the military than I had. Congrats, bassfisher, when you get your twenty-nine years in. They let me have twenty-eight years and two months, promoted me to light colonel, and retired me the next day ! Of course that was in thirty-eight years ago !! I blew out the candles on my eighteenth birthday cake, hopped the midnight train and bedded down the next night at Sheppard Field. While the candles on my next cake were still smokin' I was handed gold bars, silver wings and an expert marksmans badge at Luke. One thing led to another, and for quite a while I found myself involved in various unplesantnesses with a bunch of vicious little fellows (that's as politically correct as I can get) way out beyond the sunset, and on August 6, 1945, I was over the Land of the Rising Sun, (Not for the first time, and not in a B-29; I'm not famous.) The crumbs of my 20th birthday cake were still in my moustache. After a few months of occupation in Japan I returned to the States and was released from active duty with the USAAF. Up to that time my flying had been confined to the PT-17 Stearman, The BT-13 Vultee, the AT-6, the P-51 and the B-25. Later, in the ANG, I flew the T-33, F-80, C-45 and C-47. In civilian life I flew most everything Cessna and Beech built, plus some odd-balls like the Mooney Might (sweet!!) and the Dehaveland Dove (Pneumatics, UGH) Thank God for all the young guys who are still eager and proud to offer themselves for the service of Our Country, and Gos bless you, one and all!
Posted on: 5/4/2009 12:56 AM by Author "baltiggle" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8738532

RE: Futaba 7C throttle
Thanks Bill ! I took screwdriver in hand and in a matter of minutes, Voila!, airplane version of the 7C ! The old ratchet spring works perfectly in the new Tx !
Posted on: 5/1/2009 1:37 AM by Author "baltiggle" in the forum "Futaba Radios Direct support forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8730892

Futaba 7C throttle
I bought a 2.4G 7C on eBay, and didn't ask enough questions of the seller, thereby getting a helicopter model rather than the airplane model, ergo no ratchet on the throttle. I've seen a fix on the web for whirley-bird guys who want to get rid of the ratchet, but can't find a corresponding fix to add the ratchet. I have an old FP-T5LK with a good ratcheted left stick. Can it be switched for the slippy stick I'm stuck with? And if so, how?
Posted on: 4/27/2009 1:16 AM by Author "baltiggle" in the forum "Futaba Radios Direct support forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8718270