Wondering about wild grapes

Monday, February 10, 2014

Wondering About A Few Planes.

I have flown in many different types of planes from commercial to corporate to private and I enjoy flying.  I would go up anytime, especially in small, private planes.  I do not like to deal with the hassle of commercial flying, although in the past, I have done a lot of it.  I wrote a blog back a few years ago about my father-in-law who was into flying and owned a few planes over his lifetime.  Here is a link to that post and if you don't remember reading it, I suggest you go back and do so:
http://dizzydick.blogspot.com/2010/12/high-flying-family.html

Not only do I enjoy flying, I think planes are a work of art.  Their sleek aerodynamic shape make them not only functional, but beautiful.  One of the planes that impressed me and that I have been up in is the Piper Comanche:
 
And if that wasn't something, I got to ride along when my father-in-law checked a fellow out in a new twin Comanche that looked like this:  
 
But of course, of all the planes that Piper produced, the one that is the most fun is the Piper Cub:
 
Now, as far as government owned planes go, the two that impress me the most do not carry weapons, but are spy planes.  The U-2 which flew so high that nothing, even missiles, couldn't touch it:
 
But it did finally get shot down.  Remember Gary Powers?
 
And the SR-71 which could fly so fast that it could outrun any missile or bullet.  Nothing could catch it:

 
 
The SR-71 Blackbird was designed back in the 1950's and I don't believe there has ever been a more futuristic plane conceived since.  It is a thrill just to see a picture of it.  I think my feet will be firmly planted on the ground today or maybe my exterior parts planted on the couch.  Either way I am going to have a great day even though it is a dreary, wet day.  I want you all to have a great day, too, you hear?

10 comments:

  1. When I traveled a lot in my job, I always enjoyed the short commuter flights in CA in those little planes. You can see everything on the ground so clearly, and I somehow felt safer in them than in the big commercial jets. Now I hope I never need to fly anywhere again - I would much prefer to drive.

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    1. I always preferred the smaller planes, if the weather was fair. The bigger ones when the weather is bad.

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  2. Very interesting. My father-in-law worked on the SR71 at the test site 51. We took him to the Air and Space Museum in Ohio two years ago. The blog article and photos are here: http://jillgoes.blogspot.com/2012/06/postcards-from-ohio-stealthy-stuff.html

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    1. Wow, Wow, Wow!!! Oh the stories he could tell. So, there was a real person working at Area 51 and he was your father-in-law!! I enjoyed going back to your old post. Interesting. I suppose he told you that they also had small drones that used just one of those engines like on the SR71

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  3. I spent a lot of time in Coast Guard airplanes, especially helicopters. I do miss that & airports in general.

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    1. Yes, I understand the missing of the airports, especially time spent in the hangers listening to flying stories.

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  4. The Air and Space Museum, one of the Smithsonians in Wash DC is one of my favorites... but I still love seeing the Wright Brothers first plane... and seeing The Spirit of St Louis, that Charles Lindburgh flew. I was always amazed that my father, who was born in 1898 and died in 1984 was "witness" to such a span of air travel.

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    1. I was born toward the end of WW2 and just in my lifetime it is amazing how far the development of aircraft and space travel has progressed. We have lived during a fantastic time, even had Elvis and the Beetles (grin). But just give me blue grass music or old time country.

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  5. Back in the early 80s?,,, we were driving on a back road, kinda close to Ft Hood, and these 2 planes almost touching the tree tops, AND US, crossed over us. We watched them making hairpin turns down low in the hills. There was nothing at the time that we knew of like them. Years later, found out they were the stealth ones. OOO,,, there was no noise either.

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    1. It would be neat to see something like that, something that few others have seen. And, they let you live to tell about it (grin).

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