Warbirds Over Monroe, NC + P-40 Flight

[AeroplaneDriver]

First post in a while...life's been in the way of modeling for a while.  Hopefully winter will bring more time for styrene.

Anyhoo, this past Sunday I went to the annual Warbirds Over Monroe airshow just outside Charlotte NC.  It was my first visit to he Monroe Executive Airport in years and it was pretty fun since I worked there as a Flight Instructor in the early-mid 90s building flight time.  Many great memories in those skies.  And one more made this weekend when I splurged and took a flight in the only dual control P-40 in the world!  What a ride.  It was short but I got about 10 minutes of 'stick time'.  What a bird!  I can finally say I've flown an honest to goodness WW2 fighter. 

The one I flew started life in the USAAF in New Guinea.  It had three kills before being shot down and landing gear up in a field, where it was left until found for restoration.

Enough talk,  here are some pics from the flight and the other stuff on display. 


NC Forestry Service Air Tractor AT-802F






The movie "Memphis Belle"


Berlin Airlift C-54


All strapped in, ready to go.


My seat.


Takeoff roll


Overhead for the break!  I was flying at this point!


The break!  Pulling a couple of Gs onto the downwind bleeding off speed from 210 to 170 to lower the gear. 


Landing roll wave.




Over way too soon.

[zenrat]

Jealous! 

+1

[Old Wombat]

Jealous! 

+1

+2

[KiwiZac]

What a fantastic experience! I too am very jealous but at the same time extremely happy for you!

But the P-40 pedant in me must pick on you for one detail:

And one more made this weekend when I splurged and took a flight in the only dual control P-40 in the world!

Not true - Kermit Weeks has a genuine TP-40N (American Dream is a straight P-40 restored - a second time, after a landing accident in Oz - to TP config) and there are three or four other examples with partial or full dual control that I can think of off the top of my head.

[AeroplaneDriver]

Fair enough...there are other dual control P-40s...but none are "Genuine". All were converted post-war.  Regardless...hell of a flight. 

[PR19_Kit]

All the pics have vanished.

[zenrat]

Some of the pics have vanished.  I can see four.

[KiwiZac]

Fair enough...there are other dual control P-40s...but none are "Genuine". All were converted post-war. 

Not quite true. Palm Springs Air Museum has 44-7084 which is in single-seat configuration but was converted to a TP in 1944 and Kermit Weeks' aircraft is in TP config as built. Goodall lists 42-105927 as a TP-40N but in a quick Google I've found no evidence to back that up.

I'd love to have stick time in a P-40. Amazing!

[Rheged]

What a lucky Aeroplane Driver you are!!  I regret that I too cannot access the pictures, so I cannot fully appreciate your event.

[Captain Canada]

Wow ! That's so awesome. Especially to be in one that has kills ! Pics need to come back tho !

[kitnut617]

Yeah, that's odd. When you posted the pics a while ago I saw them easily. They're not there now ---

[Captain Canada]

The people demand a picnic ! I mean the pics, Nick !