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OPEN COCKPIT DAY FOR JAGUAR
OWNERS CLUB The DFW Wing of the Commemorative Air
Force (formerly Confederate Air force) , the politically
correct name, held an open cockpit day for JOASW, the Porsche “356”,
and Antique Automobile Clubs.
Commander Bob Satrapa welcomed and escorted us on a complete tour
of the improved, expanded facility, including static and aircraft
displays. What a show they
put on with aircraft roll-outs, fly-by’s, WWII jeeps, antique tractors,
rides in the C-46 and a SW Airlines raffle. The Jaguar Owners Club day started out with
a convoy from North Dallas to the Lancaster Airdrome, arriving just after
the “queen” aircraft of the event “Sprit of Waco” A-26 Attack
“bomber” arrived and rolled up the tarmac with 2000hp of radial Pratt
& Whitneys thundering. The
F/U 4 Corsair had just been rolled back into the hangar over its kitty
litter box. Oh, the Jaguar people were in heaven watching and
smelling all that hot oil leaking and being sopped up with countless
oil-rags. The DFW Wing demonstrated a concours WWII Jeep
with 50 Cal. Machine gun mounted that actually simulated
live fire out on the tarmac, sighting a couple of Polish Albatross Jets
from the Cold War era spewing kerosene up and over the runway! The members had a grand time climbing in and out of the
aircraft re-living ‘war stories”, including our existentialism host/orgnanizer,
Richard Cross. A fly-by with
five AT-6 “Texans” performing the “lost man” maneuver was
especially touching and appropriate for the Day. The highlight of the Day was the roll-out,
take-off and fly-by of the fabulously maintained A-26 Attack, Air Support
version of the famous B-26 which Col. Jimmy Doolittle flew off carriers to
attack Japan in the Pacific in the ‘40’s.
A close inspection of the A-26 exhaust ports indicated
quad-exhausts, like the Series III E-type, except there was a “quad”
for each cylinder of the 1000hp each engines!
As the A-26 powered up for the taxi and flight back to Waco with
Col. Joe Memmer & Crew in command, all of us were stunned by the
tarmac-side flight check and run-up to military power—we looked off into
the threatening sky as the great warhorse powered dived in a fly-by just
off the deck, and a dip of the wings as she headed pell mell to Waco ahead
of the now fast advancing
inclement weather! It was an exciting, nostalgic day for the Jaguar
Owners Club, reveling in the remembrances of the close bond of the
contributions between the RAF and US Air Forces over History
in the defense of Freedom all over the World! Respectfully submitted, VP Internal P.S. The CAF DFW Wing has offered the facility for
a ‘40’s style USO “Hangar Dance” for the 2003 Holidays with the
Concour winner Jaguar cars inside among the WWII aircraft. |