They show up at my Airport (KPSC) all the Time From Where? I don't know

I think Grumpy landed here at Albany about 4 years ago. I was on the ramp and they parked in front of customs, having just flown down from Canada.

The Warbird Factory is here, where they're rebuilding Old Glory.

I think probably about 1945, 7 years old, my dad was in the Pacific and mom was working at the Wright engine plant in Cincinnati. There was a plant picnic, I didn't want to go, she insisted. We got there early and something caught my eye as we drove into the parking lot. It was a B25. I had never seen anything like it and headed directly for it. There were Army Air Corp guys manning a booth there and they let me get into the airplane and check it out. Maybe if I had seen a beautiful woman before this I wouldn't have been impressed, but this really did it for me. From then on it was model airplanes, bike trips to all the airports in the Cincy area, first air plane ride at 15, and soon I was taking lessons in a Cessna 140. The spell was long term, relieved somewhat by Bonanzas, but the sight of a B25 still gets me excited.
If I hadn't gone on that picnic I'd probably be a wealthy man. I spent most of my money on airplanes, the rest I just wasted. I think it was Stan M who also had that sort of problem. There may have been others.

It’s nothing like other twins I have flown.

It’s a window open, arm resting on the railing while 2600 cubic inches of supercharged goodness thunders just a few feet away kind of airplane. Power you can feel as well as hear.

It’s not hard to taxi, just different. The nose wheel is free castering and the brakes are not only incredibly powerful but have a slight lag from brake application to actual engagement. With a little practice, it falls into place.

The first couple of times I flew it, I thought the controls were heavy. I had flown twins that were either 20,000 pounds lighter or hundreds of thousands pounds heavier but with hydraulically boosted controls. After the first few flights, I no longer noticed it.

It’s very stable and makes a great instrument platform.

It’s hot in the summer, cold in the winter and loud all the time. It was built for your freedom, not comfort.

You’re a representative of something much larger than yourself when you fly one. Talking to the veterans is a special treat but is becoming exponentially more rare. However, you will meet kids, grandkids and other people who had a family member serve in one and want to connect with their history. Because you’re there, they can see, hear, smell, and touch it.

I probably posted this somewhere here on BT before. But we were all privileged here at 36WI to be graced with the overnight presence of the CAF’s Maid In The Shade. Capt’s Spike McLane and Jerry Briggs (RIP Jerry) are very close friends that flew the B-25 in for an Airpark party that couldn’t be beat. The next morning, Maid In The Shade departed in an impressive take-off that left no doubt why it was chosen to fly off an aircraft carrier to fly on that fateful mission to bomb Tokyo. It was one of the highlights in my life, and the oil stains on my ramp remind me of that special night.

The -25 is a magnificent flying g machine. As mentioned it will humiliate a newbie taxiing. Very touchy brakes that will flat-spot a tire in a heartbeat. It has a very high, 145 mph S/E safety speed, that maybe Vmc depending on a host of factors. And a negative stick force gradient above a certain angle of attack. All totally non-certifiable flight characteristics, and still a wonderful airplane to fly with an impeccable combat record.

Gotta love the depth of knowledge and experience here on BT.

My understanding is that the AF used B-25s for multi-engine and instrument trainers as well as general utility (base flight) aircraft in the 50s and maybe early 60s.

I once had a co-pilot who said that his father (a Pan Am pilot) had one as his personal airplane and that his family used it for family vacations.

Buddy of mine in high school’s Dad had one. A fun machine; they flew it around to airshows displaying it etc. Then he decided to donate it to the Smithsonian, where it was immediately disassembled into 10,000 pieces and hadn’t seen the light of day since, to my knowledge.

BUT

On the last flight before donation, he sure made it count! They caused quite a stir in Gainesville that day.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/QWqFGi-Avv4[/youtube]

The -25 is a magnificent flying g machine. As mentioned it will humiliate a newbie taxiing. Very touchy brakes that will flat-spot a tire in a heartbeat. It has a very high, 145 mph S/E safety speed, that maybe Vmc depending on a host of factors. And a negative stick force gradient above a certain angle of attack. All totally non-certifiable flight characteristics, and still a wonderful airplane to fly with an impeccable combat record.

Thanks for that 145 number. Speed is life on takeoff/initial climb.

Spokane. Grumpy is a B-25D, believed to be the oldest B-25 flying, and belongs to John Sessions' Historic Flight Foundation. During the pandemic HFF moved from Paine Field in Everett to Felts Field in Spokane.
https://historicflight.org/b-25-mitchell/

Spokane. Grumpy is a B-25D, believed to be the oldest B-25 flying, and belongs to John Sessions' Historic Flight Foundation. During the pandemic HFF moved from Paine Field in Everett to Felts Field in Spokane.
https://historicflight.org/b-25-mitchell/

Interesting to think how far below 145mph the Doolittle raiders must have been off the edge of the Hornet’s deck.

Wouldn't the airspeed indicator read the "total" relative wind? I.e., the ships movement plus the existing wind....


then add whatever speed they could muster to get what the wing would "see"....