OT: Ultimate badass WWII Navy ace and test pilot passes at 100
This may take your mind off the transitory disappointments over the decisions that teenagers make.
(Imagine flying the Gutless Cutlass as a Blue Angel—they scrapped that idea quickly.)
More on the Cutlass as Blue Angel:
"Vought F7U Cutlass (two of the unusual F7Us were received in late 1952 and flown as a side demonstration during the 1953 season but they were not a part of their regular formations which at the time used the F9F Panther. Pilots and ground crew found it unsatisfactory and plans to use it as the team's primary aircraft were cancelled)."
good stuff.
grandpa XM would be 95 right now, and he was a P-51 pilot in WW II. the stories of flight school, in particular, are classics. one of the guys in his class had grown up on a big farm and had been flying solo since he was 14. he shamed their main instructor at flight school with his extraordinary expertise. a time gone by.
I will summarize my respect for Navy pilots with a quick anecdote: I got an opportunity back in the 90s to see some Navy pilots interact with one of their WWII predecessors. The modern guys were straight out of the Maverick/Iceman mold – insufferable a-holes that you had to credit with amazing skills – but darn if they didn't go full-on awe-struck fanboy. It really was amazing to watch. I called out one of them about it, and he simply said, "What we do is impossible. What he did is two levels up from impossible."
here is a good article about him as well.
>https://www.limaohio.com/news/405367/wwii-ace-feightner-dies<Thanks for the post and the link, Don.