Thunderstorm over the Cook Islands: Grumman Duck USAF "Sea Rescue"

Not the best weather, but a natural born airman does what he has to do!

 

Freeware FSX Grumman Duck J2F-6 (SOH)

Freeware Northern Cook Islands scenery

Freeware HDE-V2 clouds

Freeware FS-9 "White Lightning" custom lightnings.

 

(Plese click on the pics to enlarge them)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the reply*****

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The landing in the reply*****

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you liked the screenies, thanks for your visit!:)

GREETS!!

Fine shots of the Duck and the scenery. Finally, a craft that belongs in the water after flying!;) Now I gotta check out Adam's "wheels in the water".

What a funny looking craft you have there Jan! Great shots as always buddy.

Thanks very much Steve! :) What! Funny looking? :mad: You know who looks really funny? HUH!

Zippy, thank you! Don't know what you mean by "Finally, a craft that belongs in the water after flying!" ??

Ahem! I think Adam had the right airplane for a water landing :) Seriously, superb pics, Sir Peerhoven!

Great shots peer!

jan, you do find the coolest stuff! those shots are great!!

Super shots Jan, a very successful flight and landing.

Fantastic Duck! And it's ever MADE to land on the water, for a change! Good to see you finally got yer...ahem...DUCKS in a row, Peer. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Really, they are some great pictures, and the lightning just makes things even better.

I actually saw a duck scrape a wingwalker off the top wing onto the taxiway in front of the stands during a demo at the Reno Nationals a LONG time ago (late 60's / early 70's area). A horrific thing for a young kid to see, it truely was. Bob Hoover managed to save the pilot, who was blinded by wingwalker on his goggles. Mr. Hoover was up practicing in his yellow P-51, and looked like he magically appeared off the Duck's wing, inverted like it was, and seemed like he was welded there while he escorted the plane all the way up, around, and down to the runway. Actually, two amazing feats of airmanship, it seems to me...

Of course, Mr. Hoover performed the same basic feat numerous time, as he was normally up above during the Unlimited Race, and would escort pilots with blown engines, who usually had oil on the windscreen, down to a safe landing. Amazing man.

 

Anyway...thanks again for some great pictures!

Pat☺

Thanks Joseph, James, Phil, John and Pat, your kind comments are much appreciated my friends! :):)

Very nice plane Jan, fantastic pictures and scenery. A huge relief to see you fly an airplane capable of landing in water for a change.:):cool::)

Fantastic Duck! And it's ever MADE to land on the water, for a change! Good to see you finally got yer...ahem...DUCKS in a row, Peer. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Really, they are some great pictures, and the lightning just makes things even better.

I actually saw a duck scrape a wingwalker off the top wing onto the taxiway in front of the stands during a demo at the Reno Nationals a LONG time ago (late 60's / early 70's area). A horrific thing for a young kid to see, it truely was. Bob Hoover managed to save the pilot, who was blinded by wingwalker on his goggles. Mr. Hoover was up practicing in his yellow P-51, and looked like he magically appeared off the Duck's wing, inverted like it was, and seemed like he was welded there while he escorted the plane all the way up, around, and down to the runway. Actually, two amazing feats of airmanship, it seems to me...

Of course, Mr. Hoover performed the same basic feat numerous time, as he was normally up above during the Unlimited Race, and would escort pilots with blown engines, who usually had oil on the windscreen, down to a safe landing. Amazing man.

 

Anyway...thanks again for some great pictures!

Pat☺

 

OK Pat,

 

You got me on that one! You're saying "Mr. Hoover" was flying S&R above the air race. So when a pilot gets disoriented, how does he help get him back? Does he talk him down by radio, or what?

 

I thought I'd heard of a lot, but I never heard of what you seem to be describing! And no, I never went to the Reno Air races. If this happened more than once, was there ever a film clip??

Bernardo, thank you! :) :rolleyes:

These are fabulous shots Jan! :cool::cool::cool::cool:

OK Pat,

 

You got me on that one! You're saying "Mr. Hoover" was flying S&R above the air race. So when a pilot gets disoriented, how does he help get him back? Does he talk him down by radio, or what?

 

I thought I'd heard of a lot, but I never heard of what you seem to be describing! And no, I never went to the Reno Air races. If this happened more than once, was there ever a film clip??

 

I say "Mr. Hoover" because to ME his airmanship deserves the respect of every pilot. I swear, the man was born with wings on his back!

He started the Unlimited every year, leading the "pack" (the racers in formation 2X2 behind him, like the Indy 500 race) out and away from the airport where the crowd couldn't see, and once they were all formed up to his liking he would lead them into the race course from behind the stands. You couldn't see or even hear them till after they over the stands! He would be going at about 350 or 400 kts, and as he hit the race starting line they would have the radio piped over the loud speakers lined up in front of the stands, and he would say "Gentlemen, you have a RACE!", then pull straight up to about 1000' AGL. You could FEEL the power of the racers as they came over, went to race power and really went at it.

Anyway, yes, he would stay over the race course, doing aerobatics for the joy of it, he claimed, and if someone had a problem the radios would be piped to the loudspeakers, and the crowd could listen as Mr. Hoover, now welded to the problem airplane's wing in Blue Angels-tight formation, would talk them down. He would lead them at the best possible glide speed for that aircraft all the way to the runway. The tower would vector the other racers away from the duo as needed. Kind of like a yellow flag in NASCAR.

He would pull up and away once their wheels touched, and go back to his aerobatics, till needed again. Usually happened once or twice a race. Remember, this was back in the late 60's and early 70's.

Is there film of it? I don't know. I know there are stills, because my father usually took some, but the Nationals weren't generally televised or video'd at the time, that I am aware of. I believe the Duck incident was a serendipity for the Duck's pilot, in that Mr. Hoover was just upstairs practicing for his P-51 demo during the Duck's wing-walking stunt show.

The Duck would come in low, flip inverted at the end of the runway in front of the stands, where the checkered pylon was, and the wing-walker would reach "up" (relative to him anyway) and grab a ribbon held up on a couple of tall poles at the far end. Kinda like Patty Wagstaff's stunt when she crashed in Yuma (which I was fortunate enough to witness up on the Station Legal hill). Unfortunately, the Duck caught a gust, wind change, something, and just barely dropped a little too low during the stunt. I never did hear the accident report, but I was very young and may have just not noticed it if/when it was published. Or even if there WAS such a thing back then. I don't know.

I HEARD, and this is pure rumor as far as I know, that once he got the plane stopped (they took him straight to a hanger away from the crowd, oddly enough, it was pretty gory), climbed out, threw his helmet (one of the old fabric kind) and goggles on the floor and walked away. He would never go near that plane again either, I heard. I don't say I blame him if it's true. I understand the wing-walker was a close friend of his.

Anyway, sorry. I ramble sometimes. I apologize. Needless to say, even though I was young, the incident left a bit of an impression on me. You don't easily forget an experience like that, although I tried, back when I was in my teens and learning to fly myself.

Pat☺

Now that's a story Pat......:eek:

We know all to well what the natural born airman is capable of, and it ain't good! :D I guess there is no need for you to worry about making one of your infamous water landings now is there. :D

 

Fantastic shots of the Duck there Jan, nice work!! :)

:D Thank you Adam! :)

Well, well, well, a water landing ON TOP OF THE WATER, you've outdone yourself, Oh great and Noble, Natural! Perhaps it sank after the camera was shut down? Great series, Jan, thanks for sharing.

:D thank you Klee! :)

 

:mad: Planes don't sink when parked on dry sand!

'Nice weather for ducks' must be a saying in parts of the world other than the UK right? Great shots Jan!

We say: it's dog's weather, Thank you Paul! :)

 

Jax (fla) NAS had a air show and the duck was there to look at,'BIG plane'. Jan excellent pic's Thumbs up.

Dan