Short Finals

If all the above seems a bit heavy then consider that the bottom line for the entire industry lies with the average Australian appreciating that the airline system is safe and reliable. Strikes in our industry are bad enough but strikes over such trivial, petty and irresponsible issues only serve to totally undermine the confidence and respect that the public must have in our airline system if it and its employees are to prosper.

It’s a dog’s life!

I recently enjoyed reading Tumult in the Clouds, a novel by WW2 fighter ace, James Goodson. Goodson, with 32 kills to his name flew with the original Eagle Squadron in 1940 before transferring to the US Fourth Fighter Group, his book is an excellent account of a fighter pilot’s life of the period and contains a plethora of memorable experiences that tell it like it was. One lighter event that is guaranteed to raise a smile though concerns Sqdn Ldr Goodson and First Lt Ralph Hofer who because of his pre-adolescent looks was nicknamed “The Kid” One evening (Goodson writes) I was breaking in a new boy, Ralph Saunders, and flying on his wing, when I saw another P-47 pulling up on the other side of him. It came in close and sitting in the cockpit sat a large Alsatian dog – and no sign of anyone else. The plane then dived ahead of us, pulled up into a perfect loop and ended up behind us.

When we landed, we both climbed into the jeep and without a word, drove off to 334 Squadron dispersal. The Kid and his dog came over and clambered into the back. “Duke’s getting real good at flying!” said Hofer. “Any damn fool can do a loop”, I said, “but how is he on instruments?” “Great!” said the Kid. “Sounds like a real show-off,” I said

After we dropped them off, Saunders could not restrain his curiosity any longer. “Sir, did he have that dog on his lap?” “Yeah,” I said sourly. “That’s fantastic. ” Then, sensing my mood, he added quickly, “But I guess you disapprove. ” “To get enough room, he leaves his parachute off,” I said.

“During those long evenings when I drilled my new proteges, I often glimpsed a lone Thunderbolt cavorting among the clouds, diving down through the white valleys between them, pulling up vertically until it stalled and fell off into a spin, pulling out at the last moment and zooming back up in a glorious or loop and rolling off the top. And after landing I would drive around the perimeter track to pick up the laughing Kid and his happy dog. ”

At twenty-one years of age with 27 victories to his credit The Kid finally met his match. While escorting a bomber raid over Budapest in 1944 he fell victim to one of the greatest fighter aces of all time, Erich “Bubi” Hartmann. The ironic thing was that Bubi is roughly translated as Kid in German and that Hartmann was given his nickname for all the same reasons and was also twenty-one years of age at the time.

Back at Debden the waiting ground crews knew the instant that the Kid had been shot down for Duke, the big Alsatian, leapt up and let out a series of doleful howls and then went and laid down in the empty revetment where Hofer’s Mustang would never be parked again.

Next Issue

The July edition of AA hosts Pt II of the DofA civil Register featuring all aircraft registered L through Z. July issue also hosts our annual Major Airline Directory which again lists the fleets, senior management and primary route structure of all the first and second-level operators in Australasia and Oceania. In Australian Service examines the post war history of the DC-3 and its effects on our air transportation in the period while our Profile feature finalises the Stratocruiser story with that derivative of derivatives, the Guppy. The Guppy is indeed ironic in that an aircraft originally built by Boeing should nowadays be the crucial logistics tool’ of rival Airbus Industrie! Our regular Air Safety series continues as does Technology Explained and an analysis of operations of the Thai Air Force.

Then there are all our regular features – Reece, Newsdesk, Yesteryear, Airline Affairs, Defence Update, Warbirds, Rotor Torque, Traffic, NZ News, Airbands, Ultralights and Aeromart.

The July edition will be on sale in early July so order a copy today from your newsagent or subscribe directly and save $32 through the course of a three-year subscription. Full details are presented on the centerspread insert in this issue.