Bon & Gunner meet a legend

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Gunner
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Bon & Gunner meet a legend

Post by Gunner » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:41 am

Yesterday Bon had a long overnight in Tucson, and talked me into making the drive down to visit Pima Air & Space Museum with him. (He really had to twist my arm :wink: ) Once again, Steve "Wildcat" Wilson provided VIP treatment and backstage access...and before we left, we ran into a Thunderbird legend. :D

The B-36 has been mated with the empennage.

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Bon as my FO??

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Wildcat in the flight engineer's station

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Bon checking out the weather map from Sept 27, 1964 - final flight maybe?

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The scratch-built P-51D is coming along...

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Memories of Bon's father

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And just before we left, we had the privilege to meet & chat with Col. Ralph "Hoot" Gibson, Mig Ace, and fifth leader of the Thunderbirds!! 8)

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A little about Col. Gibson...

Hoot Gibson (Leader 61-63) was inducted into the Arizona Aviation
Hall of Fame Saturday, April 5, 2003, at the Pima Air & Space
Museum, Tucson, Arizona. A highly decorated veteran of World War
II, Korea and Vietnam, he is America’s third jet ace, shooting down
five MiG-15s in his F-86 and probably destroying or damaging five
others. Hoot held numerous key posts in the United States, Europe and
Southeast Asia during his 31-year Air Force career. He led the Team to
40 states and 14 Central and South American countries.
The Aviation Hall of Fame wrote, “Korean jet ace, leader of
the USAF Thunderbirds, Hoot Gibson is a hero’s hero and no one
better exemplifies the true American spirit, nor is more deserving of
enshrinement in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame than Ralph D.
‘Hoot’ Gibson.”
Last edited by Gunner on Thu May 15, 2008 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Burner
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Post by Burner » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:33 pm

Awesome trip! Looks like you guys had a blast :)

A weather map? You're tellin me there was a time before real time moving maps??? :wink:
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Convertible
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Post by Convertible » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:51 pm

Looks like you had a great time yesterday. 8) Sounds fun. Great place I agree.

Con
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Gunner
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Post by Gunner » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:34 pm

Just checked my email - Bon did some research on the B-36, turns out it was the last one ever built. It has quite a story behind it.

http://www.air-and-space.com/b-36%20sur ... 0worth.htm

http://www.cowtown.net/proweb/last_one.htm
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Cobra
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Post by Cobra » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:38 pm

That's just awesome. I was in Tucson about 10 years ago, dragging my totally bored family around Davis-Monthan. I wanted to go to Pima but it probably meant a mutiny.

One day....

(isn't that F-111 in great shape..?)
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Rock
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Post by Rock » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:52 pm

Wow looks like a terrific trip guys and what a privilege to meet and chat with Hoot Gibson. Very Cool! :D
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Lawndart
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Post by Lawndart » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:10 pm

What a "hoot"!!! :wink:

"Hoot" was the Commander who was asked by the president of Uruguay to open the show supersonic during the team's South American tour and in his own words regarding that (after having explained the consequences to Mr. Presidente): "So we did"! They taped the windows within a five mile radius of the airport, Hoot spread the Diamond out, by those year's standards, and opened the show supersonic. The crowd loved it!


P.S. Who are those old farts sitting on the landing gear?!! :lol:
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BonJobie
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Post by BonJobie » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:10 am

Not to correct too much LD, but the country in question was Paraguay, the capital city of Asuncion, to be exact. :wink:

Meeting Hoot was certainly a stroke of luck: when Wildcat was showing us a big conference room where the VTB movies might be shown in the future I noticed a lady placing name plaques on a conference table and I saw that one had Hoot's name on it. She explained that the Museum's board of trustees was meeting there in the evening...........so on our way out as we bumbled into the SR-71 display area the trustees were having their meet and greet. Gunner asked, "Bon, do you see Hoot anywhere?" I looked around and there he was talking with some German count or something. (I am serious) After meeting him I told him how much we respected him for all that he had done as a Thunderbird and how different the demo was in his day to which he said, with a twinkle in his eye, "Aw, we never did anything dangerous.............." 8)

Thanks to Gunner for driving nearly to MEXICO and back to spend the day with the VTB old man...........

Bon
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Lawndart
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Post by Lawndart » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:18 am

BonJobie wrote:Not to correct too much LD, but the country in question was Paraguay, the capital city of Asuncion, to be exact.
I sat with my finger on the trigger for a few minutes after typing that... Paraguay or Uruguay?... Hmmm, and without time to search for the correct answer I took the "50/50" and lost. LOL! :wink:

Great to see you had an awesome time down in "pseudo-Mehico"!
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Post by Wildkat » Sat Apr 19, 2008 3:05 am

Hey, Gunner, BonJobie, it was great to be able to return the favor of a thrill after seeing what the Virtual Thunderbirds have accomplished via the Smoke On! and VFAT videos. Showing off our Peacemaker is certainly something one never gets tired of - makes my day when I get the chance, naturally. Can't wait till she gets the rest of her greeblies put back on, a coat of paint and on display!

I'm especially glad fate put you in our Spirit of Freedom hangar on just the right day and just the right time to meet Hoot Gibson. It was meant to be! Gunner mentioned that our Executive Director, Dan Ryan introduced you gentlmen to Hoot, and it sounds like you were also with, or at least in the vicinity of, the chairman of the board of directors of the Arizona Aerospace Foundation, Count Ferdinand Von Galen. Definitely a rarified combination of movers and shakers present. Wish I could have caught a picture of that meeting!
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Lawndart
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Post by Lawndart » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:57 pm

"Will you break the sound barrier?"

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Post by Thumper » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:12 pm

My cousin's grandfather, "Oli" Olinger said that he used to fly with "Hoot" in the 62nd FS. I showed him the pictures in this thread last weekend and he got a real kick out of seeing a recent picture of Col. Gibson. I think the last time he saw him was in the late sixties.

"Oli" just turned 80 last month but you wouldn't know it to look at him. He attributes his good health to "years of pulling 4-5 G's day in and day out".
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Cobra
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Post by Cobra » Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:31 pm

That was a different Air Force back in those days. Look at the height (or lack of it) that some of those passes are being made at. Great to look at but no margin for error.
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