Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large jet powered military transport that was designed by McDonnell Douglas, now a part of Boeing. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. It came into service in […]
Tuskegee Airman Bob Ashby Bob Ashby enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age seventeen as a candidate for the Aviation Cadet program. He was called to active duty in August 1944. Bob as was assigned to Keesler Field, Mississippi for basic training and testing for entry into the Aviation Cadet Program. In December 1944 […]
Here is one of my favorite painting subjects – the North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell bomber of WWII. This painting was for a pilot’s group and honored the people who built and flew the B-25. Its most notable exploit was its use by Jimmy Doolittle and his Tokyo Raiders, but it served with distinction all […]
In the flight training process, new cadets learned how to fly a small airplane like a Piper Cub. After the Cub, they had dual instruction in an aircraft like the Boeing Stearman PT-17. At that point, they transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field for basic training in the Vultee BT-13. The final step for the […]
Tuskegee Airman Walter Palmer Born in 1921, 1st Lt. Walter J.A. Palmer became a US Army Air Force pilot in 1943 graduating in class SE-43-F. He flew 158 combat missions over Italy and Germany during World War II. He was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. In February 1944, the […]
DOUGLAS C-54C “SACRED COW” The first aircraft built and used for the president. Its first Presidential flight was in February 1945 to fly FDR to a conference at Yalta to meet again with Churchill and Stalin. The U.S.S. Quincy carried the President to Malta where the “Sacred Cow” took over and flew him to Yalta, […]
Tuskegee Airman Jack Holsclaw In his senior year of college, Jack Holsclaw enrolled in the government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program and earned his pilot’s license. On October 5, 1942, he enlisted in the army as a private. He entered pilot training at Tuskegee Army Airfield as a member of class 43-G-SE. After completing his […]
Boeing VC-25a Air Force One SAM 28000 Boeing VC-25a Air Force One. The Boeing VC-25a is the military designation of the 747-200Bs. They are highly modified from the original civilian 747-200B airframes. There are two of them – SAM 28000 and SAM 29000. They were introduced into Presidential service on August 23, 1990. Their interiors […]
Boeing VC-25B Now, on to the future, the Boeing VC-25B. The current prime Air Force One aircraft, the Boeing VC-25As, are getting to be old and technically very behind the times. The 89th Airlift Wing has been using these two airplane for thirty years now. They were based on the Boeing 747-200 airliners, an earlier […]
United Airlines DC-10 flight 55 “Executive One” – The most unusual Presidential aircraft! On December 26, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Mrs. Nixon, their daughter Tricia and about twenty three White House staff and personnel, boarded United Airlines DC-10 flight 55 to fly from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles International Airport. They were traveling to […]
Tuskegee Airman Clarence Jamison Lt. Col. Clarence C. Jamison was a pioneering Tuskegee Airman, with 22-years of military service during and after World War II. His journey from Little Rock, Arkansas to Anzio, Italy and to Korea is one of historic firsts and heroic accomplishments. While living in Chicago with an uncle and attending University […]
Toward the end of Eisenhower’s second term, in 1959, the Air Force added the first of three specially built Boeing 707 jet aircraft (VC-137As) into the fleet. Not really intended for presidential use, one of these aircraft, SAM 970 (nicknamed “Queenie”), was “borrowed” for the president when other world leaders, Nikita Khrushchev in particular, started […]
The CONVAIR VC-131H (Air Force One), called the Convair 580 in civilian airline use, was a twin engined turboprop airliner. It was very highly thought of by its pilots and crew members. The 89th Military Airlift Wing acquired a few of them to use as an aircraft to haul Washington DC dignitaries around with the […]
The Palm Springs Air Museum’s P-51D Mustang “Bunny” was originally Bob Pond’s aircraft. He had purchased it in 1981. My first flight in it was in the summer of 1992. Out of all of the airplanes that Bob had in his collection, this was his favorite one. He just reeky clicked with it and loved […]
Tuskegee Airman “Rusty” Burns Tuskegee Airman “Rusty” Burns was born Isham Albert Burns in New Orleans in 1925. He and his family moved to Los Angels in 1939. He attended Jordon High School where he studied aeronautics. When he turned 16, he was able to get a job at Burbank Airport. He was working with […]
DOUGLAS VC-118 (DC-6) “INDEPENDENCE” After Harry Truman assumed the office of the President, it was determined that a more high performance aircraft would be in order so on July 4, 1947, a new Douglas VC-118 (DC-6) transport was commissioned as the Presidential aircraft. It was called the “Independence” in honor of Truman’s hometown. This aircraft […]
There is a little known story that most people are’t aware of, the Tuskegee Airmen P-39 Airacobra. The first of the four fighter squadrons to deploy into combat from Tuskegee Alabama was the 99th FS. They deployed to North Africa and were attached to other US fighter groups. There, they experienced combat flying in P-40 […]
Tuskegee Airman George “Spanky” Roberts Tuskegee Airman George “Spanky” Roberts had already received his pilot’s license in the Civilian Pilot Training Program when he entered flight training in the first class at Tuskegee, Alabama. It was July of 1941 and the US Army wasn’t convinced that young black men would make good military pilots. There […]