Confederate Air Force - Whatever Happened to them?
In 1977 I spent a memorable month as an 18yr old volunteer in Harlingen Tx at the world's 10th largest Air Force (or some similar stastic) and got to crawl all over every one of the 50 or so machines there, including an eye-watering 40 mins in the back seat behind the legendary Lefty Gardner in his P51 as we hurtled between the garage and house at his ranch at 400Kts, 20feet and 90deg of bank looking up at the roofs!
How then did the CAF become so reduced to the small organization it seems today - does anyone know the politics and reasons behind it?
Whatever happened to the Buchons and He 111s? They seem to have left the inventory.
Does the Mossie that was bought by Roger Tallichet (speling?) (Planes of Fame / Yesterday's Air Force??) and ferried out of Harlingen in spring 77 by said Tallichet still survive? I have a spectacular pic of it blowing its coolant during taxi for departure from Harlingen before they hard-wired the pressure relief valve shut...I almost wept for that poor aeroplane, they seemed so clumsy and careless with it.
CAF memoirs anyone?
I've got loads of good 35mm slides of that visit, one day if I can find a slide scanner I would like to post them - the B23 Dragon blowing 3 yards of flame is a cracker! And inside Fifi - flight deck, waist position, tunnel....