Aviation Classics Issue 12

Well, the magazine is officially two years old with this issue, No. 12, the Chance Vought, or Vought, or Goodyear or Brewster, F4U or FG-1 or F-3A, Corsair. Almost as many manufacturers and designations as the Harrier in the last issue, but also like that aircraft, one immortal name. It is a very fitting aircraft with which to celebrate our anniversary, being a definite classic, but at the same time an unusual one, rather like Aviation Classics itself. The Corsair was a big, heavy aircraft for a fighter, not possessed of the classic good looks of a Mustang or Spitfire. This was a big tough bruiser, powerful and mean looking. I remember first being entranced by the Corsair and its unusual appearance when I was a kid, building the Air fix kit of the aircraft. It was noticeably bigger than all my other Second World War aircraft models, and its wings, when finally glued on, made me question if I had it the right way up.

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Aviation Classics Issue 11

I find this page hard to write, especially when I am angry. One day my best friend counselled me thus: "If you feel anger, write about it, it will give you perspective and calm the emotion." Okay, it's worth a try, thought I. That said, you are looking at the 24th draft of this introduction. See, I told you it was hard. I started writing about the Harrier years ago. I was captured by the unusual capabilities of the aircraft, the very oddness that is the essence of a Harrier in flight. So many great engineers and aviation pioneers tried and failed to create a working V/STOL fixed wing aircraft, then in the middle of this struggle, a Frenchman is introduced to two Englishmen by an American... and against all odds they succeed, not just succeed, but succeed brilliantly. It sounds like a set-up for a joke, but the "punchline" was the world's first operational single engined fixed wing vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft, the Harrier.

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Aviation Classics Issue 10

Just so you know, and I make no excuses for this, I have found that this is the hardest page to write in the whole magazine. Summing up an entire edition in a few paragraphs, particularly when you are dealing with such a large subject as this, is difficult without leaving out something important, making it sound glib, or worse still, trite. Consequently, when it came to the Mosquito, information was not the problem. The problem was trying to understand the true nature of a legend, and express it clearly. A lot of people listen to music when they write. I listen to The Goon Show and Monty Python. There is something about the absurd constructs and lunatic juxtapositions that seem to free the mind. The Gumby Theatre was playing and there, right at the end of the sketch, was inspiration. "Adapted... by putting it on a piece of wood and banging a few nails through it". Admittedly, the Monty Python boys were talking about Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, but they could have been talking about the Mosquito. Suddenly, I got it. I understood the legend.

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Aviation Classics Issue 09

As I began my second issue as editor, I found myself dealing with an aircraft I thought I knew well, the F-86 Sabre. As time went on however, more and more came to light that I was unsure of or found questionable despite the oft-documented history of the type. This is where I really began to understand the power of friends. Doug Dildy, an ex-F-15 driver and a tremendous aviation historian of note, introduced me to Dave Powers. Doug was writing the excellent Korean War section of the magazine and suggested Dave as the man to cover the naval variants of the Fury. As a docent at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Dave was well placed to research the types in depth, and did an astounding job as you will see. Of course since we were covering a Naval topic, Norm DeWitt s suggestion of a piece on the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation was another great idea. He and Keith Draycott have produced an excellent piece on the celebrations.

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