THE QATSPY® Quapaw Aviation Tactical Sportswear Performance Yukon Outfitter Company,An Authorized Dealer & Distributor for US WINGS®
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAY, and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
By: Charles W. Boatright
The Two Classic Horses of the American Spirit– The P-51 Mustang and the Ford Bronco that are two of the enduring images of American History
One of the most popular fighter aircraft that still remains the number ONE Fighter of all times even compared to modern fighters is the P-51(D) Mustang that ruled the skies during World War II. Not only did the P-51 provide bomber escort to the B-17, B-24, and B-25 on their bombing missions, the P-51 also provided close ground support to the infantry, mechanized infantry, and armor units.
The Tuskegee Airmen (the Red Tails) that flew the P-51 also flew bomber escort and bombing missions during World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen record was so legendary that they were requested by bomber squadrons for fighter escort based on their kill rate of enemy fighters to and from target. In the Christmas song It Is a Wonderful Time of the Year talks about- There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.
This was a reality brought to life by our Boy Scout Leader to a group of scouts, when we were gathered around the campfire waiting with anticipation on his spellbinding war stories that seemed to suspend all sense of time. He told of one story how two Red Tails P-51’s escorted them back to their base after their B-24 surfer damage from anti artillery flak over the target. Our Boy Scout leader described how two Red Tails flew off each of their wing tips as being the best sight he had ever seen. See his story: Angels From The Sky to Guide Us.
The Classic Bronco
The first story of this article, Angel From The Sky to Guide Us, was from my uncle’s accounts in the First Division that landed on Omaha Bench on D-Day. What I remember from him besides his story that he could tell overcoming his emotions after we viewed Saving Private Ryan was his Red Ford Bronco similar to the one in our hangar above. That took us on numerous expeditions.
If you want to know what Christmas Season is all about, it comes down to remembering how people in our past and present have touched our lives. Even if they might not be in our lives today. Their memories live on in sights and sounds that we come in contact with on those special occasions, like every time I go to our hangar.
Those Precious Gifts that Never Fade
I just describe two precious gifts that will never fade from my memory due to how important these two people meant to me. Christ gave us a precious gift of life that allows us to break our bonds that prevented us from enjoying a relationship with Him. Even though we have no record of the exact time of year Christ was born, we set aside December 25th to observe His birth right before starting a New Year.
So when you talk about the amount of Horsepower these gifts in my memory can generate, these two are most prevalent for me as the two Horses of the P-51 Mustang and the Ford Bronco. Both are classics in their own right that have memories that we can actually see, touch, and hear.
When you sit in the cockpit or in the jump seat behind the pilot and hear that Rolls-Royce Merlin engine fire and throttle-up you feel those 1,490 horses that shake the aircraft that are more real than just a memory.
Jim Harley P-51 Flight From the Cockpit
Jim Harley, that works with us at US WINGS®, made a video from the cockpit of his P-51 several years ago while he flew with other WWII aircraft:
Special Thanks
I would like to thank the staff at Mississippi Center for Plastic Surgery for working me into their schedule back in October within two day to remove a very painful spot on my skin that was benign where I could make a flight to Kentucky on business the following week. I would not have been able to sit in the cockpit if it wasn’t for their medical attention, it was that painful. They are located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, at 200 West Jackson Street. PH. (769)300-4055:
