Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasGR
A few months back I was reading the memoirs of a WWII RN pilot who was assigned to Avro for acceptance testing. On his first day, the chief test pilot took him up and did a slow roll in the Lanc. He was amazed. Not really germane, but interesting.
Right now I am reading Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography "I could never be so lucky again." He was in Chile demonstrating the Curtiss P-1 (IIRC) in the early 20's, when a late night party with Chilean flyers had him demonstrating a handstand on a windowsill, 15' above ground. He kept his balance, but the windowsill crumbled and he landed on both ankles, one crack in one, many cracks in the other.
They rushed him to the hospital and the doctors put casts on both ankles, but the wrong cast on each one.
He still had to demonstrate the P-1, so escaped from the hospital and tried to fly the aircraft with the casts. That didn't work so well, so he cut the casts off and flew with busted ankles. When he tried to go back to the doctors for another cast, they refused to admit him. So, he went to a prosthetic salesman who fashioned some cast like things. To fly, he clipped his feet to the rudder pedals (which later on precluded his bailing out during an emergency later).
He traveled around South America for a couple of months like that. When he returned to the US, the doctors were horrified and his mangled ankles and how the set...he was confined to bed for months recovering.
Again, not germane, but interesting...at least to me.
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Me too.
Like Chuck Yeager partying the night before the sonic flight and breaking his shoulder on the way home. He fashioned a stick to activate the hatch lock and flew into history.
Jimmy Doolitle helped me with my Breedlove Land Speed record projects. He still had a lot of zip and determination.
I didn't think there was anything unusual about being carried out to the Lancaster, by the guys who were going with me. The only thing I found strange was the fact that three otherwise sane people were willing to go along with someone who had just broken his leg and had never flown a Lancaster.
Lynn