Buck's Hangar

The following is a small online photo album chronicling some of the
people, airplanes and interesting stuff I've been hanging around over the last couple of decades.
I'll be adding to it as time goes on, so check back from time to time.

April 1989: Fellow fighter pilots Dave and Dave taxi out for a little sightseeing flight in "backseater Dave's" J-3 Cub in Tucson, AZ. He based it at Davis-Monthan AFB, and flew it off of their two-mile long runway -- a bit of overkill if I've ever seen it.
	March 1989: This time-worn beauty is the last Convair B-58 Hustler bomber ever built. This is how it looked the first time I laid eyes on it. I had just moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, in Tucson, AZ to begin flying the A-10 with the Air Force, and I decided to volunteer my spare time at the nearby Pima Air Museum. When they asked me which of their hundreds of airplanes I'd like to restore for them, I jumped at this one. The B-58 has been one of my all-time favorite airplanes ever since early childhood. At the museum, I spent a week researching the aircraft's external markings, then another three months of my spare time polishing the fuselage, scraping off 20 years of corrosion, and carefully re-painting over a hundred insignias and markings. As more volunteers joined the project, we replaced the tires and began restoring the cockpits.
	After a few weeks of work, the nose section was beginning to look a lot better. We'd removed the cracked outer layers of the windshield, polished the fuselage, painted the anti-glare panels, and repainted all the insignias and stencil markings. The rest of the airplane received a similar treatment. During the restoration, I got to open the canopy for the first time since the airplane's arrival in the "boneyard" in the 1970s. The cockpit was like a time capsule, containing not only all of the original instruments, but also the printed flight plan card from the aircraft's final flight, and a Number 2 pencil and circular flight computer left behind by the pilot who last flew it.
June 1991: Coming Home From War: Here are some of my fellow combat Hog-drivers, during a well-deserved moment of jocularity. We'd just flown our A-10s for 8 hours (and performed 4 in-flight refuelings) from King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia to Sigonella Naval Air Station, Italy. Operation Desert Storm was over and peace was at hand. We hadn't been home in six months and, needless to say, we were excited to be out of the desert. When this picture was taken, we had not yet located the nearest supply of adult beverages. Left to right: "Hoover," Psycho," "Irish," "Bino," "Yankee," "JC," and "Viking."
	June 1991: That's me. I think I was saying, "Hi, Mom."
The mighty Hog goes skyward. The A-10 could assume this attitude long enough to get her picture taken, but not much longer. But seriously, although she was underpowered, she was simply a wonderful airplane. She flew well, fought well, and was tougher than any airplane has a right to be. She saved my life on several occasions. I spent 540 hours alone with this special lady, and even today, I miss her. My last A-10 flight was on November 21, 1991. I can't believe it's been that long. [More A-10 information]
	December 1991 to September 1996: Though I didn't want to leave the tactical aviation community, I was very happy with my follow-on assignment as an Instructor Pilot in the Northrop T-38 Talon. Another sweetheart of an airplane, the T-38 "White Rocket" requires considerably more skill to fly well than most airplanes do. That's why I liked it.
September 1992: Upon my arrival in the remote, Mexican border town of Del Rio, Texas to begin a long tour as an Air Force Instructor Pilot, I realized that I would need to find myself a hobby or I would go insane. So I bought this Bowers Flybaby. As simple an airplane as you can get for half the price of a car, the 65-horsepower Flybaby is a popular homebuilt design featuring a single seat in an open cockpit. It cruises at 80-85 mph and burns only four gallons of gas per hour. It was just what the doctor ordered. I spent many happy hours buzzing around over the moonscapes of West and Central Texas in N3826 during the seven years I owned her. (And just for the record, I only lost one race to a westbound Union Pacific train near Comstock, TX, but that was because of a 20-knot headwind.)
	Summer 1993: Another opportunity to enjoy aircraft ownership came along rapidly on the heels of the Flybaby's arrival. My friend Ian and I became two-thirds owners of this 1954 Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, and we flew it all over the place, including trips to Alabama, Florida and Wisconsin.
December 1993: Laughlin AFB, Texas: A couple of my fellow T-38 instructors, Luigi and Marcus, at a squadron Christmas party, accompanied by an apparent fan of military aviators (and really cheesy ties). A few months after this party, I received a new assignment as an Instructor Pilot at Randolph AFB, Texas, teaching current Air Force pilots to be T-38 instructors.
	In 1995, I joined a newly-formed unit in the Commemorative Air Force which flew this 1943 North American B-25J (Marine PBJ-1J) called "Devil Dog." After a lot of work, our group, mostly composed of airline pilots, got this vintage bomber airworthy, and took her to airshows all over the country. Devil Dog is still active on the airshow circuit.
A round motored, 1941 biplane is certainly an anachronism in today's world of high-tech, but let me tell you this: There just ain't nothing like feeling the wind on your face as you slip gently down through the cool, late-afternoon air to touch down gently on a grass strip, with the engine going pock-pock-pock and small specks of engine oil flecking the windshield. And there ain't a better plane to do it in than a Meyers OTW. Powered by a 7-cylinder Kinner radial engine, the Meyers will only go 100 mph, but it will quickly take you back in time. This particular airplane was owned by a couple of friends of mine, and they occasionally granted me the honor of flying it.
	June 1996: One of the most beautiful aircraft to grace the skies: the Hawker Hunter. This example, N617NL, is a two-seat T.7 model of the popular British fighter, and was owned by Grace Air in Corpus Christi, Texas. When I was asked if I'd like to fly it, I answered, "Hell, yes" before the question could even get past my brain-stem. I'd always admired the Hunter as an example of "high art." Now I had a chance to actually fly this legendary airplane. John Childress allowed me a bit of of medium-altitude aerobatics to get the feel of the airplane, then took over and began his aggressive, low-altitude airshow profile. We beat up the airfield for over 20 minutes, trading off maneuvers in a monkey-see, monkey-do fashion. I loved every millisecond of it, and decided then and there, that one day I will own a jet warbird. Go ahead and laugh.
	July 1996: After my "fini-flight" at Randolph AFB in the T-38, my buddy Ian and I posed for this hero shot. What a couple of studs, huh?
Fall 1996: I landed the Dream-Job! Here I am doing a walk-around inspection on "my" new airplane, a United Airlines DC-10. I spent a year and a half as a Flight Engineer, and got to do a lot of traveling, not only in the US, but also in the Far East and Latin America. I learned a lot about airline flying in the mighty DC-10 -- mostly practical tips like how to balance a tray of food on your lap without spilling it all over yourself. (I learned this tidbit by watching the First Officer one day as he failed to do it correctly. Little did I know that my new-found tray-balancing knowledge would not be needed in my next airplane.)
	Summer 1998: After sitting sideways in the DC-10, I moved up the the right seat of the Airbus A320, a 144-passenger, fly-by-wire technological marvel. My previous DC-10 experience had shown me the benefits of tray tables, and the A320 is the only airliner with real, pull-out tray tables for the pilots. This feature is made possible by the absence of control yokes. Instead, the airplane is flown with a small side-stick controller on the side of the cockpit. I flew the A320, and the slightly-smaller A319, for over two years -- on mostly domestic routes.
Fall 1998 -- Summer 2000: After two years out of the Air Force, I got an extraordinary offer: Fly the T-38 again as a part-time Instructor Pilot in the Air Force Reserve. I took the bait, hook and all. The paint job had changed from white to two-tone gray, but it was the same aerial sports car it always was. I flew it about 12 times a month at Laughlin AFB, Texas, when I wasn't flying for the airlines. What a country!
	December 1999: I bought this lovely, patriotic 1975 Bellanca 7KCAB Citabria. It was a heck of a lot of fun. I sold it in the summer of 2004 to make way for a homebuilt airplane kit -- an RV-8.
February 2000: My neighbor, Tony, checked me out in his homebuilt Bede BD-4. It's a nice-flying airplane!
	My friend Brian own this immaculate Stearman. Residents of South Texas have seen this sight in their fields for over 60 years now. Brian and I have been known to fly a little formation in our respective airplanes, but since the Stearman cruises about 30 mph slower than my Citabria, it's can be hard work for me. (Not that I don't enjoy it, Brian...)
Here, another friend of mine, Darrin, leads our 2-ship formation low over the hills of West Texas in his Cessna 180, as we head to Del Rio for a week of Air Force Reserve flying.
	August 2000: Me and my buddy Les, terrorizing ourselves and the inhabitants of rural Texas in my Citabria.
My friends Mario and Les drag Mario's Yak-52 out of the hangar for a little afternoon fun. (I'm not sure which is more interesting, the airplane or the 1930s-vintage Clarke tug.)
	Mario's Yak in full grunt. Yes, the landing gear is fully retracted.
September 2000: My friends Jeff and Kim, sitting on the wing of the B-25 we flew to the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada. There's no better place from which to watch an airshow.
	November 2000: I began training on the Boeing 777, the airline industry's newest pride and joy. At a maximum takeoff gross weight of over 600,000 pounds, it's a very large hunk of metal which also happens to fly *very* nicely. In the nearly two years I flew it, I did a lot of international flying, mainly to England, France, Germany, China and Brazil. Industry downsizing and the events of 9/11/01 resulted in me leaving the 777 fleet in early fall 2002. I hope to go back to this airplane someday.
March 2001: Cindy and I begin a long trip from Texas to California in my Citabria. There's no better way to get to know someone than spending four days in a small airplane with them.
June 23, 2001 marked the 20th anniversary of my first soIo. The aircraft in which this momentous event took place was a Schweizer 2-33 sailplane based at the Schweizer Soaring School in Emira, New York. As the anniversary approached, I wondered where the old girl might be these days. A quick Internet search revealed something incredible. She was now based less than 30 miles away from my home in Illinois! I immediately phoned the glider operation there and booked an afternoon with my old friend. She was showing her age a little bit, but she flew great. I lifted off almost exactly 20 years to the hour after that warm summer day when I was 16, and the world suddenly became mine. Is that cool or what?
	September 2001: My friend Jim got checked out on my International Harvester Farmall tractor. He looked right at home -- he'd obviously logged some previous time on these things.
October 2001: It's dusk over Moline, Illinois, and four L-39s carve their way through the sunset. (Thanks to the guys who made it possible. You know who you are.)
	February 2002: On a clear, winter afternoon in Illinois, my friend Glenn and I turn final in his ski-equipped Piper J-3.
September 2002: As I mentioned before, my airline downsized me off the Boeing 777 fleet due to all the turmoil in the industry. I'm now flying the Boeing 757 and 767, the latter of which is pictured here. I do a lot of domestic and some international flying, a combination I'm enjoying. There are still a lot of changes going on at my company, and it's a little chaotic at times. But at least I have a job -- many of my friends do not.
	September 2003: In addition to my airline flying, I also fly the L-39 Albatros as a staff instructor pilot at Pride Aircraft. It's a very rewarding experience to see a student who's never flown a jet airplane learn and grow into a type-rated jet warbird pilot. It reminds me of my time as a military instructor, in more ways than one.
September 2006: I've resumed, with great gusto, the construction of my Van's RV-8 kit plane. It plan to outfit it with the latest IFR gear and some special personal touches that will make it even more wonderful than the design is already. Here, the left wing is underway.
	August 2008: Turning base at Poplar Grove, Illinois in the golden light of late afternoon. Cub flying at its best.

E-Mail me at:
buckwynd at aol.com

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