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Posted on 04/10/2005 10:30:02 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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Flying and Dying for Hollywood A daring group of former barnstormers introduced American film fans to flying thrills and chills in the 1920s.  They flew their rickety aircraft within a few feet of the ground, looped them again and again in dangerous maneuvers and roared earthward in seemingly suicidal dives, pulling out at the very last minute. Some clambered out onto the wings thousands of feet above the ground to do handstands, swung from ropes to transfer from one plane to another, or hung suspended from the struts of their aircraft and dropped onto other vehicles -- planes, speeding boats or automobiles. These were the danger-loving fliers of aviation's early days, widely known as barnstormers.  In the aftermath of World War I, a select group of these daredevils found new audiences, performing their stunts in the silent feature films and serials that proliferated throughout the 1920s. The novelty of flying was highly appealing to film producers, and audiences of the day were fascinated by this new technology and its ever-present dangers. An elite group of pilots would gain fame from their cinematic exploits. Dick Kerwood, Al Wilson, Frank Tomick, Ormer Locklear and Dick Grace all started out performing their stunts on the county fair circuit -- until the movie industry made them famous. Sadly, the breathtaking stunts that wowed movie audiences also claimed the lives of many skilled aviators during those heady years. It was no wonder that stunt pilots became known as the "Squadron of Death."  Dick Grace Efforts to make the stunts appear more realistic onscreen often led to some unintended consequences. Joe Bonomo, who did many parachute jumps in his career, described one scene that almost resulted in his drowning when he bailed out of a plane over water. He and another performer were supposed to leap from an aircraft with only one parachute, but when no other stunter would agree to jump with him, he decided to use a dummy -- which proved to be a wise decision. When Bonomo hit the water after the jump, the wind was blowing violently and his parachute was pulled through the water like a sail at a rapid clip. Using the dummy as both life preserver and shield (to block the water hitting his face), Bonomo managed to stay conscious. It was almost half an hour before a speedboat finally arrived to pick him up. Bonomo later quipped, "I'm probably the only man in the world who owes his life to a dummy."  Joe Bonomo, famous movie stuntman of the 1920's and '30's, hoisting a man with one arm on the roof of his Hollywood, California Gym. Circa 1920's. Such quick thinking under pressure was common among stunt pilots -- and many would owe their lives to it. Ormer Locklear had built a reputation as a fearless flier long before he started stunt-flying, while he was serving as an instructor for the U.S. Army Air Service. When the radiator cap blew off his aircraft during a training flight, for example, he casually climbed out and stuffed a rag in the opening to prevent boiling water from blowing back into the cockpit. In 1919, while performing at a carnival, he made what may have been the first public transfer from one plane to another in midair. It was at such carnivals and fairs that Locklear pioneered many of the eye-popping stunts other wing-walkers would copy in the years to come. Locklear eventually made his way to Hollywood. One of his first films was The Great Air Robbery, which enabled him to perform many of his signature moves. In one scene he changed planes in midair, and in a later sequence he climbed down from a plane to a speeding car, fought with the villain, then grabbed the undercarriage of the plane above him and climbed back into it just as the car overturned and crashed.  In 1920 Locklear and his friend and pilot Milton "Skeets" Elliott were hired by producer William Fox to do aerial scenes for the film The Skywayman. Locklear performed a variety of hair-raising stunts for that movie, including a train-to-plane transfer and wing-walking. He even performed at night -- rare at the time -- illuminated by searchlights. On August 2, 1920, he and Elliot were to execute the film's final aerial stunt, a spiraling dive at night over oil fields near Los Angeles from 5,000 feet with phosphorus flares glowing on the wings to give the impression the plane was on fire. Locklear had told the director to kill the searchlights illuminating the dive to signal when it was time for the pilot to pull out. But for some reason the lights were never turned off, and when Locklear and Elliot finally realized how low they had fallen, it was too late. The plane crashed into the pool of an oil well, killing both occupants.  Not one to sacrifice exciting film footage, producer Fox took advantage of the publicity and rushed the film into release -- including the final, fatal plunge. To his credit, however, the moviemaker did earmark 10 percent of the film's profits for the families of the men who had died. Clearly, safety precautions were seldom uppermost in the minds of early stunt fliers. Few used parachutes, and often the only safety device involved in stunt sequences was a rope tied to the plane's strut and the ankle of the performer. In a way, stuntmen seemed eager to tempt fate.  Earl Burgess, who had also served as a flying instructor during World War I, became a barnstormer at the war's end. Hired as the stuntman in a film that was eventually dubbed Sky Eye, he executed plane-to-plane transfers, a leap from a plane to a speeding train, and a fight on the wings of an aircraft in flight. On February 6, 1920, Burgess was doing a scene in a film for comedian Chester Conklin and accompanied by flier Walter Hawkins. Like too many stunt fliers, Burgess had refused to wear a parachute. According to some reports, he was also out of condition and overweight. He was apparently supposed to climb out on a wing, simulate a fight with a dummy, knock the dummy (the "villain") off the plane, then climb back into the cockpit.
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Good morning feather.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
SuzieQ being one of my favorites.
It's amazing how some people were just born to fly and to push the envelope.
This talent runs in your family and we are certainly grateful for their many sacrifices. Which reminds me, we really must get some more information so we can do a thread on your dad and uncles.
ROTFLOL!
I'll have to rent it and watch it again while I wait for "The Professionals" to come out on DVD.
Free dixie and Hugs back atcha!
Thanks for all the computer update reminders, youngin'.
I'll wish for at least good weather on your birthday Wednesday.
As for me, thanks to prayers and antibiotics I am once again climbing out of the blahs I've had the past three weeks!
We really must get some sunshine here so business will pick up. Our advertising campaign begins late this week so that should help.
Best of all we are not discouraged and quite happy to be in business for ourselves and still keep the Foxhole alive.
I turn 41 years old on Wednesday
Great! In a couple of years your age will match your IQ.
I'm gonna run and hide now, :-)
Ryan X-13A-RY Vertijet, USAF s/n 54-1620, Ryan Model 69, one of two built. This experimental aircraft was designed to test the practicality of vertical takeoff and landings from a trailer that would transport it. The trailer bed would be raised to a vertical position and the aircraft, which was equipped with a hook under the fuselage that connected to a cable on the trailer bed, would be started and take off in a vertical position. One airborne, the aircraft would transition to horizontal flight and complete its mission. On landing, the aircraft would transition from horizontal to vertical flight and maneuver to place the hook over the cable.
This aircraft made the first full-cycle flight on 11 April 1957 at Edwards AFB, California. It was transferred to the U.S. Air Force Museum in May 1959.
Hi miss Feather
Hiya Sam
Howdy ma'am
Yeah, thanks on the "cranky, drunken vets." Much prefer the guys who responded by turning their experiences into pursuing understanding and raising families.
Not to say my record is much to brag about!!!
The old timers would say "Character is Destiny". Seems that way, hey?
Today it's sunny and 50 - the snow's melting fast!
That business of figuring out how to get the Apollo 13 guys back, take the stuff they had and figure how to make it work, is just so darned wonderful. No quit in those men.
Naturally, like to think I could have been of some use in the situation, if I had been up to speed.
Other than some lingering muscle aches the worst of this sudden bug seems to be over. No fever today, no more sore throat.
LOL. So it's all your fault.
Meanwhile I'm warming up Oregon with my SUV.
Yep, global warming is all my fault. We visited Arizona a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. So, I'm gonna drive my SUV all I can to warm things up around here.
We've got a bit of a cold front coming through here, maybe I'll go start my car up and run it for awhile. ;-)
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