The Collings Foundation's F-100F Super Sabre from INVERSION on Vimeo.
Col. George 'Bud' Day got to fly F-100F Super Sabre painted up as 391 recently. The HUN joins the Collings Foundation's other jet warbirds - F-4D Phantom II, TA-4J Skyhawk, and UH-1H Huey. Meanwhile the USAF is still holding hostage all the F-105 Thunderchiefs.
H/T - Ace of Spades. More pictures and info on the F-100F can be found here. The plane is a former Danish Air Force plane that had previously flown in the colors of the Thunderbirds.
4 comments:
Talking to Christina Olds yesterday as she recovers from a Super Sabre Society reunion in Las Vegas. She sat with Bud Day (and Chuck Yeager and Bob Hoover) at the formal dinner. Says Col. Day is in fine fettle and doesn't seem to have slowed down much at all. Hand salute! And God bless him.
Meanwhile the River Rats and the Collings Foundation are hard at work on leveraging the F-105 problem. House Armed Services Committee was supposed to have a vote on this either last Friday or early this week.
Apparently all existing airframes of F-105s, whether on sticks or gate guards or in museums, are the property of Nat'l Museum of the USAF in Dayton and only out "on loan". Some disagreements about whether or not NMUSAF is obstructing, but we will be sitting with former director, MGen Metcalf and current director LtGen Hoover in three weeks at the River Rat reunion to twist some arms. A couple of hundred former F-105 drivers can command a bit of publicity!
Ed, I am glad Bud Day is still going strong. It would be awesome to somehow attend one of these gatherings of such warriors, rock stars and their groupies pale in comparison.
I hope all this effort to secure an F-105 pays off. I wonder how the NMUSAF would react to protestors outside the USAF Museum with signs saying "Free the F-105!" :) Until then, contact the Congresspeople to show support for a flying F-105.
It would be the ultimate in ingratitude to picket the NMUSAF. In the last five years they have devoted considerable effort to updating and developing the Vietnam/Cold War hall. They've built a very complete display focusing on the 100 Missions North participants including some remarkable restorations of both an F-105D and an F-105G Weasel along with Robin's F-4D "Scat XXVIII". They've also built a beautiful section about the Wild Weasels and really been great hosts for the Rats, Weasels and NamPOWs.
I'm very honored to have my two-tour "S***-Hot" hat with two rows of mission count hash marks on display along with a couple of nice photos. Having it right next to Robin Olds memorabilia makes the honor even greater.
Nah, they aren't bad folks. They just are operating as they see best to preserve what we've got left.
Okay, stick to the email campaign then. Why antagonise for no good reason. Read you Lima Charlie.
I really do need to go visit Wright-Patt. One of these days.
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