thedrifter
04-06-09, 07:28 AM
Planes on mission from past
Remains of WWII men found
By Andy Miller
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, April 06, 2009
A passenger descends into the plane’s cockpit and, parachute strapped on, gets an emergency training lecture:
Where the cord is —- and when to pull it (not while in the cockpit). How to bail out of the plane. Where the bags are located for any sudden stomach rolls.
Pilot John Makinson also shows a passenger how to raise the landing gear. And after speeding down the runway at Fulton County Airport, with passenger in front seat, Makinson takes the 64-year-old SNJ Navy training plane slowly and smoothly off the runway.
The History Flight barnstorming tour, begun in 2003, transports riders back to World War II in a restored plane from the era. The tour came to Atlanta last week and will be here through this weekend.
The nonprofit program has a mission behind it: Proceeds from flights help pay for expeditions to find remains of WWII servicemen buried on Pacific islands.
Last year, the organization, led by Emory University grad Mark Noah, helped find the remains of 139 Marines killed in the Battle of Tarawa in 1943. “World War II has been put on the back burner for six decades” in regard to MIAs, says Noah, who lives in the Florida Keys and is a UPS pilot.
There are 78,000 American servicemen still missing in action from WWII, Noah says.
The Tarawa effort used historical documents and ground-penetrating radar to find remains. It’s left to the military to do the digging.
Besides the SNJ training plane, History Flight gives rides on a 1941 Stearman Biplane and a T-6 Texan. Thousands of pilots trained on these types of planes during the war, Noah says.
Once airborne, a passenger pulls up the landing gear, and later can take the stick and maneuver the plane up and down and through turns, while Makinson calls out instruction on an intercom system from the back seat.
History Flight offers a relatively sedate 15-minute flight —- at 130 mph, at 1,700 feet above ground —- a 30- minute ride or an hour excursion.
The more adventurous can book an aerobatics version, where Makinson takes the plane through rolls, loops, dives and other military maneuvers. The cost of the rides ranges from $245 to $725, and is tax deductible.
Flying the planes “is the closest thing there is to being a bird,” says Makinson, also a WWII buff and a former bush pilot in Alaska.
Riders from ages 6 to 96 have come aboard, he says. “We get a lot of World War II veterans,” he adds. One 85-year-old woman who had never flown before loved the rolls and loops, he says. “Women handle aerobatics better than men.”
Flying in the restored planes, meanwhile, gives a passenger a sense of the bravery and skill of the pilots flying missions during the war.
“It’s a passion. We’re not doing this for money,” Makinson says. “It’s all about the veterans —- the people who fought and died for us.”
The Web site is www.historyflight.com; to book a flight, call 888-743-3311.
Ellie
Remains of WWII men found
By Andy Miller
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, April 06, 2009
A passenger descends into the plane’s cockpit and, parachute strapped on, gets an emergency training lecture:
Where the cord is —- and when to pull it (not while in the cockpit). How to bail out of the plane. Where the bags are located for any sudden stomach rolls.
Pilot John Makinson also shows a passenger how to raise the landing gear. And after speeding down the runway at Fulton County Airport, with passenger in front seat, Makinson takes the 64-year-old SNJ Navy training plane slowly and smoothly off the runway.
The History Flight barnstorming tour, begun in 2003, transports riders back to World War II in a restored plane from the era. The tour came to Atlanta last week and will be here through this weekend.
The nonprofit program has a mission behind it: Proceeds from flights help pay for expeditions to find remains of WWII servicemen buried on Pacific islands.
Last year, the organization, led by Emory University grad Mark Noah, helped find the remains of 139 Marines killed in the Battle of Tarawa in 1943. “World War II has been put on the back burner for six decades” in regard to MIAs, says Noah, who lives in the Florida Keys and is a UPS pilot.
There are 78,000 American servicemen still missing in action from WWII, Noah says.
The Tarawa effort used historical documents and ground-penetrating radar to find remains. It’s left to the military to do the digging.
Besides the SNJ training plane, History Flight gives rides on a 1941 Stearman Biplane and a T-6 Texan. Thousands of pilots trained on these types of planes during the war, Noah says.
Once airborne, a passenger pulls up the landing gear, and later can take the stick and maneuver the plane up and down and through turns, while Makinson calls out instruction on an intercom system from the back seat.
History Flight offers a relatively sedate 15-minute flight —- at 130 mph, at 1,700 feet above ground —- a 30- minute ride or an hour excursion.
The more adventurous can book an aerobatics version, where Makinson takes the plane through rolls, loops, dives and other military maneuvers. The cost of the rides ranges from $245 to $725, and is tax deductible.
Flying the planes “is the closest thing there is to being a bird,” says Makinson, also a WWII buff and a former bush pilot in Alaska.
Riders from ages 6 to 96 have come aboard, he says. “We get a lot of World War II veterans,” he adds. One 85-year-old woman who had never flown before loved the rolls and loops, he says. “Women handle aerobatics better than men.”
Flying in the restored planes, meanwhile, gives a passenger a sense of the bravery and skill of the pilots flying missions during the war.
“It’s a passion. We’re not doing this for money,” Makinson says. “It’s all about the veterans —- the people who fought and died for us.”
The Web site is www.historyflight.com; to book a flight, call 888-743-3311.
Ellie