WHAT'S ALL THIS , THEN?
painting "Combat Rescue" by Philip E. West; used by permission skyraider.org spaddvr@gmail.com
Okay, I admit it; I’ve got this thing about the Skyraider. Every aviation enthusiast probably has one particular machine which stands out among the pantheon from 1903 onwards as their all-time favorite, and the hulking old taildragger in all her guises has been mine since I stood up next to my first one, hardly taller than the main wheels, at some airshow back in the 50’s.
I have vivid memories of craning my preteen neck away from the bikinis on Virginia Beach (no small achievement) to watch A-1’s out of Oceana buzz over low enough I could see the color of the pilot’s helmets as they, more than likely, ogled the same collection of curves.
There are also darker recollections from not so much later when occasionally the same comforting rumble reminded me I had friends in high places while I kept my own steel pot low as I could.
As fates would have it, though, I have always been destined to love her from afar. While I did subsequently go on to a long and varied career as a professional pilot, retired now with a skosh under 34,000 hours accumulated in some 30-odd different aircraft types over forty plus years, in all of it I am unable to boast so much as a single Skyraider hop. This is a singular omission I will forever regard with wistful regret as something of a diminution of accomplishment.
As an aviation enthusiast I am also a dedicated researcher, historian and model builder/dioramacist. Over the years I have managed to accumulate a moderate accumulation of data, reference and detail which has helped flesh out many of my own projects featuring my favorite subject and it is my hope by sharing it here there may be some benefit for others who may be of like mind.
I have been fortunate to amass a small showcase of various awards for my attempts, a fair number of them resultant from efforts with the Skyraider. While the trophies remain to gather dust most of the models are gone now; sold, given away or in a few cases sadly falling victim to the dynamic of innumerable moves.
Of late, though, I’m doing something about all that. It is the research, history, modification and production of these new miniatures which I would like to share with the modeling world on this site as an ongoing “labor of love” in the hope likeminded miniaturists or researchers will gain something useful from my efforts in commemorating, what is for me, one of the greatest airplanes in history.
Best Regards,
Bill
