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Fairchild PT-23 at our local CAF chapter

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Becky (My pronouns are Assigned/By/God):
This week one of our local Commemorative Air Force chapter pilots flew a PT-23 from Dallas, Texas to Richland, Washington, where it will reside. This morning my husband is going over to see it. I was interested to note that it is an open-cockpit plane, and the flight took five days or so. Of course I thought about his wife who must have been saying constant rosaries, as the plane was made in 1943.

I know, blah blah mechanics overhauled it meticulously, blah blah.

I’m really glad he made it. And desperately hope my husband doesn’t want a ride in it.

Anthony:
One of the airports I was based, New Garden, N57, had a Fairchild specialty shop that restored these planes, so I'd see PT-19s, PT-23s, etc., in the pattern all the time. Very cool. There as safe as anything else.

Rush:
I’m just a scaredy cat girl.  When Patty Wagstaff invited us down to party and fly (not necessarily in that order) with her and Snort Snodgrass I chose not to go up in the warbirds and instead flew with Phil Knight in his Extra.  Somehow I felt safer doing aerobatics in a newer airframe. But like I said, I’m chicken shit.

nddons:
Becky, I wouldn’t worry about your husband in that. I have 110 hours in a CAF 1943 Fairchild PT-26, and they are good airplanes. The PT-26 is the closed cockpit version of the PT-19, and the PT-23 is the radial engine variant of the PT-19.

This is me flying over Holy Hill in Wisconsin. They are solid aircraft and a blast to fly.

Rush:
They have cathedrals like that in Wisconsin? You'd think you were flying over somewhere in Europe.

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