Hangar Tales Archives - Flight Journal

Doolittle Raiders: a first-person account

My name is Edgar McElroy. My friends call me “Mac”. I was born and raised in Ennis , Texas the youngest of five children, son of Harry and Jennie McElroy. Folks say that I was the quiet one. We lived at 609 North Dallas Street and attended the Presbyterian Church. My dad had an auto […]

I survived a Piper Seneca in-flight break-up!

I found your article on Seneca tail flutter quite Interesting and it brought back some sobering memories of December 27, 1976, as I am one of the pilots who luckily survived a Piper Seneca in flight break-up, I would just like to add some comments that may help aircraft owners realize the potentially serious problems […]

SOUNDS LIKE A PERSONAL PROBLEM: An F-8 reserve pilot’s story

In those ancient days, the blue skies of Western Florida were kept clear of hordes of Commie bombers by airplane drivers who wore spiffy blue flight suits, gaily checkered ascots, and shiny black flight boots. Each day, they launched their mighty delta-shaped craft into the stratosphere over the Gulf, skillfully following the electronic chess moves […]

A hectic night at the office with a Hornet

Greetings Slacker Landlubbers, Hey, I felt the need to share with you all the exciting night I had on the 23rd. It has nothing to do with me wanting to talk about me. It has everything to do with sharing what will no doubt become a better story as the years go by. So, there […]

Mach 3.18 in-flight breakup of an SR-71 Blackbird

Among professional aviators, there’s a well-worn saying: Flying is simply hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror. But I don’t recall too many periods of boredom during my 30-year career with Lockheed, most of which was spent as a test pilot. By far, the most memorable flight occurred on Jan. 25, 1966. Jim […]

The Bridges at Toko-Ri – the rest of the story!

Having flown 100 combat missions during the brutally cold winter of 1950-51 in Korea on the same type of sorties as those described—I can readily understand the situation. The main difference is that we had to land under marginal weather conditions on wet/icy PSP runways but we faced the same flak and 50 cal guns […]

Run Over by a Carrier

Jerry ‘Turkey’ Tucker was with the Blue Angels during the last years of the F4’s then stayed on for the first two years of the A4. During Viet Nam he flew F8U’s. He’s now a senior Captain for Southwest. Here’s his incredible true story of falling off a carrier while inside his aircraft. yikes It […]

I’ve Lost My Rio

Blackbird Mission Over Israel’s Live Battle Fields

Egypt and Syria opened an offensive against Israel, in late ‘ 73, by launching a coordinated series of air, armored and artillery attacks into the Sinai and Golan Heights. The preemptive strike came as a result of a diplomatic failure to resolve territorial disputes. Egypt’s Sadat was convinced he had to initiate a war with […]

New Zealand Rail freight train waits for a Fieldair DC-3 topdresser (crop duster) to clear the runway

A sight seen nowhere else in the world: a New Zealand Rail freight train waits for a Fieldair DC-3 topdresser (crop duster) to clear the runway before proceeding across at Gisborne Airport on the east coast of New Zealand. This is believed to be the only place in the world where a main trunk railway […]