Yeah, kind of evil looking the 109 is. If anybody really want to know in-depth about flying one of those things, as told by a German Fighter Ace in World War II, get this book: "A Higher Call" by Adam Makos. In a nutshell, this German Fighter Pilot showed mercy by not shooting down a crippled B--17 after a bombing raid. 50 years later, one of the B-17 pilots, happy to be alive, started searching for the German Fighter Pilot, and found him. Now living in Canada. They met and talked.. (Why did you not shoot us down, why..?) Quite a good story, I could not put the book down. Anybody in S Florida want to read it, I will trade the book for a 6-pack of Coors Light. In case he did not blow his own horn: HTM09 is/was a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot flying F-104s Starfighters and F-4 Phantoms before he became a Yacht Guy.
And if I would have had the choice, I would still be one (exept for age). After a chain of tragic events in the family, I had to leave the military, in oder to prepare for taking over the family business. Would have been far to egoistic to place my personal fun over family loyalty. Also being a LtCol of the Air Force Reserve (no payment, no pension , just gives me the entry ticket for such events and sometimes the landing clearance for military airfields), I was not offered a backseat ride in one of jets on display (an ejection seat would be to dangerous for my old and rotten bones anyhow ) but the Follow Me driver gave me a ride to Base Ops in his R8 for flight planning and I was allowed to sit in an Eurofighter and an A 400 M cockpit, fair enough. The only other time I have seen such a fast accelerating car on a runway was this one: The 140 mph TR1 / U2 Chase car. A Camaro Z/28 or other types, driven by a TR1 pilot who is waiting in the number one position for a landing TR1/U2. As soon as the TR1 passes him, he accelerates like a dragster and follows the aircraft during the final phase of the landing. As the TR1 pilot has almost no visibility during the flare, the chase driver talks him down and reads out the height of the wheels above ground prior touchdown. And most of the time, the chase driver is even able to get out of his car and grab one wing before it lays down on the pavement. Amazing maneuver, I must say.
I'm generally not a fan of the extended Defenders, but... wow, that must make for a lot of nice living space!
Wow, that's a fine canvas top, it's even got proper LR Alpine windows built in. That's nice. As a Landie fan, that's one expo-truck I could live with for a long while.
Yes we customer made this roof so nice on 150 chassis you can sleep at 2 adults + 2 kids on top... You live in Antigua during part of year? Hugues
Maybe this is what I should do with my old G500, respray it yellow and fit portal axles and 22" wheels...? It needs a new paintwork anyway...
Another interesting story about an enemy combatant that chose an alternative course. I had forgotten about this story, but just happened on it last night on PBS TV Secrets of the Dead: The Man Who Saved the World. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov
Cool. This book is well written and is not only based on a true story: It is the real thing. I am off just about every day, you name the bar and the time, I will be there with the book
Pretty lean times when Loren Schweizer is your date: Actually a nice afternoon, we went cruising on my GB 2770, Loren brought beer AND was the designated driver.
Let me help getting the thread on track... This is the current state of the restoration of 72 Etype V12. We modified the bonnet (aka hood) to use original covered headlights instead of the awful open headlights regulators imposed on the E late 60s.... The V12 is going out for a full rebuild. Hoping to get it back on the road by the end of the year!