[GreenKeys] Of old machinery

[Bruce Gentry]

I am amazed! Someone else on this earth admits to listening to Oscar 
Brand's (and others) aviation and Air Force songs.   I was learning to 
fly in  1967 when I was in high school, and a friend lent me three 
albums of Air Force and aviation songs recorded  by Oscar Brand. I was 
instantly captivated and hooked.  Earlier, another friend had gone with 
me to the airport to see what private flying was all about, and saw me 
make a really aweful landing. He said I landed like a gooney bird, and 
the nickname stuck. I did get a chance to fly a DC-3 on a maintanence 
test flight as co-pilot, and it took a week for the smile on my face to 
vanish.  My parents and the school adminstrators were not so thrilled at 
me teaching the Air Force songs to friends and hearing us GLEE-fully 
belting them out in gym class or at the nerd table at lunch. AND- to 
stay "on topic" , I had a model 14 typing reperferator at that time  I 
used to receive the then very active RTTY on the ham bands.  Does anyone 
remember W4BLK?  I copied a mile of reperf tape from him or her.   
Things change and time goes on, but I follow the advice of  a song  from 
a TV show I loved..."Don't Stop Believing"

      Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY


On 8/31/15 11:07 PM, Dave Horsfall wrote:
> Here's a little something that I distribute fron time to time:
>
>                   THE GOONEY BIRD
>
> In 51 they tried to ground the noble DC-3
> And so some lawyers brought the case before the C.A.B
> So the board examined all the facts behind their great oak portal
> And then pronounced these simple words "The Gooney Bird's Immortal"
>
> The army toast their sky-train in lousy scotch and soda
> The Pommies raise their glasses high and toast their olde Dakota
> Some claim the C-47 is best - or the gallant R4-D
> Forget that claim - they're all the same - the noble DC-3
>
> Douglas built this ship to last but nobody expected
> This crazy heap would fly and fly no matter how they wrecked it
> While nations fall and men retire and jets go obsolete
> The Gooney Bird flies on and on at a mere few thousand feet
>
> No matter what they do to her the Gooney Bird still flies
> One crippled plane was fitted out with one wing half the size
> She hunched her shoulders then took off - I know this makes you laugh
> One wing askew and yet she flew - the DC Two and a Half
>
> She has her faults but after all who's perfect in this sphere
> Her heating system is a gem and we love her for her gear
> Of course the windows leak a bit when the rain comes pouring down
> She'll keep you warm but in a storm it's possible you'll drown
>
> Well now she flies the feeder routes and carries all the freight
> She's just an airborne office - a flying twelve ton crate
> They patch her up with masking tape with paper clips and string
> And still she flies - she never dies - Methuselah with wings
>
> (Anon.)
>