Trip, F6F Hellcat Video
I won't be answering comments on youtube for the next couple weeks as I'll be heading out on my trip. If all goes according to plan I'll be at the USAF museum in Dayton early on Thursday, Old Rhinebeck on Saturday and on the following Saturday at the Flight Sim Expo. If any of you see me there please say hello.
When I get back I should be able to put the Hellcat video up within a day or so. A dedicated Hellcat video is long overdue on this channel and I have a lot to say about that plane. It's very different from the other first string US fighters.
I'm excited about this trip. I'm using an RV rental, and I like RVs, I just don't to own one. I'll probably make a video about that aspect of the trip.
Does anyone else remember the Avalon Hill game "Richtofen's War"? I played that so much when I was a kid that the game board came apart, I ran out of score sheets and have to have copies made (a much bigger deal In 1977 than now). I really loved that game and at the time, there was no flight sim option for fans of aircraft. It was rare to even see videos of them. The plane on the cover was from Old Rhinebeck, which was also described in the game literature, so I have wanted to go there since I was in grade school. Sadly for me, it's out of the way. I grew up in California so getting the parents to take me there wasn't going to happen.
As an adult, I never had a good chance to go their either. All my New York area layovers were always either too short, or at the wrong time of the year. I did take a lot of vacations with my kids, but that was too far out of the way, as nobody else in my family is all that into airplanes.
Thus now at 59 years old (I'm turning 59 tomorrow) I am finally getting to visit Old Rhinebeck. I'm quite excited.
Greg
Comments (26)
Late to the game (should be my middle name) - I played tons of Richthofen's War as a kid in the 1970's, and continued to play over a few beers with friends into the 1980's. I think one of our crew still has the box and game set. Getting copies of the tally sheets was always a problem (Xerox machines were not so cheap to use back in the day). You could order sheets from AH, and the price was nice, but it took weeks. AH was great about supporting their games "at cost" which made it easy to be loyal to them.
Hello Greg, this is Michael von Bornemann, a subscriber & Patreon of yours. I know it would be hard, considering how little information I could find on the subject, but I think it would be great to see you do a video on the Ford XV-1650 V12 aero engine. Apparently when Rolls Royce sent their blueprints for their Merlin engine across the pond for some reason, the FBI confiscated them for a few weeks for Ford’s perusal. Well Ford used them to make their own V12 aero engine of the same bore & stroke, also 32 valve, but this time with DOHCs for each bank. A 2/3 carve up of this engine was used for the Ford GAA V8 tank engines. Anyone I’m interested in how compatible the bottom end of this engine is with the Merlin, it’s reported 2000BHP & whether they copied the supercharger setup of the Merlin. Also why was a Packard licensed built Merlin pursued when they had this available, which was reported to be very reliable. About 50 of the XV-1650 engines were made, & ended up being fitted into a number of prototype & limited production armoured vehicles & construction vehicles. Anyway thankyou very much Greg for all your videos that I’ve have greatly apreciated.
Thanks everyone. I got to visit Old Rhinebeck. I was fortunate enough to meet a Patreon member there. The Airshow for the day was cancelled but that sort of thing is always a risk. It was still well worth it and I can't wait to use the pictures in some upcoming videos.
Happy birthday!
OMG I still had my copy of Richthofen's War from in the 70's, including copies of the score sheets my Dad made us at work, until if fell victim to an aggressive cellar cleaning a few years ago. It was my first real interest in aviation and it never died.
Happy Birthday, Greg! I hope you enjoy your trip. I can't think of a better place to celebrate your birthday for a plane buff than the NMUSAF. Regarding the Hellcat. If you can find anything about efforts to mate the R2600 with a 2-stage supercharger (which I understand weren't successful and hence the shift to the R2800), please go into detail, also anything you can find on the XF6F-2 which was initially fitted with an R-2600 with a Birman (or Birmann) mixed flow turbosupercharger, and then re-engined to an R-2600 with a Birman turbosupercharger.
Happy birthday!!!
I have many many hours playing Avalon Hill games - a variety of them. They are LONG gone unfortunately. Have fun on your trip.
Happy Birthday Greg, wish you a great trip!
Happy Birthday and have a great trip. I fondly remember Richthofen's War, a lot of fun.
Happy birthday! Have a great trip. RVing is a lot of fun and a great way to travel. Check out Harvest Host, a great resource when on the road.
My dad took me to the USAF museum in Dayton when I was about 10. This was around 1970. I stood and stared at the Dora 9 and it forever became my favorite plane. To me it was the most beautiful fighter. The Spitfire was graceful, the P-51 exotic but the Dora was a muscular beast.
My last visit to Rhinebeck was about 20 hrs ago. I remember Cole Palen as the Black Baron. Hopefully it's still the special place I remember!
Greg, I played the other Avalon Hill stuff like Jutland, Midway, and 1914 - still have a Jutland set in a closet somewhere. I, too, grew up and still live in SoCal, and also pined to visit Old Rhinebeck back in Cole Palen's heyday - I might have a chance in a year or two, but I'm a decade out ahead of you at 69. Also have Ohio roots, though, with cousins still living in Dayton, and you are going to love the AF Museum - I visit there with the perspective of a child of the sixties, able to remember seeing the #2 XB-70 in the air pulling a contrail over an Edwards airshow (God, you could see that distinctive planform clear as a bell!), while the #1 airplane was on static for the show (or was it the other way around...) - I guess that must've been 1966? Anyway, burned into my memory at roughly age 11, and visiting the AF Museum includes visiting the AV-1 XB-70 as an old, very impressive acquaintance. But in the Dayton area, it was walking the Huffman Prairie Flying Field, now on-base of sprawling Wright-Patterson, where the Wrights did their flights in 1904-1905 that really gave me chills. That and seeing the Restored 1905 Flyer in Carillon Historic Park - Orville was actually supervising the initial restoration work, so it's as close as we can probably see to an original early Wright! Anyway, Happy Birthday, and can't wait to see the F6F video - the Hellcat was such a beautifully adapted TOOL for the task at hand, and so bloody manufacturable! Knowing that they had to have a docile low-speed flyer for all those low-time ensigns to bring aboard ship, and listening to the early reports from Wildcat pilots about the need for initial rate of climb improvements, and visibility over the nose for deflection shooting, and actually listening to those troops - thank you Grumman and BuAer. Not ultimately the thoroughbred the Corsair became, but a much smoother development path and I wager a lot fewer pilots killed in training, high availability and enough performance margin over the A6M and Ki-43 to do the job in late 43 through 44, by which time the issue was largely decided!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday, Greg. I hope you enjoy your trip. I have never been to Old Rhinebeck, but have made many, many visits to The USAF museum in Dayton. It is so big you can't really see it in one day. After a few hours, my brain gets saturated and I find myself moving faster and faster, missing a lot of detail. I never played "Richtofen's War" but I spent lots of hours playing "Dogfight" around 1974. No home video games then. here is a link to some images of the game. https://boardgamegeek.com/image/204982/dogfight
Happy Birthday Greg!!!
Happy Birthday Greg ! I just turned 80 myself on the 5th. If you're at Socal, I'm at L00. Come on up for lunch sometime and we'll go fly the Navion. Love your channel... all the Best for the trip ! Yours, Ron
Very Happy Birthday Greg!
Happy birthday, and enjoy your trip!
Have a GREAT trip!
Happy Birthday. Try the Warped Wing Brewing Company when you are in Dayton.
Greg - love that you get to go to Rhinebeck - it is as magical as you imagine!
Happy birthday Greg! Enjoy your trip. Tanti auguri ;)
Happy birthday Grey! Hope the trip goes well - maybe do a short video of what’s at Old Rheinbeck in the future?
Happy Birthday my friend! Take lots of pics and videos for us! I know speaking for myself I can wait to see them and one day make a similar trip of my own. I run into similar situations when it comes to my wife she absolutely supports my passion but doesn’t always want to partake to the extent I do but I digress, have a great, safe trip brother!