"The High and the Mighty" 17 July 05

[BD King]

The paper back looks great. Dodie inscribed and mailed Islands to me recently. A perfect companion in the cockpit. Do you get up to the island often?

Thanks. I'm picky on the book covers. With any luck will be up that way this fall.

www.bdkingpress.com

 

[BD King]

Good catch! I had forgooten about the younger guy in the crew. Actually the navigator was perfectly cast in this movie. If you ever were around many navs, this guy was a compilation of everyone I had known.

Actually, I cheated. I recalled the fourth guy but forgot his duties, so I opened the book to find out...........and so Robert Stack got to move along and become Striker.

www.bdkingpress.com

 

[BD King]

You know I'm just "running with it"...that is the visual image presented by the commercials for that movie with the Duke slapping Robert Stack. How would you make a movie like that today?

I've had to elbow a body builder student in the ribs during a flare now and then...you know the ones, the ones with the "death grip" on the yoke...so I can relate to the Duke in the slapping scene.

Yeah. I've had to do more than elbow a guy. Whacked the dummy on the side of the head. We were doing stalls in a Champ and on recovery he slammed the stick forward and locked both the throttle and stick. We were past vertical, on our way to an English Bunt. He decided that the life of aviation wasn't for him. Thank God.

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[Spooky 1]

Popsicle

Yeah. I've had to do more than elbow a guy. Whacked the dummy on the side of the head. We were doing stalls in a Champ and on recovery he slammed the stick forward and locked both the throttle and stick. We were past vertical, on our way to an English Bunt. He decided that the life of aviation wasn't for him. Thank God.

www.bdkingpress.com

Yea, knew a guy like that once upon a time. His call sign was "Popsicle" because he was frozen on the stick!

 

[Donsa320]

Actually if we are counting heads, the "Stew" was up front smoking a lot of the time too.

~DC