A little quiz, if anybody's interested...

[wingman]

Good "people" picture Neal. You always understood the importance of photographing the humans, not just the machinery. Dad and Mom did a lot of that too. And later on Birgitta became quite skilled at getting images of air racing people.

Anyone else remember standing at one pylon or another in the relative quiet in between races, breezes picking up, smelling cigarette smoke wafting and before even turning to look upwind being pretty sure that it was Neal who was the source of the fragrance?

At least I'm remembered for something....

[RAD2LTR]

Do you recognize these Neal?? I wonder how they fit into the above referenced thoughts?? (Geoff Goodall pics)
Sparrow

I'm guessing those pics are from shortly after Strega was shipped over from Australia, where the aircraft were pulled off a nuclear test range. At least one of those planes flew out after sitting there for several years. Very cool pic, thanks for posting.

Will

[wingman]

The photos are from Australia. I found this account on Mike Henniger's site which includes the Geoff Goodall shots. Strega has a complex lineage...

Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - North American Mustang IV, s/n A68-679 RAAF, c/n 111-36388, c/r N71FT



The "Atomic Mustangs" were completely different, but fascinating in their own right. The one that was flown out ended up years later in Alabama after a long and often sad journey. There is actually a lot of stuff on the web about that one.

GEOFF GOODALL'S AVIATION HISTORY SITE

Mustangs at Emu, South Australia 1 of 3.avi (youtube.com)
Mustangs at Emu, South Australia 2 of 3.avi (youtube.com)
Mustangs at Emu, South Australia 3 of 3.avi (youtube.com)

[L.E.D.]

The internet provides:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99lXChVpXFM

A68-1 was flown out, and I was able to read A68-27(?) and A68(?) 30 on another.

[Jan]

At least I'm remembered for something....

Oh fiddle faddle... You're remembered for a lot. Anyway, in the spirit of fun there are at least one or two photos of you in the files around here from the late 70s or early 80s maybe ambling around the pits looking very contemporary shall we say. I should dig those up. Far out....

[wingman]

That sounds scary -- I had hair back then...

[Sparrow]

If I recall, there were 6 Aussie Mustangs left for the nuclear tests. If you look around a bit on YouTube, there is a good video that discusses it and the story of how the 1st one was gotten out of there. It was the A68-1 which is in the US at this time. The guy that got them out of there got a bit of heat for a while but it was eventually sorted out.

[wingman]

This was Strega Mk. 1, at Reno 1984. They went from concave wingtips to this almost immediately. Note the original scoop, presumably copied from the one they put on Dago. The prop is that odd one that these guys all liked. It's interesting how rough the airplane was. Bill Kerchenfaut described that wing as looking like a bulldozer had run over it. The fuselage looks the same way. That's Ron Hevle in the flight suit. Skip Holm always described Ron as "The Jolly Green Giant" -- he was pretty big. One of the nicest people in the sport.

[mdwflyer]

Did the bondo happen in one year or was it split up?

[Shawn Aro]

Nice pictures

[Shawn Aro]