Ladd Gardner's Story..

[AAFO_WSagar]

Buried within the text of the interview with Ladd Gardner is, what I condiser, a "breathtaking" accounting of the engine fire and subsequent forced landing in the cotton field.

I've spoken with Ladd about the event several times and I still can not believe he pulled this off with so little damage to the airplane and none to himself (other than nearly choking on the thick smoke from the fire)

Also, and more importantly, buried in the text (on the bottom of each page) is a link to the website http://p38whitelightnin.com/ and subsequently, on that website, a link for donations to the cause of getting "White Lightnin'" back in the air.

We (the fans) did it with Rare Bear, hopefully, we can do the same in getting Lefty's airplane back in the air.

Once again, we put out the call.. a dollar, or three or five, show your support. You have no idea how far that dollar or, whatever you can afford will go!

If we fans show the Gardner family that there is hope, and more importantly, we show sponsors, waiting in the wings to see what we do, that there is sufficient support to keep this dream alive, then we can expect to see this airplane flying again under the guardianship of the Gardner family.

You have no idea of how easy it would be for them to sell this airplane and have us fans lose, perhaps forever, the chance to see "Lefty Gardner's White Lightnin'" in the air again with a Gardner at the controls.

The same goes for Lyle Shelton's Rare Bear... It would be FAR easier for the now retired and, by no stretch of the imagination, wealthy, Mr. Shelton, to sell Rare Bear and be comfortable in his retirement.

Both Lyle and Lefty are retired pilots with no personal fortune to support the airplanes we have all enjoyed for so many years.

Both Lyle and Lefty are in the position of men who dedicated their lives to bringing joy to the fans of Air Racing and air shows by continuing, against increasing financial drain, to bring their airplanes to the public.

Once again... here is our chance to say THANK YOU!

Both http://www.rarebear.com/ and http://p38whitelightnin.com/ have donation links, both are legally tax deductable... Both need our help, now more than you can imagine!

PLEASE! Help keep these two airplanes active and flying!

Sincerely,
Wayne Sagar

[Unregistered]

Haven't posted here in quite a while, but I wanted to say "thanks" for that great interview with Ladd Gardner!

And also I wanted to second Wayne's suggestion that everyone to go visit the White Lightnin website. While there, dowload the video of Lefty's airshow routine. Then go buy the Skyfire video for the WHOLE thing.

I'm very glad Rare Bear's fan sponsorship is working out, but I don't see nearly as much promotion of the Lefty Gardner White Lightnin Avaition museum, and I hope it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I count myself as a fan of Rare Bear, but White Lightnin means a lot more to me personally.

Watching that video brought tears to my eyes. its 99% the same show I saw all those years ago (before Ladd was even born) when I was about 8 years old. Seeing what Lefty did with that airplane inspired my imagination in so many ways, and probably did a lot to redirect my life interests to a career in engineering and a hobby rebuilding old machinery.

Steve L.

PS- the town where Ladd mentions going to college is Killeen, TX, not 'Caleen' :-)

[AAFO_WSagar]

Haven't posted here in quite a while, but I wanted to say "thanks" for that great interview with Ladd Gardner!

Hi Steve, good to see you here! It is an amazing and very exciting story and evey time Ladd talks about it, I think it takes him back to what is, very likely, (hopefully!) the most dreadfully exciting few minutes of his life!

He handled the situation with grace and calm and walked away from what easily could have been his last flight and nothing more than a smoking hole and left the airplane repairable!

Good Job Ladd Gardner!!!!

And also I wanted to second Wayne's suggestion that everyone to go visit the White Lightnin website. While there, dowload the video of Lefty's airshow routine. Then go buy the Skyfire video for the WHOLE thing.

LOL... yep.. and while you're there (p38whitelightnin.com) be sure to drop a few bucks into the fishbowl to help ensure this restoration project can get off the ground!

I'm very glad Rare Bear's fan sponsorship is working out, but I don't see nearly as much promotion of the Lefty Gardner White Lightnin Avaition museum, and I hope it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I count myself as a fan of Rare Bear, but White Lightnin means a lot more to me personally.

Ahh... so many hours in each day Steve.. The interview with Ladd took more hours to produce, by far, not counting the building of the website, took more hours than anything we've done to help Rare Bear Air Racing get to Reno this year.. And... with the Bear, we're working against a terribly higher priority time frame..

If they don't get her in the show this year... I doubt you'll ever see her at Reno again.

Call it "Triage" if you will..

Also, I find that, for the most part, I'm one of a few who beat these drums hard on thise board and on their websites.. To be honest, I await seeing the fans get the enthusisam going on thier own and start beating on these projects.

Quite frankly, I'm a bit afraid that you'll all get tired of hearing me saying the same things, over and over and over..

PLEASE, feel free to build bonfires anywhere you can on this project! There are numerous newsgroups that could be informed of these projects that as the owner of this site, and manager of the two others, I feel a bit timid of going out and promoting on my own in those venues...

Light the fires guys and gals! The more people who know about these projects, the more potential for getting a penny here, a penny there until both airplanes are back at Reno flying, as in thier past glory years!

Watching that video brought tears to my eyes. its 99% the same show I saw all those years ago (before Ladd was even born) when I was about 8 years old. Seeing what Lefty did with that airplane inspired my imagination in so many ways, and probably did a lot to redirect my life interests to a career in engineering and a hobby rebuilding old machinery.

Exactly why it is important to keep these airplanes flying! You were a kid and were inspired, every kid who sees these airplanes could potentially be similarly inspired!

PS- the town where Ladd mentions going to college is Killeen, TX, not 'Caleen' :-)

Thanks Steve, that one made it through both my proof of the piece and Ladd and Lefty's... You'd be amazed at how much of a blur a several thousand word interview can become after the sixth or tenth reading, combing...

Thanks for your support!

Wayne