Well, here we go ...

Welcome to the forum.  A really interesting set of aircraft you've flown there. 

Sorry, I'm not familiar with what PIC is?  Does that mean you have 23,000 hour in a DC3???  Obviously, that many hours means you were professionally using it in a full-time job.  Where does something that old get used like that any more?

Posted by: @a109

My name is Michael, and my callsign is Thumper.

I'm a retired Power Engineer, who has always had an interest in aviation, as both my parents were RCAF.

  I ended up in the Navy, because - at the time - pilot slots were unavailable - and my recruiter said; 'no problem ... just go here, and re-muster later'... (uh-huh) ...

After leaving the Navy, I went on to pilot training, and have accumulated over 23,000 hours PIC, flying DC3, SNJ (or Harvard - depending on what color it was painted), C172, Piper 140 & 161, SF260 Marchetti, P51TF and a P51D.

Hi Michael and welcome to the forum.

An interesting career you've had there.

What are your interests?

The forum has many members of such a wide range of interests and experiences that whatever your passion I'm sure you will find it rewarding

Regards

Ron B

@inq “PIC” = Pilot-in-Command, and no, it wasn’t all in the DC3 … (but there are some still flying cargo in remote areas). 

@ronbentley1 Interests?  That’s a subject that’s ever changing.  I have several RC helicopters, a few drones - which BTW are ‘interesting’ to get through airport security when it’s carry-on, and equipped with thirteen (13) cameras…

Last year I bought a CNC machine, then added a 40W diode laser to the workshop, and lately I’ve been creating shop ‘infrastructure’, I turned a storage bin into a downdraft paint spray booth /w lighting, and a DHT-11 inside.

At the moment, I’m still building out the new workshop, adding benches, shelving, labelling the component drawers, solar charging for the helicopters, upgrading the electrical, and adding more lighting.  It now looks like a ‘nuclear winter’ in here if all the lights are on…

 And then there’s the liquid fuelled rocket …

@a109 I often saw the Polish pilots flying the Harvards back in the late 50's, can't remember if it was 4, 5, or 6 of them but the ground shook when they overflew us at what seemed like a few hundred feet. They had an entire building at the Mt Hope Ont Canada airport. As I recall the planes escaped Poland when Hitler invaded and somehow they ended up in my backyard. That airport today houses the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum where one of two remaining Lancasters calls home. Check out some oldies but goodies https://www.warplane.com/aircraft/collection.aspx

@zander

 This is Speedball Alice as we did a rejoin over the Reno Air Races in 2009....

...and that distinctive sound of the 9-cylinder radials in the Harvard is a combination of the propeller tips breaking Mach 1, and the sound of the radial...

@a109 

Splendid! Thanks for the info.

Kitting out a workshop is an organic process, it really never stop but evolves! Ha, ha.

Dont forget to sometimes keep feet on ground and head out of the clouds, only joking. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Good luck 

Ron B