Thought it would be fun to share some photos, please post your own too !



I couldn't resist taking this one, I swear that Gull has a smile on his beak !



This is me when I was skinny, yeah the guy on the left ! I'm standing with Squadron Leader Don Nichols a Spitfire Pilot from WWII (Two-Four-Nine Squadron) at Duxford Airfield U.K




Hope you can read this one, in the lower photograph there is a Polish Girl who was a ferry pilot ! Awesome !




What could be better for a young lad ? Two girls and a Spitfire.....ok..maybe a MINI too



A couple of one of my favorite Actresses' Tara Fitzgerald





Here's a photo of one of my Mustang's I had



And the real one



Here's where I proposed to Leona over in England, Trinity Hall in Cambridge



Cheers,

Mike

 

that was fun, thanks for sharing

 

Awesome....

Thank you for sharing.

 

Way Cool !!!! Really appreciate you sharing those Sir !

Derek

P.S. Let me know the next time you go out to the park by BWI approach... we'll try to meet you there ! It might be a nice place for a club picnic if we have enough interested place spotters amongst us.... either BWI or if anyone knows of good spotting grounds around National or Dulles.

 

Speaking of the club picnic, MrMellowYellow and others are having a secret plan for the event.
Rumour said it's going to be sometimes in June. I heard that it's going to be fun and yum.

 

Wow....great photos! How do you know Tara Fitzgerald? She's a fox

 

Yep, behind the scenes a bunch of us have been working on putting together a picnic to kick off summer in early June.

Things are still in the planning stage but here's what we know so far:

1) The picnic will be in upper Montogomer County at a park with a beautiful setting around a huge lake. (see photo below)

2) It'll be fully catered. Christine (ccc777) is working on getting the event catered with full service so we could just kick back and enjoy ourselves. No cooking, no cleaning...sweeet!

3) We'll start off with a morning run that'll hit the back and main roads around and on Sugarloaf Mountain. Bev and I have been scouring and running and re-running routes and the best one seems to be just under two hours.

Laura (greencactus) and Chris (maxicooper) are also helping with the arrangements and we all agree...we want this event to be HUGE! A lot of DCMM member make it to an event or two here and there but we saw the need for an event that'll bring everyone together in one location for a day.

I hope everyone sets aside some time in early June. Details will follow.

Glenn

 

Yes, great photos, Mike.

You should let us know when you take your planes out flying. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would love to watch. I can so picture heading over your way on a lazy summer day. Sounds and looks like fun.

Glenn

 

you guys rock. keep it up!

 

Glenn has got a point ! I'm sure that more than one of us would like to see your air force !

Derek.

(I need to find my Polish Air Force badge and post a photo of it....)

 

Only in my dreams as Leona points out ! I'm not positive but these may have been publicity shots from the movie "Dark Blue World" though the Spit she is in was not in the film. "Her" spit is MH434 usually coded in her wartime markings of ZD "B". Apparently, the spit has now been repainted as a 315 (Polish) Squadron plane.



If you have never seen the movie you should !

 

You got me going and I found some new photos I had not seen before....





and in a Tiger Moth ! I love this plane, I intend to fly one this year - if all goes well ! Gotta get my flying weight down !



I was able to confirm that these photos are from the publicity shoot for the film.

Mike

 

Guys - I fly just about every weekend, weather permitting, especially Saturday since Leona's at work. Currently my fighters are limited to a 1/4 scale Fokker DVII. My Mustang, Kittyhawk and Thunderbolt are all down for repairs and maintenance. You would think I'd have a Spitfire eh? Well, I have had several but have never been happy with their performance. I have two 1/5 scale kits in my shop to build. I might get back on the MkXIV and have it out before the end of the year. Work takes its toll on my motivation and dedication to build these birds. The stress is one of the reasons I joined DCMM, needed to do something different !

Right now, I have been flying a 1/4 Scale Piper Cub that is entertaining to fly. Give me a few weeks and I'll at least have the Mustang back on line.

We have a "scale" fly-in coming up in June or July, I'll check the dates, but if you're interested, its worth coming to see.

Cheers,

Mike

 

Thought I would keep things rolling - please feel free to post pics here

This is the very first airplane I ever "flew" hah ! I think I was frozen stiff at the controls ! It is a beautiful plane...Stinson SR-5 based out of Clarksville Nothing like the sound of a radial.....'cept the sigh of a Merlin !




Many of you have seen my wife Leona ......check this out, most of my photos of Leona are film rather than digital, I'll see if I can get the scanner working....anyway....this is Simone Simon from 1940 something...scary how much she looks like Leona !



Here is Squadron Leader Nichols in his Spitfire circa 1944/45 somewhere I believe in Italy



Polish Pups in the RAF ! That's a Mustang MkIII they're on...



I have a 1/4 scale model of this bird, a Miles Magister.....aaahhh...what a classic airplane.....I have fantasies of flying one of these with Leona in the front cockpit....blond hair and scarf blowing in the breeze



Here's the Fokker DVII that my buddy built for me, top wing is 88"....compared to a WWII fighter this thing flies like a truck !



That's it for today !

Cheers,

Mike

 

Wow these are fantastic photos and love the bit of historical info! Thanks Spitfire...and hubba hubba to Simone LOL!

 

 

Hmmmmm....I think they forgot that women flew too ! Of course that was in the ATA, Air Transport Auxillary, that Jackie Cochran of WASP fame worked with. She brought back the idea of women ferry pilots to the US and the rest is history. The Brits didn't seem to have the hang up of women aviators as the US did.

Thanks pl4ypl4y !

More coming later !

Mike

 

You served in the Polish Air Force, Derek? What did you do and do you have any photos? I loved seeing Mike's photo from way back when. Would love to see anything you have from your military service.

Glenn

 

Glenn, Sorry to disappoint but I was 2 years old when my parents came to the US.... I just have a boatload of Polish and Russian medals, a couple of uniforms, some uniform items though. Might bring them out someday...

 

Definitely bring them out. Once in a while I scour eBay looking for stuff like that. Would LOVE to see them!

I didn't know you were only 2 years old when you came over. I thought I heard you say that your wife wanted to go back in a few years so I assumed you came over relatively recently. Then again, I can't hear all that well so I may have misheard you.

Bummer...I was about to ask you if you guys make authentic Polish foods and stuff!

Glenn

 

We ARE going back in app. 8 - 9 years ... to Warsaw... taking Ms. Brahms with us.... and yes, I'm told that I make a MEAN hunters stew (Bigos) and a respectable tripe soup (traditional) !

 

Oh, thanks for the Milk Bar recommendation, Derek. We told our friend about it and she'll be going. She found this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaw...and/index.html

And if you ever get a hankering for pierogies, if we don't make them, we order from here:

http://www.pierogiesplus.com/home.htm

Take a look, they have other traditional foods as well. Pretty good stuff...but the overnight shipping will kill you.

We'll have to talk more about you moving back to Poland. The though occured to me as well.

g.

 

You're right, Mike....she soooo looks just like Leona! I'd love to see them side by side.


g.

 

Check these out........I never understood why women were always crazy about pilots.....until I saw a gorgeous brunette crawl out of a Piper Cub at an antique fly-in.......hubba hubba is right !

Hard to tell but this is either a Spit XIV or maybe a XVIII







Russian women pilots



Wow ! I think I was born at the wrong time !






I'm sooooooo jealous !

Cheers,

Mike

 

Great picks. I'd love to came and see you fly. Let us know