|
There are no requirements for entering this contest. Anyone can participate. ANA member or not. The award will be an appropriate prize with the winner's name and details about these aircraft. The award will be presented at the Third Annual Gala on 15 JAN 2002. If the winner doesn't attend, the award will be mailed for a nominal fee. Therefore, enter the contest NOW!
Stick to the bare facts, but the most complete answer wins, and in the event of a tie, the entry with the earliest date WINS! Be sure to include the plane's manufacturer, name, designation, and MOD number if appropriately significant. If you know the plane's nick name, include that. It will serve as an additional tie-breaker.
All of November the identity of this plane was disclosed in This Week in Naval History in the first November date.
The month's hint is this plane was the first jet to land on a carrier and the first tri-gear Navy airplane.
THE MYSTERY PLANE IS A RYAN FR-1 FIREBALL, THE NAVY'S FIRST JET PLANE TO LAND ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN 1944-45. Only 66 were built.
New member Joe Lucas, YG '46, submitted a full dossier of this aircraft in the form of a detailed printout of its history. Joe not only knew the plane, but had 16 hours in type.
Grand Champion Buck Buchanan, YG '43, also knew and flew the plane, but was disqualified so we could have a new winner. It is my experience, that Buck is never wrong when it comes to plane identification, but can't identify a Navy G-2 flight jacket from a G-3. |
