Control Line: Navy Carrier
APOLOGY. Before this column is published, I hope to have met Jim Welch personally and to have apologized for the creative spellings of his name which have appeared in my recent columns. In case we did not both make it to Norfolk, Jim, I'm sorry. Mystery Plane. The winner of the Mystery Plane contest for the May 1985 issue was Ronald A. Muise of Mansfield, MA. Ronald was selected from among a large number of readers who correctly identified the Miles M.38 Messenger. The Miles was relatively easy for those who read Air Classics. Had I known that the March Air Classics had featured the M.38, I would have waited a while before using it as a Mystery Aircraft subject.
I985 NATS: CL Navy Carrier
"IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES; it was the worst of times." Charles Dickens had other events in mind when he wrote those words, but he could have been describing Navy Carrier at the 1985 Nats. As is always the case, the spirited competition, the fellowship, and the sharing of ideas and opinions make any Nats Carrier event an enjoyable occasion. When the weather cooperates and provides clear, cool days with calm winds, it is, indeed, the best of times. When the wind blows at 17 mph with gusts to 25 mph, the only thing that could make it much worse would be rain. Carrier competition this year had a little of everything. Wednesday, the day that many competitors planned to practice and adjust engines to local conditions, the rain fell all day long and half the night. Thursday, Profile morning dawned drier, but very windy. There were a few early flights, but most contestants elected to wait and see if the wind would subside.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
THE WINNER of the July Mystery Plane contest was Ray Brow (Manchester, NH). Congratulations, Ray, on identifying the Bellanca XSE-2. The Mystery Plane contest will resume with the next column. My own research (and letters from readers over the past few years) has pointed out several rather unique aircraft for our event. I've saved a couple for the Mystery Plane contest, but I'll list the others this month. If any of you have any information on additional prototypes which might qualify for our event, such as the Lockheed F0-1 (that's a Navy P-38 Lightning) that was sighted at the NACA facility at Langley Field with a tail hook mounted, let me know.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
MYSTERY PLANE. This popular feature is back. This month's aircraft shouldn't be too hard; there is a strong family resemblance which tends to give away its lineage. I'll select one correct entry to receive a year's membership in the Navy Carrier Society. Send your entries directly to me at the address shown at the end of the column. Good luck. The Navy Carrier Society (NCS) is the special interest group designated by the AMA for the CL Navy Carrier events. It allows its members a voice in the operations of AMA as they concern our events. The results of NCS questionnaires on rules proposals are used by the Navy Carrier Advisory Committee and the CL Contest Board to help determine the rules by which we fly. The society is responsible for running the Carrier events at the Nats and presents the Eugene Ely Award annually to the top Nats Carrier competitor.
Control Line: Navy Carrier
THE MYSTERY PLANE in the March issue was the North American XSN2J-1, which also carried the company designator NA 142. The Navy owned two which it evaluated as intermediate trainers intended for carrier training among other activities. With most of its new service aircraft being purchased with tricycle landing gear, the Navy decided that its trainers should also be so-equipped and asked North American to produce a tricycle-gear derivative of the XSN2J-1. Thus was born the T-28 Trojan, which served long and well. This month's Mystery Plane is another aircraft which did not reach production.
