| Jeff Reeves' trip to the USA - all about aeroplanes, large and small |
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Earlier this year I had visited the USA, accompanied by Dennis Percival and our wives, to compete in the Vintage Stunt Contest (VSC) held in Tucson Arizona. (See report on the Vic Stunt web site). We continued on to Europe after the VSC and I had to leave my model behind so I left it at my friend Bob Whitely's house. I intended to have it shipped back to Australia in the future. Some time later, Bob priced the shipping cost for the 4kg package at US$580 or about $A775 at the time. Gulp! Then fortune smiled on me. United Airlines advertised a special airfare to any city in the US for $A930, or very little more than the shipping cost for the model. The thought occurred to me that I could go to Dayton to see the Air Force Museum and come back via Tucson. Once there I could play toy planes with Bob and take my plane back as luggage for free. In theory anyway. |
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| National Museum of the US Air force at Dayton Ohio | ||||
| I spent three full days at the museum and it was a dream come true.
Click image for a photo tour. |
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| Los Angeles | ||||
On Thursday 12 November, Bob and I drove from Tucson to Los Angeles; about an 8 hour drive. We had three things in mind:
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| 1957 Chevrolet | ||||
| We went to a parts dealer in Los Angeles and Bob asked the man behind the counter if he had a carpet for a 1957 Chevrolet two-door. "What colour do you want?" was the reply. "Red" said Bob and away went the clerk to fetch a red pre-formed carpet for a 52 year old car. They also had all of the other body trim parts that he wanted. Amazing. Only in America and my guess is that only in Los Angeles as well. |
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| Boss Hoss | ||||
| Bob and I visit the Los Angeles distributor for Boss Hoss motorcycles. The Boss Hoss has a 350 c.i. (5700cc) liquid-cooled V-8 that produces 355 HP @ 5250 rpm. Some models even have nitrous bottles attached for those moments when you need extra power. Seriously. Click photo for a tour |
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| Charles Mackay Competition at Whittier Narrows | ||||
| Bob won all three major events: Classic, Old Time Stunt and AMA Expert. I placed a very pleasing 6th out of 18 in Classic flying my trusty Thunderbird. For me to place so well means that it wasn't windy. Click image for a photo tour |
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| Charles Mackay poses with my Thunderbird | ||||
| Sugar versus vinegar | ||||
| The following Wednesday, it was time to return home. The airline had very strict limits on baggage sizes and weights and my model box was clearly over-sized. The check-in clerk asked what was in the box. I replied that it was a model aeroplane and that I would very much appreciate it if she could classify it as sporting equipment.
This she did and I got my model back to Australia as part of my baggage allowance. When I unpacked the plane back in Sydney, it had suffered no damage at all and is now re-assembled and ready to fly. |
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| The high point | ||||
| When I was travelling in the bus over to the refurbishment hangars at the Air Force Museum, I heard a man behind me ask his friend "Of all the planes here, which one would you want in your back yard". This was a great question and I thought "What would I want in my backyard?" It's the SR71, still the fastest jet plane ever, an all-titanium masterpiece. For me, seeing the SR71 and its predecessor the CIA's A12, was the highlight of the trip. |
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