Stephen W.
Well-known member
In the early 80’s I used to drive truck and would take my lunch break out at the airport a couple of times a week. During busy periods planes would pass over head every 90 seconds. Living just north ofTrenton now I get my flight fix daily.
Back in the late 50’s I remember seeing a row of decommissioned Vampire jets with their wings removed and crated in the field beside the main entrance into Malton airport, now called Pearson.
My father was a private pilot who built and flew his own plane back in the 30's. He reluctantly acquiesced to my mother's wishes to stop flying small aircraft after the deaths of his two closest friends in the early 50's. But he never lost his love of flying. We used to make regular visits to the Oshawa Airport to visit his old friends. He was also a Ham radio operator (VE3AZV) and worked the fly-in breakfasts and air shows throughout the 60's.
Oshawa had been a training field during WWII and old war birds seemed to roost there. An aerial survey company who owned a converted B-17 kept it in one of the hangers. There was always a Harvard or two as well as other interesting warbirds to be found, There was also a Lancaster (not flight worthy though) which rested there as well.
In the late 60's a P-51 made its home there. It had been converted to two place and you could get a ride in it for $1.00 per minute, (the approximate operational cost). So, for $30 you got a thirty minute ride. Considering warm up, roll outand taxy time the pilot said it worked out to twenty minutes actual flight time. My father so wanted to take that flight but never did. As I recall the pilot was killed in car crash and the plane was sold.
This photo of the plane at Oshawa is from mustangs mustangs dot com's P-51 who?
You can read more about this plane here
Back in the late 50’s I remember seeing a row of decommissioned Vampire jets with their wings removed and crated in the field beside the main entrance into Malton airport, now called Pearson.
My father was a private pilot who built and flew his own plane back in the 30's. He reluctantly acquiesced to my mother's wishes to stop flying small aircraft after the deaths of his two closest friends in the early 50's. But he never lost his love of flying. We used to make regular visits to the Oshawa Airport to visit his old friends. He was also a Ham radio operator (VE3AZV) and worked the fly-in breakfasts and air shows throughout the 60's.
Oshawa had been a training field during WWII and old war birds seemed to roost there. An aerial survey company who owned a converted B-17 kept it in one of the hangers. There was always a Harvard or two as well as other interesting warbirds to be found, There was also a Lancaster (not flight worthy though) which rested there as well.
In the late 60's a P-51 made its home there. It had been converted to two place and you could get a ride in it for $1.00 per minute, (the approximate operational cost). So, for $30 you got a thirty minute ride. Considering warm up, roll outand taxy time the pilot said it worked out to twenty minutes actual flight time. My father so wanted to take that flight but never did. As I recall the pilot was killed in car crash and the plane was sold.
This photo of the plane at Oshawa is from mustangs mustangs dot com's P-51 who?
You can read more about this plane here
