People foolishly clamor for the winning combination of a lottery ticket, oblivious to what a genuine treasure really is - the precious gems that are the stories gleaned from a willing elder eager to share for merely the cost of a few minutes of their time.
Those epic stories that if we did not hear them first hand would be gone forever,listening to these old pilots makes us realise how much the industry has changed so much,I think you should repeat this kind of gathering because it is all part and parcel of our aviation heritage and there must be more stories like these to be told.
Juan, I believe I am echoing a general feeling among your subs when I state; that you really are a California gem, and more so, a National Treasure. Your high level of respect for others is self evident, not only in the way you interact with the people in your videos, but also is apparent in the content of the videos you've chosen to produce. Your videos inform your extended neighbors during periods of uncertainty, and often highlight the best traits of the traditional American persona. During these times when hard won and long held American values are in jeopardy, your videos reflect an ethic well portrayed in the Star Wars movie The Last Jedi; when Rose saves Finn's life she says "that is how we are going to win, not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love". Your videos remind us of what we already have that is worth saving. Thank you, Juan, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you (yet again), Juan. I hope you see this message because, during the past year or two, you've helped me through some difficult times. I mention this so you will understand that my multiple thank-you's, which you may or may not have noticed, have been heartfelt, sincere, and deeper than you may imagine. Maybe the RUclips comment section can act a bit like Jimmy Stewart's Clarence-the-Angel in order to shine a light on how you helped me regain a Wonderful Life. As background, I have good memories of Grass Valley and Nevada County, where one hot day in the 70's, en route to Tahoe, my instructor first drilled density altitude into my brain during a mountain checkout in a 150. But even earlier, in the 60s, when I was Pete's age, my dad and I would stop to rest his 182 or, later, his Travel Air (the twin, not the taildragger) while we would share a $300 steak. In the 80s, my brother worked a year for the Grass Valley paper as a reporter and typesetter and I occasionally visited from SQL or made the quick hop from UC Davis. In the nineties, Nevada County is where I would pick up my young Grass Valley Godchildren to give them their first rides. One of them, after patiently listening to a long brief, flew from your crosswind, straight across the valley, around Mount Diablo, over Livermore and finally to the middle of the bridge on approach to San Carlos, when my hands finally replaced his on the yoke). In recent years, I despaired that, for a variety of reasons, I would be unable to give my own airplane-obsessed child that experience, as we both struggled with illness and my consequent loss of income. Your adventures with your family (especially a few flights with Sir Pedro, but also your interactions with his big sister) have meant a lot to me. In addition, because I know your area fairly well due to field work I did there as a Davis geology student, I've been fascinated by your quiet, competent coverage of the various recent natural/man-made disasters. During a time when I felt very separated from family and home, your reporting helped me feel more connected to the part of California in which we have a somewhat shared history. As it happens, my deeply airplane-obsessed child has been impatiently waiting years until she turns 14, the earliest age at which I said she could start learning to fly. Today is that birthday and her first lesson over Denver and the foothills of the Rockies is just days away. Today, I gave her my my ea-6b, kneeboard, and my dad's set of David Clarke's. (I'm keeping my Lightspeeds for myself.) During many of the past years, it was very hard to realize that, someday, our difficulties would be falling behind us. I'm heading back to work, and likely will be able to regain my medical. Though too early to tell, I believe that my child's challenging childhood is mostly behind us. Her focus on flight is very positive and the possibility that we may continue to help each other heal, regardless how remote it once seemed, is now very real and upon us. So, I'm grateful to you and your little family, who happened to be a light for me and my little family. Perhaps, in a few short years, one of your children will have a part-time job in which they will top my child's tanks on her way to visit family in the Bay Area. Theirs will be just passing lives, which, unnoticed, had a short, slight, but meaningful connection a mere few years before, all because, one day, one dad said, "I'm going to post some videos," while the other dad said, "hey, look! a pilot from Grass Valley has a RUclips channel." As I said, thanks.
Juan, Wow, I'm 65 and my first lesson was in a J3 on floats on our local river. I was fascinated by this older guy that was a engineer that built experiment airplanes he built in a hanger at the river and I hung out doing ANYTHING he asked me to do, and one day he said do you want to go for a ride, I couldn't get in the J3 any faster. This landing strip was in between two bridges in the middle of the river and I NEVER thought we were going to climb over the bridge, what a first flight and lesson.
Maybe Oroville was a blessing in disguise. Your videos are some of the best well-balanced of all time, to me. When it's news-related, your demeanor is smooth and genuine and full of integrity, accuracy & passion. When it's recreational related (and/or both), it's all pleasant pastures to view. =)
I came here later on for the 737Max story. BTW the UK dam coverage was far better than any UK news source. Don't know if my heart is full of joy or I'll go of for a good cry after this. Perhaps both are one and the same, oh the bittersweet nature of becoming older and hearing things with different ears.
Although I have never flown an airplane, I could sit contentedly and listen to those men tell their stories all day long. Priceless and invaluable information sir. *Thank You.*
Lovely, Mr. Browne, lovely. It's so important to record these stories while the elder generation is still here. I wish I had "forced" my grandmother to tell her stories on camera when she was still alive. I could easily have done it after macular degeneration took her sight. After all, one can't be camera shy if one doesn't know the camera is there, can one? She had some really great stories, and some really sad ones as all of the "Greatest Generation" did. I would have loved to get my grandfather's stories on tape, too, but he died before I had the technology to record his stories at my fingertips.
Yes Jaun, I did truly enjoy your "Hanger Flying" , Those Guys are living "treasures". I'm 71, soloed in a 7ac, and long to return to the sky . . . I know that I could still fly that Champ . . . . Bob
I miss the hangar flying sessions that were a part of life when I was flying and owned my own plane. Old pilots, crazy pilots, careless pilots, and 2 hour preflight pilots. I learned from them all and treasure the memories. Thanks for this one Juan.
The airport I learned to fly at, (KMRN) had an owner that really was a rocket scientist!!! (Well, a contractor for NASA, he designed and built one of the connectors that pops loose on liftoff), he always had a fascinating story or twelve to tell :-) I remember a Baron pilot having a right side flap failure on landing, he flew canceled checks at night and was going into a smaller airport in the NE. He lowered the flaps to full on base to final and the right side flaps collapsed sending him into a knife edge right for the tower... He said the controller saw the dissimilar flaps, the knife edge baron, and promptly cleared him to do whatever he needed to do to NOT HIT THE TOWER :-) Scared he and the controller half to death, but they both were laughing after he completed a go round and safe no flap landing ;-) I wish I had recorded some of those old stories but a telephone was still connected to the wall back then and a tape recorder needed 6 D cell batteries... I've somehow gotten old... Merry Christmas to all, and God Bless the good ole U.S.A... Lord knows we sure do need it!!!
Omg I have stumbled on a gold mine. I’d love to spend an afternoon at that airstrip. Air men all have great stories. Just as well you can talk and fly at the same time. 👍🇳🇿. Thanks for recording this. Awesome 👏 hats off to all you gentlemen.
The stories are great to listen, more stories more information, more knowledge about motorbikes, flying, Orville, etc, etc I love all of it. Thanks Juan
I’m thrilled to have found you on RUclips. My Saturday morning ritual isn’t complete without watching your videos. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your thrilling content.
After being in the USAF and Ohio Air National Guard for 38 years, most of it on KC135's, I've got my fair share of "hanger stories"! 30 of us retirees are getting together this Thursday for breakfast. I suppose there will be a few thousand stories remembered! Great story Juan!
I've always enjoyed your videos since the Oroville Dam incident. I had an uncle, a WWII Corsair pilot, then later an Electra, 707 Captain with Western then DC10 when Delta bought them out. When I was learning to fly, he told me (light hearted) that a good instructor had to almost kill himself so his students could learn from their mistakes. I never had tail dragger experience, so one day he took me up in a 170 at Long Beach. The tail was flying during take off, and he sat there with his arms folded yelling "get on that rudder". I ground looped. The tower asked what happened, and my uncle replied "just a student lazy on the rudder." I never ground looped again.
😊😊😊 It IS ALWAYS fun and interesting to listen to those boys tell their stories AND the expressions on their faces of (THE GOOD OLD DAYS ) 😎 THANKS JUAN for these tidbits of "LIFE IN THE 50's - 70s ... AWESOME 😍😍😍😍😍
Holy cow! Mr. brown, that was excellent! I could watch that kind of stuff 24/7... I am not a pilot, but am a "geek" of sorts, about all of that stuff. All of those guys are precious national treasures in my mind. Love your reports on all the air related stuff, as well as the fire(s) situation, and could not wait for those up to the minute updates on the Oroville Dam. Thank you sir.
I enjoyed that more than I can tell you, tyvm. Do more of these, Please. It very much reminds me of listening to the pilots I knew back in the day. I wish now I could remember half the things they told me about. You could do a hundred of these and I would listen to all of them.
I had the pleasure of listening to an old timer today, he was laughing at me saying that i have the aviation disease. . he was telling me to keep up with emergencies training.
When I was a kid on the farm most of the people around me were much older. so, I listened and learned a lot. Yes, with age comes wisdom. Merry Christmas to you and everyone.
That was great Juan, airfields are exactly like that, all the great old guys who are still 21 yr. olds in their minds, priceless stories & a wealth of knowledge that will fascinate & keep you entertained.
Thanks for this made me think back to learning to fly out of a old crop dusting strip..the guy that owned it flew a J3 and never had a pilots licence..the guy that taught me was J. E Lynne who was a Spad (A1) driver, Jim later lost his life when a MAF twin he was flying lost a prop..Those were truly the best times of a great life in aviation...I'm 72 now and the memories of the wonderful people I was fortunate to know keep me going.
When I was much younger, I used to think guys like this were just old men. Now, they are wise, patient and full of knowledge that'll evaporate if someone doesn't listen and capture it.
When I learned how to fly in 1982 I started out at the Fremont airport, just North of San Jose. Long gone now. It was uncontrolled, much like a little country airport, right in the middle of the SFO bay area! We had our little FBO shack where we all liked to hang out, drink coffee, and hangar fly! On days I wasn't able to fly I loved just stopping by. Listening to war stories, hangar flying, etc. Wish I still had a place like that! You are lucky to still have your little airport hangout! Some very cool guys hanging around your airport Juan! Thanks for sharing them with us! All of your videos are great, but because of your co-stars, this is one of your better videos!
Very interesting to hear those stories. At nearly 77, I can certainly relate to those men. My flying adventures began as a boy when my Dad got his Private in the late 1940's. I'm retired and no longer fly (except in my dreams). When members of our old corporate flight department get together there are lots of fun stories and laughs... really good times. A brotherhood of fliers.
This has been around a while and I just found it. Juan I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed listening to these stories that before long will be gone and there will be no place to retrieve them. These men and their stories are indeed priceless. !
Really enjoyed hanger flying. The "great generation" have been through so much and I love listening to the stories. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to more hanger flying type episodes.
This is priceless! Another excellent video Juan. I was recently at the airport in Missoula, MT and they have a retired P2V tanker sitting on the lawn in front of the parking lot. You were the first person I thought of when I saw it. If only that plane could talk. Thank you.
Gotta love "hangar lying" with fellow aviators. Sadly it seems most of us are getting older with our recollections being loosely based on facts, faded memories, and of course the sincere love of aviation. Great video!
Really enjoyed this one.those guys had me smiling the whole way through.You were way ahead of the game to start listening to the "old guys" at the beginning of your career, so much experience to draw from in what was still the dawn of aviation.
It’s seems to many people take Hanger flying, bench racing, talking story as nothing but top a story and don’t enjoy the history and humor of experience. Wonderful video.
The best time was some years ago, Juan, when I belonged to a BMW bike club here in Oregon, a touring club. We'd camp a lot during the season, coming from every direction to a place someone decided on and we quite a mix of folks: lawyers, cops, a county sheriff, former Navy pilot or two and good folks. One time, after having dinner someone put together on a camp stove and getting a fire going, someone brought out a box of cigars and a jug of good scotch. We sat around the campfire, listened to the Metolius River rolling along and told stories until the wee hours of the night. Good times!
Another great video Juan, at this time I would like to wish you,your wife and family, friends and all my fellow subscribers to your channel a Merry Christmas and A prosperous New Year from NZ. I as a lot will agree thank you for all the great content you have given over the last 12mths, enjoy some time off.
Please, do some more "stuff" like this. I'll just bet there are more folks like me out there that just love good stories from men that did it all. Also, please tell your friends "thank you", that they were great and I, for one, would love an encore.
Thats how my nephew started out, sweeping hanger floors. Now he is a pilot, aircraft engineer and owner of an aircraft maintenance company! Have a Merry family Christmas Juan. Cheers.
Wonderful video! I am 84 and started flying in 1955. I purchased a block of ten hours of flying time in a Cessna 140, wet, and with the instructor for $100.00. I soloed in 6 hrs. and then bought my BC12D Taylorcraft for $475.00. I have flown many single engine and twin engine aircraft. Some were not legal to fly, but it was a lot of fun. Tom
This is wonderful stuff Juan - these memories are irreplaceable. Thank you for doing this - so good to hear the stories. Wow, 92 and he is still flying. Happy Christmas to you all. :)
I LOVED this one!! Nothing I enjoy more than chatting with guys from that generation- always great stories, no matter what is being discussed. I think this is proof aviation will keep you young, and allow you to live a long life, so long as you've got a head on your shoulders. LOVED the stories! 👍 One of these days I'll have to swing by one of the airports around here. Unfortunately, none are very close, and the one that is isn't used very much. Maybe when motorcycle weather comes back around I'll venture out to the bigger ones - my '74 RD350 usually gets people chatting pretty quick. 😉 Thanks for sharing this one! 👍👍 Been a fantastic year here at Blancolirio - I've enjoyed every minute of ALL your videos! May you, Juan, your family, and everyone at the hangar have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Prosperous New Year, and may God bless all of you.
I used to work for Wells Fargo Alarm and I didn't know a thing about alarm systems. But, every morning for at least an hour we had bull s*** sessions. They had hired four newbees (me one) and we would sit around and listen to the old timers telling their stories about the past and what they had run into over the years. They had some great stories and I learned a lot about troubleshooting alarm systems. Whenever I had a problem on a job site I could call one them up and get the help I needed. But when ADT bought Wells Fargo that all went away. Even after five years I still had a lot to learn but ADT did not have any training programs. So, I hit the silk and went back to writing manuals for birds. I look back with fond memories on those times. That was the best job I ever had because of those B.S. sessions.
What a great video Juan!! I love listening to the old times stories when I was growing up! Thanks for sharing your friends and memories! I'd of loved having all those old planes around when growing up.
I really enjoyed the video. It reminded me of back in the mid 70s. At that time, I was living single and living in Redwood City, CA and worked in Menlo Park. If I didn't have to work Saturday I would drive up to Ukiah and spend the weekend with my folks. My cousin worked at UKI pumping avgas and I would go down to visit and listen to the old timers talk. It was loads of fun and I heard some great stories. Thanks for the video! Happy Holidays to you and your family! Have a good one! Dave
Great video Juan! Several suggestions: 1) Take 5 to show the various plane types and their names. Yes, you and I know them all, but most folks don't. 2) Consider a theme for your future videos: how to recruit future pilots! 3) I first soloed in 1972, in Manila Philippines, after about 7 hrs in a C-150. My instructor flew DC-8's for his airline, and we'd fly from MNL (Manila International Airport) out to Canlubang ( a grass strip 30 miles south, near Taal volcano). We stopped to get a coke, but he simply stepped out and said, "Fly a few circuits, them come back and get me!" I did a few, and was AMAZED how the C-150's PERFORMANCE improved w/out my 250# instructor in the right seat. How much? So much that I cut back on the power, since I was climbing "too fast" and reaching pattern altitude too quickly. Good times!
What an irreplaceable treasure those men are..!! Juan, I hope that you can video more of them and share with us. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your fine family.
I learned to fly in a Piper Tomahawk in 1980 and did my cross countries all over Northern California. In those days you had to pick your days carefully because of all the smoke from agricultural fires in the central valley made VFR flying tough. One day I flew from Sonoma to Willows to Chico Ranchero, to some hilltop airfield near Lake Almenor in the Sierras and back. The only thing that kept me on the ground were my pregnancies. Love your channel. Y
Juan, you are a down to earth fun person who likes to fly and educate others which I enjoy a lot and the only difference between us is that you have a pilots license and at 77 I have a students pilots license enjoying flying a Cessna 172 at a small airport near me in Monroe Georgia and will never solo because of medication I have been taking for over 25 years. If you ever get to Georgia, north of PDK airport, and need a ride anywhere in land vehicle give me a shout and I'll pick you up and take you anywhere you want to go north of that line which I promised I'd never go south of when I retired... Atlanta traffic is crazy and so are some of their parking rules. Keep posting on the "blancolirio" channel and keep you Luskem in the air even if you have to get a CFI to fly with you.!!! Even from here I really enjoy your 3-point landings. Rodger W.
Great stories Juan Merry Christmas to you and yours, FWIW my Dad who was pilot (student) and I spent a few hours talking with the late great Art Scholl at Long Beach Airport between demonstations sitting on the wing of his modified Chipmunk back in late 70s also worked on Tony Laviers Monocoup (hanging in LA Space and Science museum) at MT Sac so got to hear a few great stories, + while working at Lockheed ADP but you had to have a need to know. I used to live in Tehachapi would eat lunch at the cafe at the gliderport where a few of Nasa's old test pilots would be. Safe Travels.
I am not a pilot, but what you present holds true for all. Here is my generalization: Those younger than I known many things I do not, but with effort, I could (maybe?); and those my age it is plus/minus; however those older, I can NOT know or learn what they know without listening to their words and the best way is directly. Juan: you have provided great reporting on a wide range of topics, and IMHO this example of 'Oral History' is something you should continue to explore. Cheers, Mark ************************
Thank you Juan. Honoring our elders is something we could stand a bit more of.
People foolishly clamor for the winning combination of a lottery ticket, oblivious to what a genuine treasure really is - the precious gems that are the stories gleaned from a willing elder eager to share for merely the cost of a few minutes of their time.
Those epic stories that if we did not hear them first hand would be gone forever,listening to these old pilots makes us realise how much the industry has changed so much,I think you should repeat this kind of gathering because it is all part and parcel of our aviation heritage and there must be more stories like these to be told.
Juan, I believe I am echoing a general feeling among your subs when I state; that you really are a California gem, and more so, a National Treasure. Your high level of respect for others is self evident, not only in the way you interact with the people in your videos, but also is apparent in the content of the videos you've chosen to produce. Your videos inform your extended neighbors during periods of uncertainty, and often highlight the best traits of the traditional American persona. During these times when hard won and long held American values are in jeopardy, your videos reflect an ethic well portrayed in the Star Wars movie The Last Jedi; when Rose saves Finn's life she says "that is how we are going to win, not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love". Your videos remind us of what we already have that is worth saving. Thank you, Juan, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you (yet again), Juan.
I hope you see this message because, during the past year or two, you've helped me through some difficult times. I mention this so you will understand that my multiple thank-you's, which you may or may not have noticed, have been heartfelt, sincere, and deeper than you may imagine.
Maybe the RUclips comment section can act a bit like Jimmy Stewart's Clarence-the-Angel in order to shine a light on how you helped me regain a Wonderful Life.
As background, I have good memories of Grass Valley and Nevada County, where one hot day in the 70's, en route to Tahoe, my instructor first drilled density altitude into my brain during a mountain checkout in a 150. But even earlier, in the 60s, when I was Pete's age, my dad and I would stop to rest his 182 or, later, his Travel Air (the twin, not the taildragger) while we would share a $300 steak. In the 80s, my brother worked a year for the Grass Valley paper as a reporter and typesetter and I occasionally visited from SQL or made the quick hop from UC Davis. In the nineties, Nevada County is where I would pick up my young Grass Valley Godchildren to give them their first rides. One of them, after patiently listening to a long brief, flew from your crosswind, straight across the valley, around Mount Diablo, over Livermore and finally to the middle of the bridge on approach to San Carlos, when my hands finally replaced his on the yoke).
In recent years, I despaired that, for a variety of reasons, I would be unable to give my own airplane-obsessed child that experience, as we both struggled with illness and my consequent loss of income.
Your adventures with your family (especially a few flights with Sir Pedro, but also your interactions with his big sister) have meant a lot to me. In addition, because I know your area fairly well due to field work I did there as a Davis geology student, I've been fascinated by your quiet, competent coverage of the various recent natural/man-made disasters. During a time when I felt very separated from family and home, your reporting helped me feel more connected to the part of California in which we have a somewhat shared history.
As it happens, my deeply airplane-obsessed child has been impatiently waiting years until she turns 14, the earliest age at which I said she could start learning to fly. Today is that birthday and her first lesson over Denver and the foothills of the Rockies is just days away. Today, I gave her my my ea-6b, kneeboard, and my dad's set of David Clarke's. (I'm keeping my Lightspeeds for myself.)
During many of the past years, it was very hard to realize that, someday, our difficulties would be falling behind us. I'm heading back to work, and likely will be able to regain my medical. Though too early to tell, I believe that my child's challenging childhood is mostly behind us. Her focus on flight is very positive and the possibility that we may continue to help each other heal, regardless how remote it once seemed, is now very real and upon us.
So, I'm grateful to you and your little family, who happened to be a light for me and my little family. Perhaps, in a few short years, one of your children will have a part-time job in which they will top my child's tanks on her way to visit family in the Bay Area. Theirs will be just passing lives, which, unnoticed, had a short, slight, but meaningful connection a mere few years before, all because, one day, one dad said, "I'm going to post some videos," while the other dad said, "hey, look! a pilot from Grass Valley has a RUclips channel."
As I said, thanks.
Really great Juan, love hearing from the older generation. My grandmother is 94 and tells us all about history. Thanks for this video.
Juan, Wow, I'm 65 and my first lesson was in a J3 on floats on our local river. I was fascinated by this older guy that was a engineer that built experiment airplanes he built in a hanger at the river and I hung out doing ANYTHING he asked me to do, and one day he said do you want to go for a ride, I couldn't get in the J3 any faster. This landing strip was in between two bridges in the middle of the river and I NEVER thought we were going to climb over the bridge, what a first flight and lesson.
Maybe Oroville was a blessing in disguise. Your videos are some of the best well-balanced of all time, to me. When it's news-related, your demeanor is smooth and genuine and full of integrity, accuracy & passion. When it's recreational related (and/or both), it's all pleasant pastures to view. =)
I came here later on for the 737Max story. BTW the UK dam coverage was far better than any UK news source.
Don't know if my heart is full of joy or I'll go of for a good cry after this. Perhaps both are one and the same, oh the bittersweet nature of becoming older and hearing things with different ears.
Although I have never flown an airplane, I could sit contentedly and listen to those men tell their stories all day long.
Priceless and invaluable information sir. *Thank You.*
Lovely, Mr. Browne, lovely. It's so important to record these stories while the elder generation is still here. I wish I had "forced" my grandmother to tell her stories on camera when she was still alive. I could easily have done it after macular degeneration took her sight. After all, one can't be camera shy if one doesn't know the camera is there, can one? She had some really great stories, and some really sad ones as all of the "Greatest Generation" did. I would have loved to get my grandfather's stories on tape, too, but he died before I had the technology to record his stories at my fingertips.
THANKS, Mr. Juan!! This put a grin on my 73 Y/O face that stayed the WHOLE TIME!!! Do this again sometime!! :-) :-)
Yes Jaun, I did truly enjoy your "Hanger Flying" , Those Guys are living "treasures". I'm 71, soloed in a 7ac, and long to return to the sky . . . I know that I could still fly that Champ . . . . Bob
Bench Racing: The older I get the faster I was... Thank you for the holiday treat.
Good stories! Nothing beats listening to the old timers when they Reminence
I Love to listen to old stories like that. 👍 Thanks, Juan.
Great video. One of my regrets is finding out too late in life the value of seeking out and speaking with old folks.
92 and still flying....now that is getting it done
Merry Christmas Juan and Family
This stuff is precious beyond gold or jewels. Thanks for preserving it.
I miss the hangar flying sessions that were a part of life when I was flying and owned my own plane. Old pilots, crazy pilots, careless pilots, and 2 hour preflight pilots. I learned from them all and treasure the memories. Thanks for this one Juan.
Solid gold Juan Solid gold.
Wow.... real living history..
More please.
Thanks Juan, loved the opportunity to sit and absorb more good stories from you and the boys.
these guys' stories so need to be recorded for history. Thank you.
The airport I learned to fly at, (KMRN) had an owner that really was a rocket scientist!!! (Well, a contractor for NASA, he designed and built one of the connectors that pops loose on liftoff), he always had a fascinating story or twelve to tell :-) I remember a Baron pilot having a right side flap failure on landing, he flew canceled checks at night and was going into a smaller airport in the NE. He lowered the flaps to full on base to final and the right side flaps collapsed sending him into a knife edge right for the tower... He said the controller saw the dissimilar flaps, the knife edge baron, and promptly cleared him to do whatever he needed to do to NOT HIT THE TOWER :-) Scared he and the controller half to death, but they both were laughing after he completed a go round and safe no flap landing ;-) I wish I had recorded some of those old stories but a telephone was still connected to the wall back then and a tape recorder needed 6 D cell batteries... I've somehow gotten old... Merry Christmas to all, and God Bless the good ole U.S.A... Lord knows we sure do need it!!!
Omg I have stumbled on a gold mine. I’d love to spend an afternoon at that airstrip. Air men all have great stories. Just as well you can talk and fly at the same time. 👍🇳🇿. Thanks for recording this. Awesome 👏 hats off to all you gentlemen.
The stories are great to listen, more stories more information, more knowledge about motorbikes, flying, Orville, etc, etc I love all of it. Thanks Juan
I’m thrilled to have found you on RUclips. My Saturday morning ritual isn’t complete without watching your videos. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your thrilling content.
After being in the USAF and Ohio Air National Guard for 38 years, most of it on KC135's, I've got my fair share of "hanger stories"! 30 of us retirees are getting together this Thursday for breakfast. I suppose there will be a few thousand stories remembered! Great story Juan!
I've always enjoyed your videos since the Oroville Dam incident. I had an uncle, a WWII Corsair pilot, then later an Electra, 707 Captain with Western then DC10 when Delta bought them out. When I was learning to fly, he told me (light hearted) that a good instructor had to almost kill himself so his students could learn from their mistakes. I never had tail dragger experience, so one day he took me up in a 170 at Long Beach. The tail was flying during take off, and he sat there with his arms folded yelling "get on that rudder". I ground looped. The tower asked what happened, and my uncle replied "just a student lazy on the rudder." I never ground looped again.
Joshua Tree Jim 😂😂😂
😊😊😊 It IS ALWAYS fun and interesting to listen to those boys tell their stories AND the expressions on their faces of (THE GOOD OLD DAYS ) 😎
THANKS JUAN for these tidbits of "LIFE IN THE 50's - 70s ... AWESOME 😍😍😍😍😍
Juan, thanks for taking us along. Those guys have a ton of experience to pass on.
Holy cow! Mr. brown, that was excellent! I could watch that kind of stuff 24/7... I am not a pilot, but am a "geek" of sorts, about all of that stuff. All of those guys are precious national treasures in my mind. Love your reports on all the air related stuff, as well as the fire(s) situation, and could not wait for those up to the minute updates on the Oroville Dam. Thank you sir.
Thanks Gregg!
Did you learn anything? .... "I can't remember". LOL.
Classic.
I enjoyed that more than I can tell you, tyvm. Do more of these, Please. It very much reminds me of listening to the pilots I knew back in the day. I wish now I could remember half the things they told me about. You could do a hundred of these and I would listen to all of them.
Ditto.
I'm not a pilot, but enjoy these videos, also what russell3380 said.
I had the pleasure of listening to an old timer today, he was laughing at me saying that i have the aviation disease. . he was telling me to keep up with emergencies training.
When I was a kid on the farm most of the people around me were much older. so, I listened and learned a lot. Yes, with age comes wisdom. Merry Christmas to you and everyone.
That was great Juan, airfields are exactly like that, all the great old guys who are still 21 yr. olds in their minds, priceless stories & a wealth of knowledge that will fascinate & keep you entertained.
Thanks for this made me think back to learning to fly out of a old crop dusting strip..the guy that owned it flew a J3 and never had a pilots licence..the guy that taught me was J. E
Lynne who was a Spad (A1) driver, Jim later lost his life when a MAF twin he was flying lost a prop..Those were truly the best times of a great life in aviation...I'm 72 now and the memories of the wonderful people I was fortunate to know keep me going.
When I was much younger, I used to think guys like this were just old men. Now, they are wise, patient and full of knowledge that'll evaporate if someone doesn't listen and capture it.
I agree. This is history in the making for our children and great great great grandchildren!
Another great video, Juan.
Terrific group of gentleman pilots who are wise
beyond their years. I could listen to stories like that
all day!
When I learned how to fly in 1982 I started out at the Fremont airport, just North of San Jose. Long gone now. It was uncontrolled, much like a little country airport, right in the middle of the SFO bay area! We had our little FBO shack where we all liked to hang out, drink coffee, and hangar fly! On days I wasn't able to fly I loved just stopping by. Listening to war stories, hangar flying, etc. Wish I still had a place like that! You are lucky to still have your little airport hangout! Some very cool guys hanging around your airport Juan! Thanks for sharing them with us! All of your videos are great, but because of your co-stars, this is one of your better videos!
Watching and listening to this makes me sad that I'm not on an airport anymore, but it has been a VERY ENJOYABLE 22 minutes Thank You!
Very interesting to hear those stories. At nearly 77, I can certainly relate to those men. My flying adventures began as a boy when my Dad got his Private in the late 1940's. I'm retired and no longer fly (except in my dreams). When members of our old corporate flight department get together there are lots of fun stories and laughs... really good times. A brotherhood of fliers.
This has been around a while and I just found it. Juan I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed listening to these stories that before long will be gone and there will be no place to retrieve them. These men and their stories are indeed priceless. !
Thanks Scotty!
Gee Juan. No wonder you hangout with these guys. True gems. Good peeps
Really enjoyed hanger flying. The "great generation" have been through so much and I love listening to the stories. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to more hanger flying type episodes.
This is priceless! Another excellent video Juan. I was recently at the airport in Missoula, MT and they have a retired P2V tanker sitting on the lawn in front of the parking lot. You were the first person I thought of when I saw it. If only that plane could talk. Thank you.
Gotta love "hangar lying" with fellow aviators. Sadly it seems most of us are getting older with our recollections being loosely based on facts, faded memories, and of course the sincere love of aviation. Great video!
What great stories love listening to the oldtimers tell their stories.
Juan, Its so good of you to capture these stories from these great old guys. Please keep going.
Good idea!
You've made some of the best videos on RUclips. This one is one of your very best. Thank You.
Resident Expert - I have been that one for a while at my company. Nice to feel wanted and not discarded.
Great stories. Great men. Great airplanes. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Priceless! Please do more videos like this, especially your history of flying.
Really enjoyed this one.those guys had me smiling the whole way through.You were way ahead of the game to start listening to the "old guys" at the beginning of your career, so much experience to draw from in what was still the dawn of aviation.
Priceless motion picture record of a piece of American history. Thank you, Juan. Sincerely, Pat Cullinan, Jr., New York.
Wow, what an honor to hear the stories of these local heroes. Thanks Juan!!
Those old stories are such a national treasure. Great job
Great stuff Juan. I could listen to these stories for hours.
Excellent vid as always. Keep'em flyin' Juan.
FANTASTIC...thank you Juan for documenting these incredible aviators. I learned Hanger Flying as an 11 year old.
It’s seems to many people take Hanger flying, bench racing, talking story as nothing but top a story and don’t enjoy the history and humor of experience. Wonderful video.
What a treat! Thank You to all who told their stories, and to a natural interviewer, Juan.
That was terrific! Merry Christmas to all.
Great to honor these flying legends. Thanks
I appreciate you sharing this with us.sitting on my couch just became A lot more enjoyable! Amazing listening to the stories of those before us!
The best time was some years ago, Juan, when I belonged to a BMW bike club here in Oregon, a touring club. We'd camp a lot during the season, coming from every direction to a place someone decided on and we quite a mix of folks: lawyers, cops, a county sheriff, former Navy pilot or two and good folks. One time, after having dinner someone put together on a camp stove and getting a fire going, someone brought out a box of cigars and a jug of good scotch. We sat around the campfire, listened to the Metolius River rolling along and told stories until the wee hours of the night. Good times!
Another great video Juan, at this time I would like to wish you,your wife and family, friends and all my fellow subscribers to your channel a Merry Christmas and A prosperous New Year from NZ. I as a lot will agree thank you for all the great content you have given over the last 12mths, enjoy some time off.
Please, do some more "stuff" like this. I'll just bet there are more folks like me out there that just love good stories from men that did it all.
Also, please tell your friends "thank you", that they were great and I, for one, would love an encore.
Thanks Juan, I really enjoy watching your channel.
Thats how my nephew started out, sweeping hanger floors. Now he is a pilot, aircraft engineer and owner of an aircraft maintenance company! Have a Merry family Christmas Juan. Cheers.
Great times, great memories, keep up the good work Juan!
Absolutely loved it! This is priceless video for those of us that fly or have flown in the past. Thanks Juan! Merry Christmas!
Wonderful video! I am 84 and started flying in 1955. I purchased a block of ten hours of flying time in a Cessna 140, wet, and with the instructor for $100.00. I soloed in 6 hrs. and then bought my BC12D Taylorcraft for $475.00. I have flown many single engine and twin engine aircraft. Some were not legal to fly, but it was a lot of fun. Tom
$475!!! Wow! BC-12 D
This is wonderful stuff Juan - these memories are irreplaceable. Thank you for doing this - so good to hear the stories. Wow, 92 and he is still flying.
Happy Christmas to you all. :)
I LOVED this one!! Nothing I enjoy more than chatting with guys from that generation- always great stories, no matter what is being discussed. I think this is proof aviation will keep you young, and allow you to live a long life, so long as you've got a head on your shoulders. LOVED the stories! 👍
One of these days I'll have to swing by one of the airports around here. Unfortunately, none are very close, and the one that is isn't used very much. Maybe when motorcycle weather comes back around I'll venture out to the bigger ones - my '74 RD350 usually gets people chatting pretty quick. 😉
Thanks for sharing this one! 👍👍 Been a fantastic year here at Blancolirio - I've enjoyed every minute of ALL your videos! May you, Juan, your family, and everyone at the hangar have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Prosperous New Year, and may God bless all of you.
Juan, this is just great stuff. Can’t get enough of the old timers reminiscing about their flying stories. Nice job.
Don
I used to work for Wells Fargo Alarm and I didn't know a thing about alarm systems. But, every morning for at least an hour we had bull s*** sessions. They had hired four newbees (me one) and we would sit around and listen to the old timers telling their stories about the past and what they had run into over the years. They had some great stories and I learned a lot about troubleshooting alarm systems. Whenever I had a problem on a job site I could call one them up and get the help I needed. But when ADT bought Wells Fargo that all went away. Even after five years I still had a lot to learn but ADT did not have any training programs. So, I hit the silk and went back to writing manuals for birds. I look back with fond memories on those times. That was the best job I ever had because of those B.S. sessions.
What a great video Juan!! I love listening to the old times stories when I was growing up! Thanks for sharing your friends and memories! I'd of loved having all those old planes around when growing up.
I lack the words to say how much I enjoyed this, THANKYOU
Wow! You just keep turning out interesting, informative, and fully engaging stories. Keep up the great work!
I really enjoyed the video. It reminded me of back in the mid 70s. At that time, I was living single and living in Redwood City, CA and worked in Menlo Park. If I didn't have to work Saturday I would drive up to Ukiah and spend the weekend with my folks. My cousin worked at UKI pumping avgas and I would go down to visit and listen to the old timers talk. It was loads of fun and I heard some great stories.
Thanks for the video! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Have a good one!
Dave
Great video Juan! Several suggestions:
1) Take 5 to show the various plane types and their names. Yes, you and I know them all, but most folks don't.
2) Consider a theme for your future videos: how to recruit future pilots!
3) I first soloed in 1972, in Manila Philippines, after about 7 hrs in a C-150. My instructor flew DC-8's for his airline, and we'd fly from MNL (Manila International Airport) out to Canlubang ( a grass strip 30 miles south, near Taal volcano). We stopped to get a coke, but he simply stepped out and said, "Fly a few circuits, them come back and get me!"
I did a few, and was AMAZED how the C-150's PERFORMANCE improved w/out my 250# instructor in the right seat. How much? So much that I cut back on the power, since I was climbing "too fast" and reaching pattern altitude too quickly.
Good times!
What an irreplaceable treasure those men are..!! Juan, I hope that you can video more of them and share with us. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your fine family.
cool stuff, wish my old friend Bill Robertson was still around to this one. Thanks and Merry Christmas
I learned to fly in a Piper Tomahawk in 1980 and did my cross countries all over Northern California. In those days you had to pick your days carefully because of all the smoke from agricultural fires in the central valley made VFR flying tough. One day I flew from Sonoma to Willows to Chico Ranchero, to some hilltop airfield near Lake Almenor in the Sierras and back. The only thing that kept me on the ground were my pregnancies. Love your channel. Y
Priceless stories. We need to listen to the old because they have seen it and done it. Great video.
You have great taste in music Juan
Good stuff Juan. Thanks for sharing
Juan, you are a down to earth fun person who likes to fly and educate others which I enjoy a lot and the only difference between us is that you have a pilots license and at 77 I have a students pilots license enjoying flying a Cessna 172 at a small airport near me in Monroe Georgia and will never solo because of medication I have been taking for over 25 years.
If you ever get to Georgia, north of PDK airport, and need a ride anywhere in land vehicle give me a shout and I'll pick you up and take you anywhere you want to go north of that line which I promised I'd never go south of when I retired... Atlanta traffic is crazy and so are some of their parking rules.
Keep posting on the "blancolirio" channel and keep you Luskem in the air even if you have to get a CFI to fly with you.!!! Even from here I really enjoy your 3-point landings.
Rodger W.
Great video. Love to hear the old timers.
Great stories Juan Merry Christmas to you and yours, FWIW my Dad who was pilot (student) and I spent a few hours talking with the late great Art Scholl at Long Beach Airport between demonstations sitting on the wing of his modified Chipmunk back in late 70s also worked on Tony Laviers Monocoup (hanging in LA Space and Science museum) at MT Sac so got to hear a few great stories, + while working at Lockheed ADP but you had to have a need to know. I used to live in Tehachapi would eat lunch at the cafe at the gliderport where a few of Nasa's old test pilots would be. Safe Travels.
Simply great!!!!! Listen to the stories of the old heros!! Love it!
Wow, great stories and a great bunch of guys (including you!) Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!
What great stories! Thanks Juan!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Great stories and great experiences. I always listen to the old timers, they are always a source of inspiration.
Great stories from these guys! Hopefully you'll get more of these stories on video! They are a great knowledge base and history of aviation!
Really enjoyed that hangar flight, more trips down memory lane are always welcome,
Very best Christmas Greetings to you, Juan, and your wonderful family!
I am not a pilot, but what you present holds true for all. Here is my generalization: Those younger than I known many things I do not, but with effort, I could (maybe?); and those my age it is plus/minus; however those older, I can NOT know or learn what they know without listening to their words and the best way is directly.
Juan: you have provided great reporting on a wide range of topics, and IMHO this example of 'Oral History' is something you should continue to explore.
Cheers,
Mark
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Those selfie pictures of you with them 😍 and you’re so kind and patient listening to them, it just melts my heart.