You are welcome Arlo.
Yes, Oldman, we are of the same fine, vintage year.
The stretch F-80 was a very honest flying jet, had long cross country legs. It was reasonably reliable maintenance wise except when it would hard break for some random reason during a fuel stop. Typically, what ever broke required a replacement part from home base. Even if we happened to be at a Tbird equipped base, it was near impossible to pry the needed part from their supply. Those parts were needed to keep their Tbirds flying. Hence, our hard and fast X country rule was never land where you don’t want to spend the night (or two, or three). One place none of us EVER stopped was Whiteman AFB, MO. Once, when trying to avoid WX on a trip to Florida, we considered it. But, the IFR supplement description of the base cautioned about prairie chickens wandering on the ramp, taxiways, and runways. We found somewhere else to stop for fuel.
Otherwise, the Tbird was pretty reliable. Like most every airplane, it had the ability to kill. The most unique thing of that nature in the Tbird was a warning in the dash one about not doing rolling maneuvers with fuel in the tip tanks. A few months before I started T-33 upgrade school, a couple of Tyndall IPs took a Tbird out on weekend cross country. They both died when doing a low altitude aileron roll over a family reunion, with nearly full tip tanks.
Yes, Oldman, there was some attitude in the picture. Again, I was “volunTOLD” to get my flying gear, go to the flightline for said picture, and not go flying afterwards (not to mention the sun in my eyes).
