Editorial

Yep, the title pretty much spells out this issue: odd subjects and stories. But then, it’s the diversity of aviation that helps many of us discover things we know little about and keeps drawing us in. When Sam Tipton was working on the article “Time Flies” about the history of pilots’ watches, he’d be continually telling us it was much more complex than he had anticipated. Reading the article, we could see what he meant: The subject could fill an entire book. Sam warned us that he didn’t know what he didn’t know and that we should expect a lot of emails from the watch community about the article. That’s fine with us. We love it when folks point us in the right direction.

We also expect to receive a few letters about whether or not readers believe in UFOs. In his article, Roy “Shadow” Stafford, recounts how his firm belief that they don’t exist was shaken to the core—for a few minutes, anyway. The episode came to a head when, as a Marine Phantom pilot, he decided to go toe-to-toe with two of “them.” Aliens versus the United States Marine Corps—what a concept!

Ace photographer Ted Carlson put his cameras down long enough to pen a piece for us: “Sonic Boom Salesman,” about Capt. Danny Cox, USAF, Retired, who had been an interceptor pilot during the Cold War. This was when defensive missile shields were still on the drawing boards even though Soviets were expected to invade at any time. So our defensive missiles were carried under the wings of a wide variety of interceptor aircraft, and Cox flew them all, including the F-101 Voodoo.

In “China Blitzer,” Jim Busha tells the story of a pilot in the China Burma India Theater, flying both P-40s and P-51Cs against cruel and aggressive enemies. No, not the Japanese, but rather weather, disease, and distance, all of which aided the enemy and kept the contest in question right up to the end. We also take the opportunity to feature a newly restored P-51C, Lope’s Hope, that’s so authentic in its restoration, we think they found 1943 air to put in the tires! It’s truly amazing.

Frank Mormillo rounds out the editorial menu with his detailed account about the Flying Legends Airshow in England. This may have been the largest number and variety of Curtiss Hawk types together since World War II. Frank goes into the background of each type and, using his well-known photographic skills, paints the pages with eye candy.

Feel free to send us your thoughts about what you like in a wristwatch or what you don’t like about UFOs. We’re open-minded.