Friday photo (video): Corsair startup and wing unfold

The view: Corsair start-up and wing unfold – a little bit of history comes to life right before our eyes!

The pilot (observer): Dale “Boots” Hill

The airplane: Vought F4U-1D Corsair

The mission: Watching and listening to a Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Corsair fire up and unfold its wings.

The memory: Flight 102 of the Order of Daedalians in Atlanta holds a bi-monthly get together where we swap flying stories and share in a fellowship enjoyed by military aviators, past and present.  Our speaker for our June luncheon told us about his role in Operation Eldorado Canyon (the attack on Libya in 1986).  We met at Falcon Field (KFFC) in Peachtree City, GA, the home of the Dixie Wing of the CAF. While waiting for our members to arrive, the CAF towed out their Corsair and I watched and listened to it fire up followed by the pilot unfolding the wings!  Needless to say, our storytelling came to a screeching halt as many of our Daedalians gathered outside to listen to a little bit of history coming to life right before our eyes!  Unfortunately, our hopes to watch this beauty take off were dashed when they shut it down and towed it back into the hangar!

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Dale Hill

Colonel (ret) Dale "Boots" Hill served 22 years in the Air Force, beginning his tour of duty flying 165 missions in the OV-10 as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam. He was then a T-38 IP, A-10 IP and flight examiner, and an F-16 IP and commander of the 61st Top Dawgs. He worked assignments at TAC HQ (he told other fighter pilots where to go—they would tell him where to go). At the Pentagon he served on the Air Staff as a planner for Operation Desert Storm and on the staff of the Secretary of the Air Force. He lives in Canton, GA, with his wife, Susan, near three (soon to be four) of their seven (soon to be eight) grandchildren.

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