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From http://www.staugustine.com (St. Augustine FL 21 Dec 2003)
By SUSAN PARKER Historian With this past week's centennial celebration of the Wright Brothers' first flight, the focus on aviation pioneers has been both historical and personal for me. My uncle, Charles Eugene Richbourg, a son of St. Augustine, was the first person to break the sound barrier in a seaplane on Aug. 3, 1954. Three months later he was killed testing another version of that plane, the SeaDart. His remains were returned to St. Augustine to be buried in the National Cemetery. Uncle Charlie, my father's younger brother, grew up on Milton Street, near the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. Other boys in the neighborhood -- Frank and Hamilton Upchurch and Richard Watson, now with their own distinguished careers -- have recalled for me my uncle's passion for creating model airplanes in the workshop in the family garage. An alumnus of Ketterlinus High School and of MIT, Charles Richbourg became a test pilot for Convair after four years as a Navy pilot in World War II. He tested an experimental seaplane that would double as a high-performance delta-winged jet fighter. In those days test pilots were very involved in designing the planes in addition to flight-testing. He knew Chuck Yeager and his name was included in early discussions of astronaut candidates. Uncle Charlie came from a flying family. Over half of its six family members were pilots -- Charles, his father, his older brother and his older sister. James W. Richbourg, his father and my grandfather, established St. Augustine Flying Enterprises with Lucius Rees in 1928, to run an airfield on State Road 16, train pilots and service aircraft. Would it frustrate and puzzle them to know that I swallow a tranquilizer before boarding a plane? To me, Charles Richbourg was, first of all, my tall uncle since I was a child when he died. It was years later that I realized the larger world of his achievements. I see him now in a few scattered moments in my memory. I recall one day when he squatted down to my own short size and set me on his knee. I was the 3-year-old flower girl in his wedding, but my memory's image of the event is mostly the flames flickering on the tall candelabra at the end of the church aisle. He and my father standing at the end of the aisle are shadows in my memory. It was happenstance that CBS news cameras were filming what turned out to be his final flight in early November 1954. [Life magazine also featured photos]. Although I had already been told of the tragedy, I did not expect to see Uncle Charlie wave good-by from the cockpit on the evening news. Then I saw his plane explode, bursting apart in the air. No one else has ever flown faster than the speed of sound in a seaplane. ---end St. Augustine Record newspaper article--- Chuck HEAVY ATTACK COMPOSITE (VC-5,6,7,8,9) WEBSITE http://community.webtv.net/charles379/USNComposite FAIRECONRON ONE AND TWO (VQ-1/2) CASUALTIES http://www.anzwers.org/free/navyscpo...r_AirCrew.html |
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There was a Sea Dart over at NAS Norfolk back in April of 1968. Cockpit was
closed but no other protection on the Jet. There was also a "Pogo". Do not know what ever happened to them.. Frank "Chuck" wrote in message ... From http://www.staugustine.com (St. Augustine FL 21 Dec 2003) By SUSAN PARKER Historian With this past week's centennial celebration of the Wright Brothers' first flight, the focus on aviation pioneers has been both historical and personal for me. My uncle, Charles Eugene Richbourg, a son of St. Augustine, was the first person to break the sound barrier in a seaplane on Aug. 3, 1954. Three months later he was killed testing another version of that plane, the SeaDart. His remains were returned to St. Augustine to be buried in the National Cemetery. Uncle Charlie, my father's younger brother, grew up on Milton Street, near the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. Other boys in the neighborhood -- Frank and Hamilton Upchurch and Richard Watson, now with their own distinguished careers -- have recalled for me my uncle's passion for creating model airplanes in the workshop in the family garage. An alumnus of Ketterlinus High School and of MIT, Charles Richbourg became a test pilot for Convair after four years as a Navy pilot in World War II. He tested an experimental seaplane that would double as a high-performance delta-winged jet fighter. In those days test pilots were very involved in designing the planes in addition to flight-testing. He knew Chuck Yeager and his name was included in early discussions of astronaut candidates. Uncle Charlie came from a flying family. Over half of its six family members were pilots -- Charles, his father, his older brother and his older sister. James W. Richbourg, his father and my grandfather, established St. Augustine Flying Enterprises with Lucius Rees in 1928, to run an airfield on State Road 16, train pilots and service aircraft. Would it frustrate and puzzle them to know that I swallow a tranquilizer before boarding a plane? To me, Charles Richbourg was, first of all, my tall uncle since I was a child when he died. It was years later that I realized the larger world of his achievements. I see him now in a few scattered moments in my memory. I recall one day when he squatted down to my own short size and set me on his knee. I was the 3-year-old flower girl in his wedding, but my memory's image of the event is mostly the flames flickering on the tall candelabra at the end of the church aisle. He and my father standing at the end of the aisle are shadows in my memory. It was happenstance that CBS news cameras were filming what turned out to be his final flight in early November 1954. [Life magazine also featured photos]. Although I had already been told of the tragedy, I did not expect to see Uncle Charlie wave good-by from the cockpit on the evening news. Then I saw his plane explode, bursting apart in the air. No one else has ever flown faster than the speed of sound in a seaplane. ---end St. Augustine Record newspaper article--- Chuck HEAVY ATTACK COMPOSITE (VC-5,6,7,8,9) WEBSITE http://community.webtv.net/charles379/USNComposite FAIRECONRON ONE AND TWO (VQ-1/2) CASUALTIES http://www.anzwers.org/free/navyscpo...r_AirCrew.html |
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Coincidentally, I've just returned from a brief trip to San Diego, where I had
time to look at the SD Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park. Very professionally done, and well worth working into any visit to San Diego. At the entrance are two planeguards, an SR-71 and the first Sea Dart I've ever seen. There was a Sea Dart over at NAS Norfolk back in April of 1968. Cockpit was closed but no other protection on the Jet. There was also a "Pogo". Do not know what ever happened to them.. Frank |
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There was a Sea Dart over at NAS Norfolk back in April of 1968.
Cockpit was closed but no other protection on the Jet. There was also a "Pogo". Do not know what ever happened to them.. Frank, I don't know how many they built, but there is one outside the EAA musem at the Lakeland Linder Airport in Forida. Leanne |
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![]() "Leanne" wrote in message ... There was a Sea Dart over at NAS Norfolk back in April of 1968. Cockpit was closed but no other protection on the Jet. There was also a "Pogo". Do not know what ever happened to them.. Frank, I don't know how many they built, but there is one outside the EAA musem at the Lakeland Linder Airport in Forida. Leanne With the EAA Museum located in Oshkosh, might you be talking about the Florida Air Museum? Regards, Tex Houston |
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![]() Tex Houston wrote: "Leanne" wrote in message ... There was a Sea Dart over at NAS Norfolk back in April of 1968. Cockpit was closed but no other protection on the Jet. There was also a "Pogo". Do not know what ever happened to them.. Frank, I don't know how many they built, but there is one outside the EAA musem at the Lakeland Linder Airport in Forida. Leanne With the EAA Museum located in Oshkosh, might you be talking about the Florida Air Museum? Regards, Tex Houston From: http://www.coastcomp.com/av/pres/prest.htm Convair XF2/YF2 Sea Dart XF2 137634 Garber Facility - Smithsonian (Prototype) YF2Y-1 135763 95 San Diego Aerospace Museum(CA) YF2Y-1 135764 JUL94 Willow Grove (PA) NAS YF2Y-1 135765 APR97 LAKELAND (FL) Sun and Fun MUSEUM Bob McKellar |
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Bob McKellar wrote:
From: http://www.coastcomp.com/av/pres/prest.htm Convair XF2/YF2 Sea Dart XF2 137634 Garber Facility - Smithsonian (Prototype) YF2Y-1 135763 95 San Diego Aerospace Museum(CA) YF2Y-1 135764 JUL94 Willow Grove (PA) NAS YF2Y-1 135765 APR97 LAKELAND (FL) Sun and Fun MUSEUM Thanks for the info. But it brings two questions to mind. Does anyone know the present status of that XF2? [The page shows last edit in May of 2003.] If restoration is complete, could it have been moved to the new NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located at Washington Dulles International Airport? Last location shown on the Smithsonian pages is G22 at the Garber Facility. [From http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/air_space.cfm et seq] The XF2's full designation shown on the NASM pages is XF2Y-1. I note that its BuNo is 137634, nearly 2000 numbers beyond the YF2Y-1s. From what I learned while serving, the Xs usually preceded the Ys in the typical development spectrum. Whassup with the Sea Darts that they went out of order? -- OJ III [Email sent to Yahoo addy is burned before reading. Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast] |
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![]() Ogden Johnson III wrote: Bob McKellar wrote: From: http://www.coastcomp.com/av/pres/prest.htm Convair XF2/YF2 Sea Dart XF2 137634 Garber Facility - Smithsonian (Prototype) YF2Y-1 135763 95 San Diego Aerospace Museum(CA) YF2Y-1 135764 JUL94 Willow Grove (PA) NAS YF2Y-1 135765 APR97 LAKELAND (FL) Sun and Fun MUSEUM Thanks for the info. But it brings two questions to mind. Does anyone know the present status of that XF2? [The page shows last edit in May of 2003.] If restoration is complete, could it have been moved to the new NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located at Washington Dulles International Airport? Last location shown on the Smithsonian pages is G22 at the Garber Facility. [From http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/air_space.cfm et seq] The XF2's full designation shown on the NASM pages is XF2Y-1. I note that its BuNo is 137634, nearly 2000 numbers beyond the YF2Y-1s. From what I learned while serving, the Xs usually preceded the Ys in the typical development spectrum. Whassup with the Sea Darts that they went out of order? -- OJ III [Email sent to Yahoo addy is burned before reading. Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast] When in doubt, check with Joe Baugher! http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f7.html The "Preserved List" is updated sporadically and randomly, usually in the dead of winter[1] when there is nothing much else to do. [1] Not that "winter" around Savannah would impress a lot of you Bob McKellar |
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![]() "Ogden Johnson III" wrote in message ... Does anyone know the present status of that XF2? [The page shows last edit in May of 2003.] If restoration is complete, could it have been moved to the new NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located at Washington Dulles International Airport? Last location shown on the Smithsonian pages is G22 at the Garber Facility. [From http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/air_space.cfm et seq] OJ III I checked the UHC list at: http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarh...ifacts_air.cfm and they have no Convair aircraft listed. May very well still be in storage. Tex Houston |
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Bob McKellar wrote:
Ogden Johnson III wrote: When in doubt, check with Joe Baugher! http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f7.html The "Preserved List" is updated sporadically and randomly, usually in the dead of winter[1] when there is nothing much else to do. They weren't life or death questions, just random curiosity on a slow morning [we have done XMas at New Years for years - since all the kids are out of everyone's house]. [1] Not that "winter" around Savannah would impress a lot of you It would me - if I had the good fortune to be living there. I loved it the few months we spent there when I was a kid and dad was going to a school at Ft Gordon before hieing off to the Korean War. Then pulled regular weekend liberty there the few times I was TAD to MCAS Beaufort. *The* nicest place I've ever spent time in - and that includes 2 years as a military brat in Hawaii. -- OJ III [Email sent to Yahoo addy is burned before reading. Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast] |
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F-86 and sound barrier | VH | Military Aviation | 43 | September 26th 03 02:53 AM |