Chaparral

The introduction; fierce, sock you in the face blast of noise and movement. What gives big brother?
'Chaparral.'
As if one word could say it all.
Burning rubber and hot tar, high octane, superchargers screeching.'Yup-gotta be' this from my brothers best friend-the block genius when it came to American muscle. Couldn't tell the difference between Triumph and a Ferrai. I did. And I still can, long after the track at Mount Tremblant hosted it's last CanAm.

A Little More

Naked metal hides no flaws,
the spirit of the beast for all to see.
This polished snake flew like a bat out of hell!

Exoto's 1/18 Shelby Cobra. Photos by author

Another shot of Auto Arts 1/18 scale F196. Photo by author.

The Fist

W e feel every hit as the hot desert air punches relentlessly at our tanker. The harnesses grip unforgiving, bruising our shoulders. The DC-6 is where I want her, on speed, on base leg, 30 flap, gear down and locked. Two F-15s practicing touch and goes, a struggle to get the timing down to slip in between them. One turns inside of me. Son of a bitch! Climb power! Flaps 2o-Positive Rate of Climb-Gear up. The F-15 jocks, oblivious- just keep trucking around and around. Losing visual in the turn, Ray picks them up on his side and calls for the controls, rolling back on final, calls gear down (again,) flaps 30, we slide down the chute, short final a roar as one of fighters screams overhead; full flaps-props forward- hydraulics checked. Ray greases the airliner dead center on the stripe, letting her roll down the baking desert concrete. Nose tire settles gently 'Reverse!' pop the throttle locks-the props on all four engines slip into a negative blade angle with a mighty whoosh. A flash as the second F-15 streaks down the left side of the runway. Ray shakes his head ' You boys go play-we have work to do.'

Franklin Mint 1/100 scale F-15. Photos by author

The Fury and the Fist

Franklin Mint's Armor series 1/100 F-4 Phantom 'Black Bunny'. Photo by author

Fury-barely controlled emotion, hard handed and hard headed, as much grace as an old corn binder parked behind a barn. But she could carry, and she was fast. The sky of Vietnam taught a generation of Airforce drivers to fight in the vertical, nimble red stars engaging the F-4 Phantoms in a dance of death-in the end, no winners, just hollow space for the victor, and the weight of great saddness for those left in the homes of the defeated.


F-4 Phantoms by Franklin Mint. Sadly, the majority of Armor 1/100s were discontinued after the Franklin Mint buy out.

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The 'Bunny', as with the other 1/100 scale Armor series aircraft, are of exceptional quality. Photos by author