0 Items- Home >
- Pilot Maker: The Incredible T-6
Harvard, Texan, J-Bird, T-6, whatever name you gave the aircraft, it was the right plane, in the right place, at the right time. One of the most important aircraft to emerge from the 1930s, it proved to be an excellent training machine for fledgling pilots throughout the world. So adaptable was the design that it was used to teach carrier landings, aerial fixed gunnery, glide bombing, flexible hand-held gunnery, aerial photography, instrument flying & advanced military flying. It was safe, reliable, challenging and a perfect machine for transition from elementary trainers to the front-line P-40s, P-51s & similar "hot ships" of the period.
For more than twenty years it taught American military pilots to fly & it still serves today with the air forces of several nations. Pilot Maker by Jeff Ethell & Walt Ohlrich documents for the first time, the fascinating story of this important aircraft.
Pages: 146
Size: 7 X 10 (inches)
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: b/w
Publisher: Specialty Press
ISBN: 9780933424340
Product Code: SP434P
Jeffrey L. Ethell
Jeffrey L. Ethell, the son of a former AAF and USAF fighter pilot, was taught to fly by his father before he learned to drive a car. He now holds a Commercial Pilot's License with Instrument, Multi-engine and Instructor Ratings and has flown many of the high-performance types currently in service with the USAF, USN and USMC. After becoming proficient in the PT-17 and AT-6, he went on to qualify in the P-51D and the B-25. His writing career began in 1967 and 1968 after being awarded Research Grants from the National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, to study and write about World War II aircraft. He has authored hundreds of magazine articles and has written 16 books, including Komet, P-38 Lightning at War, The German Jets in Combat, Mustang, Target Berlin, Used Aircraft Guide and F-15 Eagle. He continues to lecture at the NASM and he serves as editor of WARBIRDS Magazine for Warbirds of America. A member of the American Aviation Historical Society, he serves as President and Curator of the Aviation Heritage Museum.
Walter E. Ohlrich, Jr.
Walter E. Ohlrich, Jr., Captain, USN (Ret) was taught to fly by his father, a former Army Air Force pilot, in a PT-17, soloing at age 16 and getting his pilot's license at 17. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1946 and went on to fly F6F Hellcats, F8F Bearcats, F4U Corsairs, F-80 Shooting Stars, F2H Banshees and F9F Panthers before serving as A-4 Skyhawk Project Officer and acceptance test pilot in the early 1960s. He then flew a combat tour in the A-4 in Vietnam and later became Commanding Officer of VA-95. He retired from the Navy in 1978. An avid antique airplane restorer and pilot, he was the founder of Warbirds of America and flew in the Reno and Las Vegas Unlimited Air Races in an F8F Bearcat from 1964 through 1971. He has also owned a P-51D and SNJ-5. Ever active in antique and warbird aircraft, he is a member of the American Aviation Historical Society and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Aviation Heritage Museum.
