Where's Keefe?

[Coleman]

Honest question, not trying to stir up trouble. He was such a huge presence on this board, especially with his illustrations, and haven't seen him in a while.

Is he climbing Everest? Visiting the monks on Mt. Athos? Or did he get the ban hammer? Mods? Anyone?

Keefe, you are missed buddy.

[brandx]

Probably honing up on Wikipedia so he can continue to be the expert of all things

[GGGG]

Probably honing up on Wikipedia so he can continue to be the expert of all things

+1.

And I hope it takes him a very, very long time to get to the end of the internet.

[ChicosBailBonds]

He's busy...working a new gig.  He also enjoyed his time away from here....cathartic. 

[real chili 83]

Agree with Chicos.  He's pretty consumed with a new gig that has a very cool mission.  My guess is that we will hear from him soon enough when he can get his head above water in his new role. 

[Coleman]

He's busy...working a new gig.  He also enjoyed his time away from here....cathartic. 

Good to hear. Thanks Chicos

[4everwarriors]

Is he Bill Russell's personal pilot or somethin'?

[Hards Alumni]

He comes and goes here.  Usually for months at a time.

[keefe]

We have been working 18 hour days to bring some game changing technologies to market. The one I mentioned briefly on Mercury scrubbing is the teaser. The other one is gargantuan.

So while Terror Skink/Sultan has been shilling for whatever "college" he toils at we have been monetizing world changing engineering ideas to solve significant problems. Don't worry, Skink, I will disappear here again shortly for some period of time and then you can pontificate to your cold heart's content. 

[keefe]

Is he Bill Russell's personal pilot or somethin'?

Standing next to him I felt absolutely dwarfed. The thought of his squeezing into a tactical cockpit is unimaginable. I often wondered how Chad Henning ever fit in an A 10.

[wildbillsb]

Or the "Splended Splinter" Ted Williams in a Korean War vintage fighter!

[keefe]

Or the "Splended Splinter" Ted Williams in a Korean War vintage fighter!

Williams flew the gull-winged F4-U Corsair in WWII. While the Spitfire and the Mustang got all the press the Corsair was blessed with perhaps the most sublime aircraft design ever. The '57 Chevy of the fighter world.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Williams flew the gull-winged F4-U Corsair in WWII. While the Spitfire and the Mustang got all the press the Corsair was blessed with perhaps the most sublime aircraft design ever. The '57 Chevy of the fighter world.

The Corsair was manufactured in Stratford, CT.  I know a guy who's hobby the last several years has been restoring an original Corsair that sits outside Sikorsky Airport (which happens to also be located across from street from the factory where they were made).

Where's Pappy Boyington?

[keefe]

Boyington passed away some time ago. As a CMH awardee he was buried at Arlington. Boyington went to UDub and has some notoriety here in Seattle. He was a hard charging aviator who lived large. A more reputable poster boy for the Corsair was Joe Foss, another Marine Corps winner of the CMH. Both were aces but Foss went on to wear stars in the SD ANG as well as serve as that state's governor. He was also the first commissioner of the AFL.

The Corsair was an awesome weapon system that had one of the best kill ratios in the annals of aerial combat. It had a massive PW radial power plant and Hamilton designed a special prop to maximize its torque and kw output. The prop arc was so large that Vought added the gull wings to enable ground clearance while taxiing.

That gull wing design made it one of the most distinctive airframe designs. What a magnificent warbird.







A comparably beautiful airframe is the Spitfire. Once they installed the RR Merlin power plant and incorporated the bubble canopy the Spit (and Hurricanes) turned back the Luftwaffe. Perhaps the most elegant design to ever take flight the Spitfire remains an iconic symbol of British resolve and determination.