One of the "tourist" things I wanted to see in New York was the USS Intrepid museum. The Intrepid was one of the major carriers that participated in many of the island campaigns of the Pacific during WWII, such as the battle of Midway Island.
Since the Intrepid was decommissioned after Vietnam, the city of New York acquired it and turned it into a floating museum.
My connection with the Intrepid goes back to my days as a flight student and becoming "Carrier Qualified" or CQ'ed as a Marine aviator before graduating. The normal training carrier, the USS Lexington, was in drydock for repairs when it was time for me to CQ. The Navy, not wanting to hold up training classes, ordered one of its Fleet carriers, the USS Intrepid, CVS-11, to the Atlantic off the coast of Florida so it could stand in for the Lexington. So in January of 1970, I became a Carrier Qualified Marine Aviator by making five "traps" and take-offs from the deck of the USS Intrepid. The aircraft I flew was a modified fixed wing aircraft, the T-28C, which was similar to some of the WWII fighter aircraft, only a little more modern.
Since I only landed and took off from the deck of the Intrepid, not really walked around on the ship, it was surreal to walk the flight deck and go below to the maintenance deck where the aircraft were kept and maintained.
You know you are a "mature, retired, aviator" when one of the ships you operated from is now a museum and three of the helicopters on display in that museum are helicopters you flew but are also no longer in the active fleet!! :-)
There were only two fixed wing propeller driven aircraft that I wished I would have had the opportunity to fly as an aviator, and they were the WWII fighter aircraft, the F4U Corsair, and the A-1D Skyraider. The Skyraider, used extensively in Korea and Vietnam was famous for its load carrying capability of bombs or rockets, its ability to stay on station, without refueling, for up to 12 hours and its ability to survive multiple hits and still bring the pilot home safe. Here is a picture of the mighty Skyraider.
Since the Intrepid was decommissioned after Vietnam, the city of New York acquired it and turned it into a floating museum.
My connection with the Intrepid goes back to my days as a flight student and becoming "Carrier Qualified" or CQ'ed as a Marine aviator before graduating. The normal training carrier, the USS Lexington, was in drydock for repairs when it was time for me to CQ. The Navy, not wanting to hold up training classes, ordered one of its Fleet carriers, the USS Intrepid, CVS-11, to the Atlantic off the coast of Florida so it could stand in for the Lexington. So in January of 1970, I became a Carrier Qualified Marine Aviator by making five "traps" and take-offs from the deck of the USS Intrepid. The aircraft I flew was a modified fixed wing aircraft, the T-28C, which was similar to some of the WWII fighter aircraft, only a little more modern.
Since I only landed and took off from the deck of the Intrepid, not really walked around on the ship, it was surreal to walk the flight deck and go below to the maintenance deck where the aircraft were kept and maintained.
You know you are a "mature, retired, aviator" when one of the ships you operated from is now a museum and three of the helicopters on display in that museum are helicopters you flew but are also no longer in the active fleet!! :-)
There were only two fixed wing propeller driven aircraft that I wished I would have had the opportunity to fly as an aviator, and they were the WWII fighter aircraft, the F4U Corsair, and the A-1D Skyraider. The Skyraider, used extensively in Korea and Vietnam was famous for its load carrying capability of bombs or rockets, its ability to stay on station, without refueling, for up to 12 hours and its ability to survive multiple hits and still bring the pilot home safe. Here is a picture of the mighty Skyraider.
After leaving the Intrepid, lunch was the next item on our agenda. Sara picked the place for lunch.
On our walk along Wall Street, Jack took a picture of Charles Schwab's NYC office to send to his broker.
Across Wall Street, I spotted Tiffany's and took a picture to send to Jack's broker.
Perry, the Finacial Advisor at Taylor Payne Wealth Management, responded by saying " Let us know if you spend anything other than your time in Tiffany's. We may need to rework the cash flow!"
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