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RE: Late night shop drawings
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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 RE: Late night shop drawings (in reply to runner)
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The older pilots I knew were versatile, though Lindbergh's intuitive grasp was indeed legendary.
One of my father's stories was about having to adapt. At the very beginning of WW II, before he went overseas, he was briefly the engineering officer at the new gunnery school in Harlingen, Texas. The engineering officer is responsible for the flight line, maintenance, etc.
One of the contingencies developed before the war was to take a large number of civilian planes into the military, for use by the military for the increased level of travel and liaison within the USA. One of the planes was a fairly rare 4-seater whose make and model I don't remember.
When the planes were brought into the service, they were given a going over by the Air Corps mechanics, and any needed maintenance was performed. On this plane the cable and bell crank control system was given a tune up.
Going over the records, Dad asked why the plane had sat for a couple of weeks without being flight tested. He was told that no one had ever flown one like it, so they were reluctant to take it up. He replied, "I've never flown one, but if nobody else will do it, I'll take it up myself."
Fully committed to takeoff, no runway left, with his copilot along, just after they lifted off he noticed the controls were crossed up. Pushing the stick to the left, the plane rolled right. It was an easy mistake to make. All you had to do was swap the connection of two aileron cables to the wrong bell cranks.
At this point Dad would pause in his story as though done with it.
Someone would always supply a straight line. "Well, what did you do?"
"Oh we went up and flew around a little, did a few maneuvers until we got used to it, and came back and landed."
"That was it?"
"Well, I had to get on the mechanics for crossing it up, and publicly humiliate myself for missing it on the pre-flight."
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Dad's younger brother was flying his business partner's plane cross country over New Mexico on a business trip, with his partner half asleep in the right seat. The plane was partially fabric covered. It had just come out of the shop from being re-covered. My uncle said he noticed that the new fabric was just tucked under the top of the windshield plexiglas, instead of being wrapped around the tubular frame and doped in place, as it should have been.
As Uncle Cecil told it, "Sure enough, after a while I heard a big boom, and the plane started handling pretty funny. We had just passed a little airport out in the country. I turned around and landed downwind. The airport manager came boiling out of his office, cussing us for not calling for permission and for landing downwind."
Uncle Cecil went on, "I was still in the cockpit, talking to him through the side window. I said, 'If you're through talking now for a little while, put your foot on that step, look at the top of this plane, and tell me what you see.' He did that, and he said, 'Jesus, the whole top of the plane is gone.' Excuse my language, but that's what he said."
"I told him, 'That's what I thought. You can get down now. I'm going to taxi over there and then I'm going to use your telephone. Have you got somebody who can tie this plane down?' "
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By the late 1950s "Uncle Bob" Weller had the world's biggest crop dusting operation. His pilots and planes worked from California all across the southern U.S. and all the way down to Brazil. The crop dusting business tended to attract adventurous spirits.
Uncle Bob's headquarters was at Stinson Field in San Antonio, where he leased three of the four hangars. One of his employees was Clinton Frakey, an airport bum he and Dad had known since pre-war days. Uncle Bob had hired Clinton because he felt he owed him a favor, but he grounded him when he won a bet by doing certain aerobatics in one of the Stearman biplane crop dusters with full spray booms rigged.
Clinton had a Piper J-3 Cub. Landing in a strong crosswind he ended up with the Cub on its nose, but with nearly no other damage. Using space in one of Uncle Bob's hangars he rebuilt the engine. All the mechanics told him not to use the old crankcase, as it was bound to be warped. Clinton said, "Well I took it to the machine shop and had it line bored. It will be fine."
All the same, when it was time to re-certify the plane, all of the FAA inspectors refused to fly with Clinton. By and by a new inspector showed up and took the job. They flew out east of San Antonio in a semicircle, planning to drop the inspector off at San Antonio Municipal on the north side of town. Half way around, as the mechanics had predicted, the engine seized up. Clinton turned to the inspector in the back seat and said, "One of the nice things about flying is it can be so nice and peaceful, don't you think?" I never heard what the inspector's reply was.
But as they dead sticked into a corn field, the inspector objected, "What the hell are you doing? Haven't you learned not to land crosswind by now?"
Clinton replied, "I'm just getting lined up with the plowing. I hate bumping over all them damned furrows."
I went with Dad while he was still on active duty to Uncle Bob's office at Stinson. Walking through the hangar, Clinton called out, "Red Jernigan, I haven't seen you in ten years. Come on over here."
Clinton was repairing the fabric in a panel of a wing on the J-3. He said, "I bet ten dollars you don't remember how to sew a baseball stitch."
Without a word, Dad took off his hat with the "scrambled eggs" on the bill, laid it on the workbench, laid a ten dollar bill on top of it, took the needle and thread, adjusted his trifocals that had reading lenses at top and bottom--he was 56 at the time--looked up at the underside of the wing and sewed a perfect baseball stitch. He picked up Clinton's money, put it in his pocket, then poked his thumb through the brittle fabric in the next panel. He said, "Clinton, you ought to take better care of yourself."
After rebuilding the engine again on a new crankcase, Clinton set out in the J-3 on a trip to see Angel Falls in Venezuela. After he took off in Venezuela he was never heard from again.
RNJ
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Mar. 13 2015 4:06:32
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: Late night shop drawings (in reply to BarkellWH)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
quote:
Despite only being able to trace his family lineage back to such recent times as the beginnings of noble and royal English families he speaks substantive yarns.
And don't forget the relationship to Charlemagne. But here's the deal. It is well-known that every living person of European descent today is in some way related to Charlemagne.
Bill
When I brought up family history I pointed out the following:
--When my family name was last in Burke's Peerage in the early 1950s, the entry began, "One of the oldest families in England in lineal male descent..."
I pointed out that this was according to the paperwork, while no one knew what went on between the sheets. To me, the unusual length of the succession made the paperwork even less credible than usual.
Take a close look at photos of Prince William, his grandfather Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Diana's red-headed lover. Just saying....you never know.
--I wrote that one of my lineal ancestors married a daughter of William de Huntingfield, whose wife was a French countess descended from Charlemagne. I then pointed out that recent research indicated that far more of my DNA is from Neanderthals than from Charlemagne, but some people seem to think Charlemagne is the big deal.
--I ridiculed one of my old cousins for breathlessly informing me that one of Elizabeth II's fourteen-times-great-grandmother was a Jernigan. I indicated why this was statistically almost certain to have been the case, due marriage customs in medieval England. Just because there happened to be public records in a packrat country like England didn't make it any bigger deal.
--I repeated what I told my children, "The only virtue I see in an extended family history is the evidence that over a long enough period, almost every human trait will emerge, for good or ill."
--Taken as a whole, my comments about my ancestry should be seen as making fun of a family and a culture (the "Old South"), both of which place an absurd weight on family history.
I could tell some stories of the less admirable traits of some of my English ancestors, but you guys would just make fun of me. ;^(
Actually my feelings aren't hurt. Thanks for complimenting my stories. It's fun to mull over old times. Stephen is right about the Texas story telling culture. It exists--or used to exist--on both sides of the border, in northern Mexico as well. It used to extend into the old south as well, but people are probably too busy with other amusements to listen to stories now.
I just wanted to set the record straight for any newcomers. I'm not bragging. I'm ridiculing.
And don't forget that one of my lineal ancestors sold land in the Northern Neck of Virginia to George Washington's great-grandfather, the first of the Washingtons in America. You can look it up.
That is, if you can dig up a copy of Lillian Jernigan Worley's privately printed book...
RNJ
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Mar. 14 2015 3:45:12
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: Late night shop drawings (in reply to Richard Jernigan)
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quote:
I then pointed out that recent research indicated that far more of my DNA is from Neanderthals than from Charlemagne
That goes for all of us, Richard. We of European descent carry DNA from both Charlemagne and Neanderthals. I repeat below something I wrote a while back in another thread.
Recent studies have confirmed that one to two percent of the DNA found in modern humans of European, Middle Eastern, and East Asian origin was contributed by Neanderthals, thus indicating that modern humans migrating out of Africa about 60,000 years ago interbred with Neanderthals, who first appeared in Europe and the Middle East about 400,000 years ago. The archaeological record demonstrates that Neanderthals were using simple tools and were not the dumb brutes of popular imagination. They disappeared about 30,000 years ago, but not before interbreeding with modern humans sufficiently to ensure we still carry their DNA.
And please don't take umbrage at an occasional teasing comment. It has been done to me too. Your story-telling would be sorely missed were it not on the Foro. Keep them coming, amigo.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Mar. 14 2015 10:35:55
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: Late night shop drawings (in reply to BarkellWH)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
quote:
I could tell some stories of the less admirable traits of some of my English ancestors, but you guys would just make fun of me.
OK, Richard, I'll bite. Let's hear some of those stories. Promise not to make teasing comments.
Cheers,
Bill
Make all the teasing comments you want. I was just teasing about the teasing comments. Sort of.
Many more historical documents of the period up through the reign of Mary Tudor have been scanned and put on line in the last few years. Some have even been optically read, edited and indexed. But an obstacle to research is the fact that my family name appears in at least 11 different spellings in primary documents, ranging from simply Jernigan or Jernegan to such elaborations as Garnangin and Iernyngham.
So, if I post any stories, they will likely be just based on my recollection of what I have read in the last 50 years in secondary sources, and without citations.
RNJ
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Mar. 18 2015 0:44:11
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: Late night shop drawings (in reply to BarkellWH)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
Where are you going for vacation this summer, Richard?
Bill
Italy.
OK, here's a story as I remember it, but I can't find primary sources for all of it. None of the primary sources I have found so far contradict it.
At the time that Giulio de Medici was elected Pope Clement VII, Charles V (the Holy Roman Emperor) and Francis I (King of France) were at war. Clement was openly on Charles's side, but made secret overtures to the French. This annoyed Charles enough to essentially imprison Clement in the Castel Sant'Angelo.
Cardinal Wolsey was still the most influential minister of Henry VIII. Richard Jerningham, a younger son of my ancestor, was Lord Vice-Chamberlain. He was one of Wolsey's men who had long served in diplomatic and military roles on the continent. Several other family members had served Henry VII and Henry VIII in various capacities.
Robert Jerningham was the nephew of Richard. He was the 8th child of my ancestor Edward Jerningham of Somerleyton and his first wife Margaret Bedingfield. Edward was well connected. His second wife, after Margaret died, was Mary Scrope, who was sister-in-law to the the Earl of Oxford and to the last of the De La Pole Dukes of Suffolk.
Robert distinguished himself in various military campaigns, having broken his spear upon a couple of Dukes, and having led notable assaults. He was sent as Master of the Horse with 80 knights to serve with Francis I's forces in Italy. The knights would have averaged ten footmen apiece in their entourages, but apparently Robert was not in command of the foot, though he was paymaster of all the English forces sent to Italy. There was a General of the King's Army in Italy.
Sir Robert had very good intelligence information, and a network of connections reaching back to England. Being with the General on high ground when a superior force of the Imperialist Spanish passed below, as Robert knew they would, Robert proposed to the General that they should attack the Spanish. As Robert was almost certain the General would, he prudently refused. Robert charged him with cowardice in the face of the enemy, and through a relay of messengers the charge was carried back to England.
No doubt Wolsey strongly influenced the decision which led to the General being relieved, and Robert put in his place. Then it was time for the second part of Robert's scheme.
Strong Imperialist forces had been sent to the defense of Naples. Robert pointed out to the French General that the route to Naples was essentially undefended, and that there were sufficient forces available to besiege the city. It would have been an even bigger coup for Robert to capture Naples, as Richard had captured Tournai in Flanders.
The French/English forces marched to Naples and besieged the city. The reason they were unopposed in their approach soon became apparent. A paragraph in Hall's Chronicle begins, "In that country there was a very hott fever." Within a few weeks, a third of the French/Engllsh forces were dead from malaria, including Sir Robert. The siege was lifted.
Thus ended a major act of treachery, and the hopes of Robert's line being dukes or earls.
My ancestor, Robert's nephew Henry was one of the leading men in the reign of Mary Tudor. He was Lord Vice-Chamberlain, Captain of the Guard, Master of the Horse, and Lord Lieutenant of Kent. He was one of the main devisers, promoters and facilitators of marrying Queen Mary to Philip II of Spain, in support of the Counter Reformation in England. This provoked more than one armed rebellion. Henry was a leader in putting down rebellion.
Bob Ridley, who was subsequently Director of the U.K. Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, was at my house in Austin late one evening. We were having home made apple pie and coffee, taking a break from preparing for the meeting the next day. Bob commented on my family name.
Bob asked, "Are you related to Jerningham, from Mary Tudor's reign?"
I said, "Yes, my ancestor had your relative Bishop Ridley burnt at the stake."
"Well," said Bob, "that was a long time ago, wasn't it?"
After the accession of Elizabeth I, Henry entertained her at his manor near Norwich. Apparently Elizabeth bore him no grudge for leading the party who arrested her chaplain, and being a member of the party who arrested her when Mary put her in the Tower.
But Henry, and his titled descendants played no further role at court, since the family remained Roman Catholic.
On my first visit to the area I met Francis Crossley, Lord Somerleyton, father of the present Baron. Oddly enough, he was royal Master of the Horse at the time. By now it is a royal household office, with essentially no political role. In Tudor times the Master of the Horse was ex officio the representative of the nobility in the Privy Council. But being Master of the Horse now at least means you are good buddies with the Queen.
Lord Somerleyton said, "I am a 'carpet baron.' My great-grandfather was apprenticed to a weaver at Axminster. He invented the broadloom, leading to the mass production of carpeting. My grandfather was a friend of Prince Albert. He carpeted the Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition in 1851. Queen Victoria made him a Baron. Your ancestors were real barons, military men. If they wanted something, they took it by force."
I replied, "Surely sir, you know that my ancestor Sir Walter got this place in 1248 by marrying the heiress."
RNJ
By the way, I was named after one of my mother's brothers, not the Richard in this tale. The name was rare among the earlier Jerninghams/Jernigans/Jernegans/Iernynghams/etc.
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Date Mar. 19 2015 22:04:30
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