It's been...

...a while since we talked of button pushing,
I didn't mean to relax and sit upon a cushion;
so let's go over this, and catch up a time or two,
we can call this exercise Button Pushing 102.

It's a simple practice, we practice before it's gone,
let's all start by going to www.theanimalrescuesite.com,
see that row of tabs, right up there on the stop,
click on one, push the button, repeat, and.....stop!

Just make sure you do one at a time,
all that good you just did, didn't cost you a dime,
if we do this everyday, and we really should,
just imagine, you're just one; and you did all that good!

There once...

...was a poem, a man with an Albatross tied around his neck,
I'd repeat it here, but won't, oh, what the heck;
but let's go take a look, at a different kind of bird,
it's an Albatross too, but different, take my word.

It's an amphibious - floats, and wheels to see,
takes off on the water, or land if need be,
or takes off on land, it doesn't matter which,
and can land on either too, so you won't have to ditch.

Back when in the Navy it was a UF-1,
then it was U16, call it either one,
now they're museum pieces, all that long ago stuff,
but there were times, when they couldn't do enough.

Top: A restored Albatross, a museum  exhibit.
Middle: A U S Coast Guard plane taxis for take off on the water.
Bottom: A Coast Guard flight line includes an Albatross.

There was...

...always a rumor, that this plane could not fly,
but fly it did, consistently, but time has passed it by;
the Neptune flew for years, a daily sort of thing,
capable of long hours aloft, with a "middle" wing.

Long before the P3 Orion, came to take it's place,
the P2 put in long hours, in the Cold War race,
protect us all from submarines, a mission not with ease,
the Soviets would often cause things that seemed to tease.

It was a game of cat and mouse, played out around the world,
watch the subs and surface ships, check the flag unfurled,
an often lonely, boring watch, hours spent aloft,
life was good at times too, but not always soft.

We owe a lot to those crews, who far from home,
kept up the watch, and played the game, out there all alone,
hours of time spent in the air, hours of pre-flight too,
and post-flight took some time, they did it all for you.

 A P2 takes off from the USS Franklin, 1952, Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) or temporary
jet "engines" give an extra boost.

 On patrol over the Atlantic, could be anywhere from Iceland to Bermuda.

Pacific patrol, note the "added" jet engines, they are permanent, they got the crew
on-site quicker, leaving more time to "loiter".

A wonderful...

thing is a wing, that's designed to fly,
I think one day I saw one, as it flew by,
a Flying Wing, it's quite a sight,
but only three were built, don't know if I'm right.

I'm pretty sure that when I was a kid,
I'm sure I saw one, or think I did;
way overhead, high in the sky,
did Lebanon Maine have one go by.

First the "prop job" the B-35,
very slowly came alive,
the the jet engines took the stage,
the YB-49 entered the jet age.

They never "took off", to repeat a phrase,
not heavy enough in this day and age;
the B-52 was soon to be built,
and the B-49 pinball machine, said tilt.

Top: Flying over Edwards AFB...
Middle: From the drawing board.,
Bottom: Just testing!

A mighty..

...warrior, it's the name to be had,
by the plane often known, as the Spad;
it really is the Skyraider, or the AD1,
it was a ledgend it it's time, for the battles won.

From the forties through the seventies, the warrior flew,
and, it seems, with each flight, the ledgend grew;
bring it back full of holes, use duct tape for a patch,
the armored cockpit saved the man, he without a scratch.

It served in many capacities, versatile and stable,
from the ground or carrier deck, this one was able,
now replaced and retired, the recip is gone away,
but, it may come back, sometime to save the day.

Top: Wings folded and in a museum.
Middle: The Marines over Korea.  Painted the original Midnight Blue.
Bottom: VA-152 flying over Vietnam in 1966.

The....

...wonderful world of flying things,
all made better, of course, with wings;
powered by air flowing over the wing,
a flying machine is a wonderful thing.

Over the course of a great many years,
designed on napkins over some beers;
or done on computer in some magical way.
Want to go up? What do you say?

Back at the end of World War Two,
some planes were retired, others were new,
the A-26 or B-26 were part of a new breed,
or in the Navy JD-1 is what you need.

Attack or Bomber, or Utility plane,
guns, bombs passengers, all the same;
a versitile aircraft, one among many,
if you need more than one, or don't need any.

They're all gone now, progress moves on,
now it's jet engines, the recips are gone;
the airframes are different while staying the same,
but they all fly, that's the name of the game.

Top: A U S Navy JD-l
Middle: A U S Air Force B-26 flies over Korea, during the Korean War.
Bottom: Done over again - this time it's a Canadian fire fighter.

How about...

...a subject, one that is new?
I've got one in mind, more stuff to share with you.
How about a Hudson, not the automobile,
this is an aircraft, and it was the real deal.

Made by Lockheed in World War Two,
flown mostly by allies but there were quite a few;
twelve of even flew patrol for our Navy,
off the Canadian coast, where the ocean is wavy. (sorry)

Flown by Patrol Squadron 82 out of Argentia Newfoundland.

An allied crew sinks a U-Boat

The Army Air Corps flew the Hudson too.