...Tora!

So, I'm sitting out in the back of the Domain this morning about 8:30am, drinking my coffee while watching calves enjoy their morning milk when I realize that in the background there's the distinct voice of a radial engine coupled to a trans-sonic propeller. You can hear it maneuvering, first the ratchety sound of the exhaust as the airplane is headed away, then the prop talk increasing in pitch as the aircraft turns and picks up speed in a dive.

Hmm...WTF? Sounds like Pearl Harbor is next door.

It takes me a minute to realize it's a crop duster working the Brazos bottom land about 4 miles to the north of us.

Never, ever a dull moment...

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

my mom used to tell us stories about her and her brothers & sisters running out into the fields when they heard the crop duster. they'd try to get out under it as it flew over to get sprayed!

northern maine, such simple folks!

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1985 300D - 1984 Euro 280E AMG Clone (SOLD) - 1978 280CE (SOLD) - 1983 300D (SOLD) - 1981 300D (SOLD)

A buddy of mine used to fly "Ag Cats" if I remember the name correctly. It was a biplane, with a big radial in it. If I remember there was a regular and turbo or supercharged version.

This friend was a risk taker. He ended up hitting a high voltage power line at the end of a run. One wheel went over, one went under the power line. These Ag Cats have a NASCAR like roll cage. He said the next thing he remembers is walking down a dirt road next to the field, in a daze. He was very lucky. The plane was totaled.

We have a guy just north of us that has several old fashioned Biplanes.
Don't know if they are remakes or what.

Noisy, yea. But fun to watch. Sometimes he does some tricks.

Funny though I was gonna post this.
Had an Avantair (?) twin pusher property corporate style go over head.

Dang that thing was noisy, we have corp jets go overhead regulalry on their way to Palwakee (Chicagoland Exec) and some are almost silent.
And I think they are lower than that Avantair thing was.

Although it is a really neat looking plane.

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

Was it one of these units? A Piaggio Avanti P.180?



Or some other sort of Piaggio...

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Yep one of them.

Avantair is the fractional ownership for them.

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

guy here in town that runs the airport also cropdusts and he has crashed at least 6 different planes and has walked away from all of em.his kid is following in his tracks.he crashed one this summer.

If you don't die in a crash, cancer will eventually get you.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Whenever I see those cropdusters in action I wonder how they avoid crashing.

Do they really do that much good for the crops?

It seems like a lot of toxic stuff floating in the air.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

IIRC, that's where tooth paste and tooth brushes were invented.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

After a few years of working on Chinook helicopters I still think of their noise as being a normal part of my day, even though it is a long time since I worked on one... most of my neighbours disagree though!

Not as romantic as a radial - the USA is great for old aircraft. I did see a Dakota flying here in Holland last year though when they were doing jollies at the local airfield it was a lot better than the modern stuff they usually have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmoSOdZhAvs


Oh you were referring to the original, my mistake

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

The local airfield is a Stearman restoration center and I often hear them lumbering along over the house. Sometimes hearing the blare of the prop when they're doing a few aerobatics.

One of my former instructors has a WACO bi-plane that he hires out for rides at the same facility.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

My roommate at ASU in the late 60's flew most of the AT-6 Texans (Harvards to the Canadians) from Canada to Hollywood for the filming of Tora Tora Tora. With a little modification to the tail they will pass for a Zero.

Instead of getting paid he got one of the planes. He kept it at the Mesa, Az. airport. We used to go there on the weekends and help him polish it.