The P-38 is an incredibly rare airplane. To see two flying at the same time is just unheard of.
I used to volunteer for what is now the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon and they had a P-38. I helped maintain part of the collection of mostly WW2 aircraft, B-17, P-51, F4U, P-40 and P-38, etc, when they were in flyable storage in a super hanger at the Portland International Airport.
It was a real blast! Got to fly in some of the birds, including the B-17. One of the most amazing views in the world is sitting in the bombadiar's seat during take off, flight and landing, in a B-17. Probably not the safest place to be if something went wrong..LOL..but it was well worth it.
Speaking of things going wrong, I remember that same aircraft having an engine fire on engine run up just before take up. Seems a fuel line was left unhooked. Talk about close call! I'm sure that would not have played out well had it made it into the air.
Never got to fly in the P-38 as it didn't fly once it arrived from fresh restoration in Arizona. But ever since I was a kid, the P-38 has been my favorite all time aircraft. Used to be able to tell you every single detail about it.
I spent many hours playing around that aircraft and sitting in the cockpit, dreaming of flying it.
The one we had flew one last time from Portland to McMinnville before it was put into the newly built museum.
Unfortunately around that same time, 1996sh, a P-38 crashed here near Tillamook, Oregon, with famous warbird pilot Jeff Ethell at the controls. Jeff's father was a WW2 P-38 pilot. I remember Jeff talking about how dangerous the P-38 was to fly, especially at low speed and low altitude as so many things could go wrong if you ever lost an engine and it appears that's exactly what happened to him.
Anyway...just reliving some memories. It's been a number of years since I was that deeply involved in warbirds. I've often wondered what happened to the Confederate Air Force and how many of the restored planes that I used to see as a kid and teenager, are still flying today.
Some of these airplanes are almost 70 years old! I wish they could fly forever!
