American versus Canadian airplane factories
Picking up an airplane in Duluth, Minnesota is a bit different from my last experience picking one up in London, Ontario. The Canadian factory didn’t have a “Guns are banned from these premises” sign out front. Another difference is that the Cirrus factory has an F-16 parked right next to it, belonging to George W. Bush’s beloved Air National Guard. This F-16 is apparently in need of some maintenance because it has been sitting out for the entire winter. Only our government can afford to leave a $30 million airplane outside exposed to the harsh northern elements!
One thing that is more or less the same is the miserable weather. For the morning flight today the weather was 100′ overcast and 1/4 mile visibility. I went to the Duluth Aquarium instead and then to the Richard I. Bong museum in Superior, Wisconsin. Bong was a Wisconsin farm boy who went on to become the U.S.’s most successful P-38 fighter pilot in the Pacific War, downing more than 40 Japanese planes. The museum staff, having noticed my coupon from Cirrus, hauled out an old movie on “how to fly your new P-38″ from Lockheed circa 1942. The product was described in the video as a “real fighting man’s airplane” and a “man’s airplane”. Close-to-the-ground maneuvers were described as “not likely to be a habit-forming.” The plane worked well for Bong, who survived all of his combat missions. Sadly he was killed while test-flying a jet-powered fighter in 1945. Major Bong was 24 years old.
