Flight Journal – August 2019

CONTENTS

FLIGHT JOURNAL |AUGUST 2019

FLIGHT JOURNAL (USPS 015-447; ISSN 1095-1075) is published bimonthly by Air Age Inc., 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA. Copyright 2019, all rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Wilton, CT,
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FEATURES

10 ‹ The Warbird Saviors

Inside the Restoration Community

by Budd Davisson

24 ‹ The Best WW II Fighter Pilot?

Hans-Joachim Marseille: German Super Ace

by Robert Tate

34 ‹ Flying the FM-2 Wildcat

A Modern Pilot’s Personal Perspective

by Mike Heiny Sr.

52 ‹ The Boy Next Door Goes to War

On-the-Job P-40 Training in North Africa

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

REGULARS

4 ‹ Editorial

6 ‹ Airdrop

46 ‹ Aviation Insider

Artificial Intelligence for Beginners:

AI, Aviation, and Human Destiny

by Thomas Atwood

60 ‹ Gallery

Behind the Photos: Confessions of

an Aviation Shutterbug

by Budd Davisson

65 ‹ Review Runway

66 ‹ Tailview

A Personal History of Warbirds

by Budd Davisson

ON THE COVER: Showing

most of the color schemes

FM-2s carried throughout

the war, the camera

catches them in near-

perfect formation—not an

easy feat. Because more

Eastern-built Wildcats

were produced and were

fl own longer than the

Grumman-built F4Fs, the

surviving Wildcats are

mostly FM-2s. (Photo by

David Leininger)

THIS PAGE: Th e Wildcat

was not the most svelte

fi ghter of WW II. In fact,

it was already stepping

into obsolescence when

the war began, as enemy

aircraft were more tech-

nologically advanced.

Still, it held the line in PTO

naval warfare until newer

designs were introduced.

Th e updated FM-2, the

“wilder” Wildcat, closed

much of the gap between

the Wildcat and its adver-

saries, allowing it to serve

until the war was over.

(Photo by John Dibbs/

planepicture.com)