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I guess that, in reality, you can say
we had hardly any problems.” The
aircraft is currently going through a
flight test program as this issue goes
to the printer. “We’ve done about ten
flights, getting everything fine-tuned.
I plan on having the Sabre at Oshkosh
because I want to share the plane
with the largest number of people
possible. Also, I want to tell the story
of Joe McConnell and all the other
fighter pilots that went to war against
the MiGs. Today, the Korean War is
basically forgotten. I want to change
that. I want the American public to
learn of the heroism and sacrifices
made by the USAF, USN, and USMC
pilots fighting in a war to preserve
South Korea’s freedom — a war sadly
forgotten today.” AChigh-speed taxis that went right up to
lift off speed. Basically, he had done
everything he could and had complete
confidence in the aircraft so it was
time to takeoff and do a circuit. As
with any such event, Doug said “you
can’t help but be somewhat nervous
but when you have been involved
in every step of the rebuild and it is
your shop doing that rebuild, then
the confidence level really goes to the
highest point.”
Wanting a modern cockpit, Doug
had an all-glass panel installed in
the Sabre along with the completely
new electrical system and all new
plumbing. “When I landed, I had two
airframe gripes and four avionics
gripes — mainly tied in to the new
glass cockpit. That is pretty good andpanel, and many other
cockpit improvements,- External drop tanks (120 and
200-gallon) have been refurbished, - 3500 wire ends have been
terminated and functionally
checked, - And all this work, plus a lot not
mentioned, was needed to create
the world’s finest flying Sabre.
The hard work paid off on 24
February 2022 when Doug took 52-
5116 aloft for it first post-restoration
flight from Kissimmee. Right from
the start, Doug knew he wanted to
honor Joe McConnell and the ace’s
paint scheme had been recreated in
meticulous detail as the Sabre was
going together. To prepare for this
important mission, Doug had made
numerous engine runs and several
McConnell and his wife, who he nicknamed “Butch.” McConnell’s life was filmed as The McConnell Story
but had to be quickly rewritten after the ace’s death in an F-86H crash.
Captain Harold E. Fisher’s The Paper
Tiger, F-86F-10-NA 51-12958 of the 39th
FIS.