Bob Cardin led a four-month expedition to Greenland to recover and restore Glacier Girl, a Lightning P-38 forced down in bad weather in 1942. "Doing something that had never been done before and that most thought impossible was my motivation," Cardin said.
With only seven of the planes remaining in the world, this weekend provides an opportunity to see a rare Lightning P-38 aircraft in action.
The Palm Springs Air Museum is hosting a special two-day event based around the P-38 fighter Friday and Saturday. First up is a special reception with Bob Cardin's PowerPoint presentation on the recovery and restoration of Glacier Girl Friday at 6 p.m. That specific P-38 will not be on display, but another will.
In 1942, two squads of P-38s landed on Greenland because of bad weather and low fuel. The pilots were picked up, but the planes were left behind and later buried under the snow and ice. In 1992, Cardin led an effort with 40 people to recover the planes. The team dug through 268 feet of ice to reach one of the planes and brought it up piece by piece.
Cardin said he was in Greenland on the glacier for more than four months. His favorite moment of the recovery was being able to sit in the cockpit on the surface.
"The expedition was a great adventure and very challenging," Cardin said. "Doing something that had never been done before and that most thought impossible was my motivation."
After 10 years of work, the recovered P-38, named Glacier Girl, took flight once again.
The configuration of the plane prevents Cardin from enjoying the fighter aircraft in the air.
"Unfortunately, Glacier Girl has only one seat and no provisions for passengers," he said. "So I get to watch her fly around."
Since only one plane was recovered, there is an opportunity to recover the other aircraft in the Greenland glacier.
"We can only work on the glacier during the good weather times," he said. "Simply speaking, we ran out of time."
Following the presentation there will be a meet and greet along with hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting from Middle Ridge Winery. Music will be performed by Heatwave: Jazz and Show band of the Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley.
On Saturday, Cardin will repeat his presentation at 1 p.m. And there will be a flight demonstration by a visiting P-38 piloted by Jeff Harris, of Newport Beach.
Where: Palm Springs Air Museum
745 N. Gene Autry Trail
When:
Friday: Presentation and reception
6 p.m. $15-$25
Saturday: Presentation
1 p.m. $5-$12 (Children under 6 and active military free).
Information:
760-778-6262 Ext. 221
www.palmspringsairmuseum.org.
© 2010 [Subscriber] and its licensors.
Portions © 20010 Bring the Blog,
LLC and used with permission.
All rights reserved.
Do not reproduce without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment