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I 'spose I have some 'splainin' to do...
In Response To: Tri-Planes and John Candy?? ()

Chuck:

you use two great phrases that require further explanation --

"they are getting as scarce as Tri-Planes were in the skies above Europe in 1918"

so what were these Tri-Planes?? should we cover them in OnTheDash??

Well, the winter before LeMans was released, one night ABC ran as their Saturday night at the movies, "The Blue Max"...

I was nine at the time, the cinematography was spectacular and the subject sparked a life long interest in military history, mainly 20th century military history. I still have a soft spot for the topic of the Air War during World War One...

Anyway, in the picture George Peppard plays a lower-caste German officer who sees glory in the sky as his ticket to fame and a better life. At one point in the movie He and fellow Pilot Willi Von Klugerman (Jeremy Kemp) are assigned to an escort mission... I'll let the screen snaps take the story from here:

As being a big fan of the TV Show "Mystery Science Theatre 3000", I have developed the habit of making very obscure pop culture references at odd times...

The use of the Triplane metaphor was due to the fact that as an offensive weapon, the Triplane configuration had a particularly short stay at the bleeding edge of technology. The Sopwith Triplane (a far prettier and more elegant craft than the Fokker of "Blue Max" and Red Baron fame) was primarily in service from April 1917 through August 1917, with the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane (which was not a copy but obviously inspired by the Sopwith), were sent to the front in August 1917 and were still in service (but soon to be phased out when the Red Barron (Baron Manfred Von Richthofen) was shot down in April 1918. Only 150 of the Sopwiths and 320 of the Fokker's were built. So they were a scarce commodity when they were in their prime, and when they were being phased out, they were still highly coveted by experienced pilots.

Much like the Carrera 1964's in either Vintage or Re-Edition trim... If you want one, or ever think you might want one. Latch on to one now, They may be the last ones we're likely to get...

"However, I'm "John Candy" sized and I wear either watch interchangeably despite the size difference between the two watches."

we have an area of OnTheDash dedicated to Steve McQueen. should we create one for John Candy?? how's this, for starters??

I think the closest that John Candy ever got to "haute horology" was in "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" (1987):
Steve Martin: I have $17 and a helluva watch.

Candy: I have $2 and a Casio.

You'll have to make the call on that one, Jeff!

In all seriousness, thanks for your participation in this Discussion Forum and your wonderful and entertaining prose.

I guess my posts are like a box of chocolates... Ya never know what you'll get!

Jeff

Good Hunting!

-- Chuck


Chuck Maddox (Article index @ http://www.xnet.com/~cmaddox/cm3articles.html)


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