Yeah man, my mom would cook up a huge bacon sandwich with tons of mayo on toast with a tall glass of milk. Those were the days when that type of stuff was good for you.
When I was 5, all the other kids were watching cartoons. I was watching Sky King. Even at that age, I thought the Songbird was the most beautiful machine to ever exist and knew someday I'd have one. I was about 40 when I located a 1959 C310 in Arizona. I got my multi-engine rating in it and flew it for about 140 hours. I traded it in on a '79 182RG. I still miss it!!!
I don't remember the T-50, what a beast of an Airplane and a beautiful Plane at that! I do remember later on when they used the Cessna 310, that's what I loved, and Gloria Winters "Penny" well I think everyone agrees she was a perfect Choice for the Part, what a real Sweetheart.. Loved that show, still watch it occasionally, just for Old Times sake! 👍🤠
I grew up to Sky King on the TV; Always thought Penny was pretty cool. Mom was the bean-counter for an FBO at one of the small reliever airports near MSP. I was lucky enough to fly with my Dad all over the country delivering planes for the FBO. I got away from it until my twenties and in 85 I was flying a 310Q for a living on night cancelled check runs. Then the company received E18S Super Twin Beeches. I would like to get back to recreational flying someday. Thanks for the video. It looks mighty sweet. You're right, tail wheels are where it's at. EvT
I had a crush on Penny, when I was a little kid. A few years later, Kirby Grant, was at a state fair. The Songbird was there also. I had a chance to sit in the cockpit. Right then, I decided to be a pilot. One of my uncles was in the air force. I enlisted at 18, right out of high school.
WOW how lucky you were to sit in the Song Bird cock pit . Did you luck out and get to be an Air Force Pilot? If so what rank did you get up to and what birds did you fly & like the best? Thank You for your service Sir. Fellow Air Force Veteran are retired Air Force?
Loved this show! Later in life, as a pilot, I recall Sky never bothered to preflight his airplane. He'd get a call from the sheriff and go running from the kitchen table out to his trusty Cessna and be airborne in less than ten seconds. Ahh, Hollywood.
Loved that show.............. Out of the clear blue western sky!!!! Sky Kingggggggggg! Old man was a Liberator Bombardier and we lived next to Friendship Intl, OFTEN went to the Observation Deck and drooled! Later they had a old B-25 and a Italian cargo twin, we kids snuck under the fence and played Sky King!
Hi Jon, it was nice to meet you today and see your plane. My husband remembered the show Sky King from his childhood. We loved the video and I told my husband about your new idea for the next one. Take care, Charlene (Fire Extinguisher lady)
I became enthralled with flying by the time I was 11 thanks to Sky King and learned to fly at 18. I built flying models and colledcted pictures and books, of which I have reams. At 49 I took up flying gliders, I couldn't stay away. His first seasons' Cessna T-50 (or the UC 78) is one of my all time favorites with its big radial engines and WWII cowlings. Look him up on Wikipedia and you'll find that the actor who played Sky's nephew, Clipper, Ron Hagerty, is still alive at 92. I❤airplane noise.
I am GREEN with envy! Kirby was my hero! Like you, I never missed an episode. I later became a pilot and have loved flying ever since. I was most pleased to get to go to Apple Valley, CA where most of the flying scenes where shot. The old airport is gone and has been replaced by a new one. The old one is now a shopping center. However, across the street is the old motel where the cast used to stay. They would taxi from the airport across the (regular) street to the motel! How cool is that?!
Yeah I went by the Flying Crown Ranch the other day ( its still there) and they were having believe it or not a Garage sale in front of the house.didn't look like there were many buyer around though . It doesn't look the same , The facade has been changed and even it looks old already. The original chimney is still there.,But no Song Bird out front any more. Its just not the same Its now Rancherias Road where it used to set for the ranch scenes. and across the road , is The Apple Valley Golf Course, and down Tomahaw road directly across from the Ranch about 4 houses down is the Ramblin Rose Ranch .Another famous House ( Roy Rogers and Dale Evans lived there , I think its pending sale now.. No Flying Crown Ranch Sign, They should have left that up..and If I owned it I would put the Orignal Facade back , I like it much better than the Way it looks now.. Oh well Keep flyin Sky!!
Mark;FYI all (4) cessna T-50 songbirds use N67832 to match the stock canned footage, Thats movie making, You cant have Kirby flying (4( Differant "N" numbered songbirds, Some 12 year would catch that. Thanks for your interest. Jon..
No this is not one of the original "Song Bird". The Songbird T-50 that was used in the opening, parked the field at the "Flying Crown Ranch" and some fly bys had a mishap several years after the show. It was scrapped for parts over the years. The original door, only known thing left used on that T-50 is sitting in a barn out west hanging on the wall. The other T-50 have just faded away. One was only the cockpit area and one was just the wing and fuselage when they would climb into it.
Herman Brown and Kirby Hoon Jr were in the Navy together. Herman named his airport, on the north side of Terre Haute, Indiana, Sky King Airport. Named after the character his friend played on TV. His friend was Kirby Grant Hoon Jr., TV name shortened to Kirby Grant, the lead actor in the TV series Sky King. Herman Brown gave me my Commercial Pilot check ride in 1972.
One of the popular modifications by post-WW II civilian owners was to install seaplane drain grommets on the underside of the wing’s center section to help prevent wood rot. And the airplane was almost entirely fabric covered except for the nose cap, cowlings, and nacelles. The fuselage had a steel tubing frame, but the spars were spruce and ribs were laminated plywood.
HI LouisI see you live in Germany, on your comment, Sorry for your erronious information entry. When you come to the USA and Seattle Washington you can see the T-50 SONGBIRD & LOG BOOKs and all Documents.for over 55 years that we have owned her. Jon
In 1975-1976, I was stationed at an Air Base in Michigan. I was having some body work done on a car and happened to notice some aircraft parts in the rafters above the shop floor. On inquiry I was told they were the wings and tail surfaces of a Cessna Bobcat.
I loved Sky King when I was a kid in the fifties. Any crime that occurred within 300 yards of an open field or a landing strip, you could count on Schuyler King and his niece, Penny, to swoop in aboard the Songbird and take care of it.
OK Lee,In 1957 the 1958 310-B replaced the Cessna T-50, Handling on the ground is easy with (2) engine for differantal control and a touch of brake you can turn on a Dime "180" and if you have a little tail drager time in a twin, DC-3, D-18 or T-50 you would never go back to TR-Gear. Thanks Lee from MKE. Jon
My friend’s dad would load us kids into his Renault Dauphine every Saturday and haul us to the theater for the matinee. Sky king, cartoons, etc. I can almost taste the milk duds!
I had no idea such an airplane even existed, much less that it was Sky King's airplane. I started watching the show only after he started flying the classic Ce-310.
I grew up on Sky King. It was a must see every Saturday. He is the reason this Oklahoma country Boy learned to fly. 67 years old and still flying. Had to do all of my chores, then had to hall it home to watch. Do they have a WEB site with photos?
We called them a "Bamboo Bomber". Wood and fabric construction...non feathering props....If you lost one...you shut the other one down and made a glider out of it.
Is the original bird still around? The wood wing was the Achilles heel for this bird hence its WW2 name "Bamboo Bomber". My friend had a military one til some nut ground looped it and crashed it. The interior was so roomy and the sound of those round motors can't be beat.
Evertime i hear a plane that sounds like this one passing over my house. I always say. Out of the Western sky comes Skyline. I can't help myself from saying it. lol
One of the little known facts of the show is that on the radio version, Earl Nightingale the famous voice actor was the main voice of Sky King. He went on to a world famous career voicing all manner of work.
Why is the "N" number on the T-50 in this video N53378? While the number on the bottom of the left wing of the T-50 Songbird in the shows intro, and also scenes of the early Sky King TV episodes, is N5348A. Historians online say that the very first Songbird used in the TV show was also a Cessna T-50 N67832 with T-50N5348A being the second Songbird. How, or where, does N53378 in this video fit into the TV series?
Hi Jon! I haven't seen the Songbird taxi since the T-50 flyby at Oshkosh 1989. Simply beautiful! Was this at Auburn? Also, so sorry I haven't been by the Type Tent the last couple of years to see you--hope you made it this year. Remember the book on Chicago Midway Airport I mentioned back in 2002? It's published! Please finish your book about Sky, Penny, Mitch, Jim, Clipper and all the Songbirds, and may the T-50 fly forever! God bless you my friend.
Nope. A Lockheed Electra Jr. was used in one episode as the “bad guys’” airplane, and an Electra played a USAF airplane. Both those had twin tails. Neither Songbirds had twin tails. I have complete FAA files on all the aircraft used in the series save one, a Culver Cadet.
We bought one of those in 87 and the logbook was then stolen from it .It proved to have a cracked main wood spar.How much we lost on that I do not now but it was a disaster.
I watched the show as a kid because we were an aviation family, but I thought the "Song-Bird" was an early model Cessna 310. I dont remember this plane at all.
Chuck Moore It was one of mine, too. In my market, Detroit, somehow the T-50 came after the 310. The 310 was a brand new design with tricycle gear, wing tanks and opposed piston engines. Filming often included the landing gear retracting which is more artistic on the 310. I didn't know about T-50's, radial engines or tail-draggers back then, and, until this video, always assumed it was a Beechcraft. In other interesting aircraft introduced to the public, the Piper Cherokee, an affordable revolutionary design, made it's film debut in the 1964 James Bond movie, "Goldfinger."
+decay21450 : He flew the 310 after the T50. Hard to believe a plane this big was fabric covered. Heard it called the bamboo bomber. :-) This show was one of the things that made me start taking flying lessons when I hit 17.
Until recently, I always just assumed that Songbird I was a twin Beech. It wasn't until someone corrected me that I realized, and confirmed, it was actually a C T-50 as shown here.
Why is it that all the information I find says the T-50 used as the SongBird was N67832? Which also is no longer flying after being damaged in a windstorm in Missouri.
@@blimpcommander1337 You’re welcome. N67832 was eventually acquired by a Missouri crop duster who wanted the airplane for its engines (300 hp Lycomings). It was barely flyable when he acquired it; its last flight was made with landing gear locked down on a one-time ferry permit. The gentleman and his wife are both now deceased, and the airplane is little more than scrap, but their estate keeps the registration current.
Maybe this is a different Songbird... I have all of the episodes...none of the planes have this planes markings...though this plane has Songbird on the nose... It may have been a repaint of one used on the show... OR, someone just named their plane the Songbird and put a flying crown on it....for a memory....but nothing matches the show versions...OR...maybe like Songbird III, it was used for public appearances... I'd sure like to know the story of this particular plane....
I loved Sky King as a kid that is until I met him. After standing in line for an hour to get his autograph he was extremely rude. I dropped the picture with his signature on the floor and stepped on it as I left. I never watched the show again.
I saw him at and airshow in LaPorte, Tx. He was the special mc. Couldn't pry the mic out of his hands. They finally just turned off the PA. I real has-been jerk!
Sky King was one of the few human acted TV shows I enjoyed as a tyke...well along with Superman and later on "Combat!" ....It was the dang plane that l loved ...But similar things without a plane? Like Lone Ranger etc? Yawn ....I'd just a soon watch cartoons....but that PLANE! Just captured my imagination!
I used to watch a Sky King every Saturday morning. Those were the days.
OMG! I loved that show when I was a kid. I want one of those!!!
I loved 🥰 Sky King and watched it everyday when I a kid 👦 too. Wish I could see her take off and fly now.
Yeah man, my mom would cook up a huge bacon sandwich with tons of mayo on toast with a tall glass of milk. Those were the days when that type of stuff was good for you.
A much better time
Sky King and Whirlybirds was my Saturday morning fare. My dad was in the Air Force and my uncle was with the FAA.
RESCUE 8 MINE AND DOBIE GILLIS AND LOVE THAT BOB
When I was 5, all the other kids were watching cartoons. I was watching Sky King. Even at that age, I thought the Songbird was the most beautiful machine to ever exist and knew someday I'd have one. I was about 40 when I located a 1959 C310 in Arizona. I got my multi-engine rating in it and flew it for about 140 hours. I traded it in on a '79 182RG. I still miss it!!!
We do too, for you...and us!
I don't remember the T-50, what a beast of an Airplane and a beautiful Plane at that! I do remember later on when they used the Cessna 310, that's what I loved, and Gloria Winters "Penny" well I think everyone agrees she was a perfect Choice for the Part, what a real Sweetheart.. Loved that show, still watch it occasionally, just for Old Times sake! 👍🤠
Beautiful! Just great to see the Songbird once again in all her glory in color.
Now that is what I call a REAL airplane; round engines and a tail wheel. Thanks for posting.
Jon, we thank you for preserving this part of aviation's history.
Out of the western sky comes Skyking, brought to you by Nabisco
"Nabisco 𝐍𝐚tional 𝗕𝗶𝘀cuit 𝐂𝐨mpany"
Did not miss an episode. Many years later I was to become an Air Force pilot.
"I remember being buck tooth and skinny... writing fan letters to Sky's niece Penny"
Jimmy Buffett
And here I thought Penny was only answering my letters to her. :-)
Watched every Saturday morning. The reason I became an airplane nut. Ended up with just Private with Instrument rating.
I grew up to Sky King on the TV; Always thought Penny was pretty cool. Mom was the bean-counter for an FBO at one of the small reliever airports near MSP. I was lucky enough to fly with my Dad all over the country delivering planes for the FBO.
I got away from it until my twenties and in 85 I was flying a 310Q for a living on night cancelled check runs. Then the company received E18S Super Twin Beeches.
I would like to get back to recreational flying someday. Thanks for the video. It looks mighty sweet. You're right, tail wheels are where it's at. EvT
Erika Ostlund z
I watched sky King always . Later in life I took my flying lessons and
Got my license. Thanks Sky .....
I had a crush on Penny, when I was a little kid. A few years later, Kirby Grant, was at a state fair. The Songbird was there also. I had a chance to sit in the cockpit. Right then, I decided to be a pilot. One of my uncles was in the air force. I enlisted at 18, right out of high school.
WOW how lucky you were to sit in the Song Bird cock pit . Did you luck out and get to be an Air Force Pilot? If so what rank did you get up to and what birds did you fly & like the best? Thank You for your service Sir. Fellow Air Force Veteran are retired Air Force?
This is where I decided to be a pilot! A job I concluded many years ago!
Im 66 now. It was popular every Saturday morning. This wetted my appetite for Aviation History . Still love to watch Sky King on UA-cam now .
I would love to see this; it's sad when a piece of our childhood is gone forever.
Yes Sky King had thee Cessna T-50 Bobcat
I always liked the Bobcat over the 310.
Loved this show! Later in life, as a pilot, I recall Sky never bothered to preflight his airplane. He'd get a call from the sheriff and go running from the kitchen table out to his trusty Cessna and be airborne in less than ten seconds. Ahh, Hollywood.
Loved that show.............. Out of the clear blue western sky!!!! Sky Kingggggggggg! Old man was a Liberator Bombardier and we lived next to Friendship Intl, OFTEN went to the Observation Deck and drooled!
Later they had a old B-25 and a Italian cargo twin, we kids snuck under the fence and played Sky King!
Sky King was one of my "will not miss" shows when I was a little fellow.
My siblings & I use to love watching this TV show also as well .
Richard Mann
Sky King and Ripcord were my two must see shows when I was a kid.
Out of the blue of the Western sky comes:
SKY KING!
Back when I was a kid I can remember a commercial that said Sky King brought to you by Nabisco that make me want cookies.
jan williams ; Lorna Doon, Chips Ahoy and, Fig Newton's. I used to beg mom for these cookies.
Hi Jon, it was nice to meet you today and see your plane. My husband remembered the show Sky King from his childhood. We loved the video and I told my husband about your new idea for the next one. Take care, Charlene (Fire Extinguisher lady)
I became enthralled with flying by the time I was 11 thanks to Sky King and learned to fly at 18. I built flying models and colledcted pictures and books, of which I have reams. At 49 I took up flying gliders, I couldn't stay away. His first seasons' Cessna T-50 (or the UC 78) is one of my all time favorites with its big radial engines and WWII cowlings. Look him up on Wikipedia and you'll find that the actor who played Sky's nephew, Clipper, Ron Hagerty, is still alive at 92. I❤airplane noise.
Had a schoolboy crush on Penny. The Songbird was a close second.
I got my MEL rating in a T-50/UC-78 early in 1961 at the University of Illinois, Institute of Aviation.
I am GREEN with envy! Kirby was my hero! Like you, I never missed an episode. I later became a pilot and have loved flying ever since. I was most pleased to get to go to Apple Valley, CA where most of the flying scenes where shot. The old airport is gone and has been replaced by a new one. The old one is now a shopping center. However, across the street is the old motel where the cast used to stay. They would taxi from the airport across the (regular) street to the motel! How cool is that?!
Yeah I went by the Flying Crown Ranch the other day ( its still there) and they were having believe it or not a Garage sale in front of the house.didn't look like there were many buyer around though
. It doesn't look the same , The facade has been changed and even it looks old already. The original chimney is still there.,But no Song Bird out front any more. Its just not the same Its now Rancherias Road where it used to set for the ranch scenes. and across the road , is The Apple Valley Golf Course, and down Tomahaw road directly across from the Ranch about 4 houses down is the Ramblin Rose Ranch .Another famous House ( Roy Rogers and Dale Evans lived there , I think its pending sale now..
No Flying Crown Ranch Sign, They should have left that up..and If I owned it I would put the Orignal Facade back , I like it much better than the Way it looks now.. Oh well Keep flyin Sky!!
Darn, that airplane didn't look that old when I watched Sky King as a kid.
Cause it wasn't :) I know how ya feel
In later years it was a Cessna 310.
Wow...the old SongBird (Bamboo Bomber)! Haven't seen her since I was a kid, long before color television!
Yes I remember it was in blaCK & white .
Loved Sky King......................!!!!!
It was my favorite program as a child and inspired me to become a pilot..And eventually oun a Cessna 310 D aircraft
Is that the actual original "Song Bird"? If so.. WOW! They were also nicknamed..The Bamboo Bomber
Never missed a show. .
Mark;FYI all (4) cessna T-50 songbirds use N67832 to match
the stock canned footage, Thats movie making, You cant have
Kirby flying (4( Differant "N" numbered songbirds, Some 12 year
would catch that. Thanks for your interest. Jon..
No this is not one of the original "Song Bird". The Songbird T-50 that was used in the opening, parked the field at the "Flying Crown Ranch" and some fly bys had a mishap several years after the show. It was scrapped for parts over the years. The original door, only known thing left used on that T-50 is sitting in a barn out west hanging on the wall. The other T-50 have just faded away. One was only the cockpit area and one was just the wing and fuselage when they would climb into it.
N53378, a 1943 Cessna T-50 Bobcat, is still registered in Auburn, Washington, USA.
Was "must see Tv" when I was a kid
The T50 was officially the Bobcat although we called it the "bamboo bomber"
Also called UC-78 and Crane to the Canadians.
@@johnkelinske1449 Eh?
Herman Brown and Kirby Hoon Jr were in the Navy together. Herman named his airport, on the north side of Terre Haute, Indiana, Sky King Airport. Named after the character his friend played on TV. His friend was Kirby Grant Hoon Jr., TV name shortened to Kirby Grant, the lead actor in the TV series Sky King. Herman Brown gave me my Commercial Pilot check ride in 1972.
The T-50 had a notorious flaw. The main spar was wood, as were many aircraft of that era. It was prone to rot. As I recall, it also had a fabric wing.
One of the popular modifications by post-WW II civilian owners was to install seaplane drain grommets on the underside of the wing’s center section to help prevent wood rot. And the airplane was almost entirely fabric covered except for the nose cap, cowlings, and nacelles. The fuselage had a steel tubing frame, but the spars were spruce and ribs were laminated plywood.
HI LouisI see you live in Germany, on your comment, Sorry for your erronious
information entry. When you come to the USA and Seattle Washington you
can see the T-50 SONGBIRD & LOG BOOKs and all Documents.for over 55
years that we have owned her. Jon
Hey Jon, next time I'm coming up 167, can I pull off for Auburn and come see her? :)
It's a beautiful thing. Thank you for sharing this with us. Wow.
Yes for the last 54 Years Songbird keeps flying
Love hearing those roung engines! Beautiful bird.
In 1975-1976, I was stationed at an Air Base in Michigan. I was having some body work done on a car and happened to notice some aircraft parts in the rafters above the shop floor. On inquiry I was told they were the wings and tail surfaces of a Cessna Bobcat.
I loved Sky King when I was a kid in the fifties. Any crime that occurred within 300 yards of an open field or a landing strip, you could count on Schuyler King and his niece, Penny, to swoop in aboard the Songbird and take care of it.
I loved Sky King as a kid . "The SongBird " what a cool name
Yes good to see Songbird flying. Do missed that t.v. series.
I loved Sky King as a kid! We nee more TV like that.
I agree instead of all the crappy TV shows that are on now.
Kirby Grant was a friend of the family - I have photos of him holding me as a little girl. I never missed an episode. :)
SAD FACT HE WAS KILLED IN A MVA IN FLORIDA GOING BACK FROM A EARLY SHUTTLE LAUNCH
Penny was a cutie. I liked the Cessna 310 better.
that's a great story I too watched that show and never missed an episode
I listened to Sky King on the radio. He came on around supertime.
Vic M.
OK Lee,In 1957 the 1958 310-B replaced the Cessna T-50, Handling on the ground is easy
with (2) engine for differantal control and a touch of brake you can turn on a Dime "180"
and if you have a little tail drager time in a twin, DC-3, D-18 or T-50 you would never go back
to TR-Gear. Thanks Lee from MKE. Jon
I so preferred this "Songbird" plane than the later, more modern one he replaced it with!
Yep. It's the real deal. You can hear the two Jacobs radials singing their song to round engine lovers everywhere.
the song is "take the bus"!
Yep, “round sound”...
My friend’s dad would load us kids into his Renault Dauphine every Saturday and haul us to the theater for the matinee. Sky king, cartoons, etc. I can almost taste the milk duds!
Ted, bet you have a hard time finding someone who knows what a Dauphine is. We had one for awhile.
Mark Robbins 1957 foreign cars were pretty scarce in South Dakota!
My friend went on to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company!
@@tedecker3792 we also had a Simca 1000 and a Peugeot which in the early 60's almost no one ever heard of. My father had a thing for offbeat cars.
A ranch, a hero rancher, the west, a plane, a pretty girl - what's not to like.
I had no idea such an airplane even existed, much less that it was Sky King's airplane. I started watching the show only after he started flying the classic Ce-310.
That's 8 minutes I'll never get back from my life.
Great show back in the day!
I grew up on Sky King. It was a must see every Saturday. He is the reason this Oklahoma country Boy learned to fly. 67 years old and still flying. Had to do all of my chores, then had to hall it home to watch. Do they have a WEB site with photos?
www.skyking.com/
We called them a "Bamboo Bomber". Wood and fabric construction...non feathering props....If you lost one...you shut the other one down and made a glider out of it.
airmuseum Also referred to as "Rhapsody in Glue ".
Is the original bird still around? The wood wing was the Achilles heel for this bird hence its WW2 name "Bamboo Bomber". My friend had a military one til some nut ground looped it and crashed it. The interior was so roomy and the sound of those round motors can't be beat.
Evertime i hear a plane that sounds like this one passing over my house. I always say. Out of the Western sky comes Skyline. I can't help myself from saying it. lol
My guess is more guys fell in love with the 310 (or Penny :-) ) than the t-50.
My first favorite plane out of the clear blue Western sky comes sky king
One of the little known facts of the show is that on the radio version, Earl Nightingale the famous voice actor was the main voice of Sky King. He went on to a world famous career voicing all manner of work.
Thanks for 😉 Sharing this ❤️
EVERY Saturday. And then there was Penny! And Sheriff Hargrove. Great stuff.
Why is the "N" number on the T-50 in this video N53378?
While the number on the bottom of the left wing of the T-50 Songbird in the shows intro, and also scenes of the early Sky King TV episodes, is N5348A.
Historians online say that the very first Songbird used in the TV show was also a Cessna T-50 N67832 with T-50N5348A being the second Songbird.
How, or where, does N53378 in this video fit into the TV series?
Hi Jon! I haven't seen the Songbird taxi since the T-50 flyby at Oshkosh 1989. Simply beautiful! Was this at Auburn? Also, so sorry I haven't been by the Type Tent the last couple of years to see you--hope you made it this year. Remember the book on Chicago Midway Airport I mentioned back in 2002? It's published! Please finish your book about Sky, Penny, Mitch, Jim, Clipper and all the Songbirds, and may the T-50 fly forever! God bless you my friend.
Beautiful piece of history. I enjoyed watching the video!
I remember the Songbird having a twin tail design, more likely a Beech 18 rather than the T50.
Nope. A Lockheed Electra Jr. was used in one episode as the “bad guys’” airplane, and an Electra played a USAF airplane. Both those had twin tails. Neither Songbirds had twin tails. I have complete FAA files on all the aircraft used in the series save one, a Culver Cadet.
We bought one of those in 87 and the logbook was then stolen from it .It proved to have a cracked main wood spar.How much we lost on that I do not now but it was a disaster.
I still watch the reruns.
Hi Jon; Thats a cool video, It a beautiful looking aircraft, I remember growing up w/ Sky King
Brought to you by Nabisco .
I watched the show as a kid because we were an aviation family, but I thought the "Song-Bird" was an early model Cessna 310. I dont remember this plane at all.
As I understand it. The T50 was the first Songbirfd and the 310 was the second.
Then you're too young then. The T-50 was first, before the 310
Wonder which is the better plane for the kind of rough country "runways" that Sky used? IE: the T-50 tail dragger or the 310 tricycle
T-50 Cessna Songbirds Didnt have wing tip tanks,
Cessna 1958 310 B Songbird last one used Did.
In the last few years of the show it was a Cessna 310
I have an autographed picture of Kirby standing standing next to a turbo charged Songbird.
"Out of the blue of the western sky comes, Sky King!" He also flew a Cessna 310. Before or after the T-50?
ater. it was one of my favorite Saturday morning dhows in the mid 50's
Chuck Moore
It was one of mine, too. In my market, Detroit, somehow the T-50 came after the 310. The 310 was a brand new design with tricycle gear, wing tanks and opposed piston engines. Filming often included the landing gear retracting which is more artistic on the 310. I didn't know about T-50's, radial engines or tail-draggers back then, and, until this video, always assumed it was a Beechcraft. In other interesting aircraft introduced to the public, the Piper Cherokee, an affordable revolutionary design, made it's film debut in the 1964 James Bond movie, "Goldfinger."
+decay21450 : He flew the 310 after the T50. Hard to believe a plane this big was fabric covered. Heard it called the bamboo bomber. :-) This show was one of the things that made me start taking flying lessons when I hit 17.
You got it right I was there ! Bobcat then a 310, didn't happen
T-50 first 310 last Penny forever !
Until recently, I always just assumed that Songbird I was a twin Beech. It wasn't until someone corrected me that I realized, and confirmed, it was actually a C T-50 as shown here.
It's so nice to see this plane in such good shape. Is it still airworthy?
Good God- it looks like ME pulling those chocks!
Jon, That's mighty spiffy. I'd like to see more of your "home" movies. Greetings from the great white north.
it must have been after, I've never seen this aircraft before. All I ever saw Sky King fly was the C-310. But what do I know? I'm only 63.
i'm 63..first plane i saw was the -50...even had a toy T50 with the logo on it
Why is it that all the information I find says the T-50 used as the SongBird was N67832? Which also is no longer flying after being damaged in a windstorm in Missouri.
The T-50 seen in all the flying sequences WAS N67832, owned at the time by Paul Mantz and flown for the filming by his pilot employees.
@@michaelmcmurtrey8543 Thanks. I didn’t think the plane in this video was the same plane
@@blimpcommander1337 You’re welcome. N67832 was eventually acquired by a Missouri crop duster who wanted the airplane for its engines (300 hp Lycomings). It was barely flyable when he acquired it; its last flight was made with landing gear locked down on a one-time ferry permit. The gentleman and his wife are both now deceased, and the airplane is little more than scrap, but their estate keeps the registration current.
@@michaelmcmurtrey8543 Yes I knew where the plane ended up. I am only about 70 miles from there and use to drive by their place going to KC
The "Bamboo Bomber?"
Brought to you by Nabisco! Wasn't it?
yep
There are some of the old shows on you tube. I watched the wild man today.
Maybe this is a different Songbird... I have all of the episodes...none of the planes have this planes markings...though this plane has Songbird on the nose... It may have been a repaint of one used on the show... OR, someone just named their plane the Songbird and put a flying crown on it....for a memory....but nothing matches the show versions...OR...maybe like Songbird III, it was used for public appearances... I'd sure like to know the story of this particular plane....
Does it fly or just taxi around?
Penny, Clpper and Uncle Jim would be proud.
I loved Sky King as a kid that is until I met him. After standing in line for an hour to get his autograph he was extremely rude. I dropped the picture with his signature on the floor and stepped on it as I left. I never watched the show again.
I saw him at and airshow in LaPorte, Tx. He was the special mc. Couldn't pry the mic out of his hands. They finally just turned off the PA. I real has-been jerk!
awwww awwww
What a waste, it never even takes off !
Sky King was one of the few human acted TV shows I enjoyed as a tyke...well along with Superman and later on "Combat!" ....It was the dang plane that l loved ...But similar things without a plane? Like Lone Ranger etc? Yawn ....I'd just a soon watch cartoons....but that PLANE! Just captured my imagination!
Wasn't the nephew named Clipper?
Where's that loop antenna!