In Search Of: Lockheed F5-E Lightning

It's been just over a year since my last entry of the Lockheed F-5E lightning  that crashed into the side of a hill southwest of Barnsdall on July 2 1945. With the prop blade I received last year, I was able to make contact with the Smithsonian Air and Space Research Group and verify the prop blade as belonging to 2nd Lt. Charles R. Schliefer's Lockheed F-5E, a photo recon aircraft stationed in Coffeyville Kansas. Since this time, I've done more research on the possible location of the crashed aircraft. Through eye witness reports and the Army's crash report and photos from 1945 and talking to others that have been passed the information by those that lived in the area of the reported crash, I proceeded with tracing the air route from it's beginning in Coffeyville to it's proposed destination which was Oklahoma City. Of the four possible routes taken that day, two routes stood out among the others. One, which made a direct pass over Barnsdall and one that made a pass to the northwest. The direct pass coincided with reports from eyewitnesses and passed down information while the northwest pass coincided with the Army report. Taking into account the information on hand I was able to ascertain a possible crash site which reports state are spread over a two acre area on the side of, and near the top of a hill within sight of Barnsdall. Google Earth and local topography maps were a big help in spotting what I think may be the crash site location. I contacted the land owner this past May about doing a search on his property and he agreed to give me access to the area. With it being springtime, I opted to hold off till after the first hard freeze in November to begin my search. I'm not fond of tromping around on the side of a hill covered with trees and brush in the summer. There are too many critters out there that have a poisonous bite or sting. But the time has passed, I've talked again with the land owner and all is set. Hopefully the next story I write on this subject will be one of finding some small piece of aviation history to go along with the large hunk of aluminum I have stashed away as of now.

Lockheed F-5E Photo Recon aircraft

Lou Rawls, the Bee Gee's and Jolene... What If?

As I travel to and from work every day I have the chance to listen to the radio a lot. In the mornings I listen to 93.5 FM. It's a station that plays hits from the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. I listen to this station because I don't like to listen to the morning shows on my regular radio station. Most morning shows these days if they are on any rock station have become eccentrically complacent to the lewd trash they spew on a daily basis. But that's a story for another time.  Today I want to talk about the "what if"?

Like I said earlier, I listen to a lot of radio while driving and this past week I came across one of those "what if" moments. As I drove along, a song by Lou Rawls came on the radio. I remembered that Lou had at one time done  a few  Budweiser commercials in the late 70's where he would sing the Budweiser song. This came after his hit song "You''l Never Find Another Love Like Mine" made it to the #2 spot on the top 100 billboard songs of 1976 which was now playing on the radio. After the song was over, the next song to play on the radio was "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gee's. It was at this moment I had the thought of Lou Rawls singing the Bee Gee's song. The fact is that Lou Rawls has a low, crisp voice somewhat like Barry White, so the irony in this was jacking up Lou's voice to match that of the Bee Gee's. A hard thing to imagine unless your brain thinks like mine.

Lou Rawls 1978 Budweiser commercial

The Bee Gee's had the monumental hit "You Should Be Dancing" in 1979. If you're not familiar with it , here is a sample of the song.

Bee Gee's 1979 hit, You Should Be Dancing

It only seems fitting in my mind that Lou Rawls should sing like the Bee Gee's. So I took Lou's hit song from 1976 and pumped it up a few octaves. He came out sounding like a Disney cartoon character but it gets my message across as to what I was trying to achieve.

A while back my wife had me listen to the Dolly Parton song Jolene. It was slowed down 17% to where it sounded like a man singing. I thought it sounded rather well.  Much better than Lou Rawls and the Bee Gee's.