At first glance, this might appear to be a repeat of the Douglas C-47/R4D/DC-3. It is related, but it is the R4D-8/C-117/Super DC-3 and the aviation aficionado will note differences. A lengthened fuselage, "speed pants" over the gear, squared-off vertical fin and wing tips, and the swap out of the P&W R-1830 for the Wright 1450 HP R-1820 gave the bird much better performance - 180 kt TAS cruise for example, but it was still an unpressurized bug smasher.
I checked into NATTC for Navy AMO training in the summer of 1962, and checked into base Ops. The crusty old LT mustang reviewed my logbook, found out I had flown the C-47 at Chanute AFB, and said he could assign me to take a Marine Drill Team to the Air Show at Mason City Iowa. I protested that I had never been checked out in this bird, and he said I could fly CP couldn't I?. Different times for sure. But he was really right - virtually same engines as the UF2G, same radios/Nav gear etc - what was there to learn? Off we went and joined the Blue Angels and other stars! (This painting and the TA-7C are not up to the quality I like - but you tell what they are!)

Vought TA-7C

My time with Vought Aircraft products Division (VAPD) was a tumultuous one - looking back, it is a wonder it did not kill me. But one of the bright spots was assignment as Director of Airport Operations. We were preparing A-7s for the Portuguese and Helenic Air Forces, structurally testing F-14, A-3 wings, installing Low Altitude Night Attack Systems (LANA) for AF A-7Cs and Ds, and performing engine swap on Navy TA-7Cs. I persuaded the CO/XO of the NAVPRO that the ultimate Quality Check would be for me to fly test flights with their pilot. Kicking up dust over the Texas plains 300 ft and 500 kts is something else. 

Grumman JRF Goose

CDR R.E. "Bob" Hammond, later RADM, was head of the of the Coast Guard  Academy's Navigation Dept. Traditionally, that department Head was an aviator, and a JRF was assigned, along with an AD1 to maintain it, to provide "indoctrination" flights to senior cadets during "Practical Work" at the water front. Classmate Ray Womack and I were scheduled for one such period and CDR Hammond flew down to CGAS Brooklyn at Floyd Bennett Field in NY with Ray up front for the leg down, and I had the pleasure on the way back. It was a real thrill to come in over the high Thames River bridge, then drop down to the river. 41 and 1/2 turns of the manual gear down crank, and we were ready to come up the ramp. 

Piper Super Cruiser

Joe Flickenger was a WWII pilot who ran the grass strip in Elizabeth City, NC and rented out a couple of different aircraft, including the Piper Super Cruiser. It was a little bigger than the Cub or Super Cub and had a dual seat behind the pilot. When Lorna's sister Audrey and brother-in-law Don visited from Seymore Johnson AFB in Goldsboro in the late 50s, I thought it would be fun to take son Gary and nephew Donnie up for their first ride. A fun trip circling around the house and waving, making a few landings on the grass, and keeping an eye on the little glass tubes protruding down from the wings telling me the fuel state. Always satisfying introducing people to the joys of flying.