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Any day that includes a fly-in is a good day, but this one was great because I got a ride in an L-19 Bird Dog! This was my second such ride, the first being 57 years ago at Fort Monmouth, NJ. Today's ride was in a recently-rebuilt pristine Bird Dog in camo colors with orange stripes on top of the wings and fuselage, as it was colored in Viet Nam (the stripes on top so the bombers wouldn't drop a load in the middle of it). It was built in 1953, so it did not see service in Korea, but it probably did serve in Viet Nam. Powered by a Continental O-470 engine (213 horsepower), the Bird Dog is capable of leaping off the ground in incredibly short distances. With its "barn door" 60 degree flaps, it can land in even shorter distances.