My dad flew these in WW2. I had no idea how complicated it was, but this video gave me a better appreciation of at least some of what he had to learn and know just to get the thing airborne. I do remember him telling me when I was a kid that as they were making their approach to land he and his co-pilot would each check the instruments and then look out their respective windows. If everything was good with landing gear down and locked they would say “I have a green light and a wheel.”
My dad flew them as well in the RAAF over New Guinea, when you look at what you had to do before you flew, you wonder where they had time to leave the ground...lol. He also flew the Lodestars in liason with US, due to pilot shortages. He loved both birds. He said they were both amazing aircraft given the work they had to do.
