Sky King "Songbird"

[gonzalu]

I just "accidentally" found out where the "Songbird" call-sign for Sky King airlines comes from. Very cool, had no idea this show existed!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_King

[Gerard]

I just "accidentally" found out where the "Songbird" call-sign for Sky King airlines comes from. Very cool, had no idea this show existed

Ah you younguns have so much to learn!! :biggrin: I remember watching this show in the mid-60s when it was in syndication.
That and "Whirlybirds" started my love of all things flying!!

[Zee71]

Hmmm.......I just learned something new as well. Thanks Manny for the educational lesson.

[Matt Molnar]

Who knew?

Sky King is a 1940s and 1950s American radio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-time_radio) and television (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television) adventure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure) series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_series). The title character is Arizona (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona) rancher and aircraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-wing_aircraft) pilot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviator) Schuyler "Sky" King. The series was likely based on a true-life personality of the 1930s, Jack Cones, the "Flying Constable (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constable)" of Twentynine Palms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentynine_Palms) in San Bernardino County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bernardino_County,_California), California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California), although this claim is unverified.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_King#cite_note-EAA-0)
Although the series had strong western (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre)) elements, King mostly captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers with the use of his plane, the Songbird. Though the planes used changed during the course of the series, the later model was not given a number but was still known as the Songbird.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QottyzDRzXE

[megatop412]

Oh no...the alfalfa crop got dusted by pesticides and now it has to be cut as quickly as possible!!

Sorry I couldn't resist-Lassie didn't work on me either. I was born in '73 so Starsky & Hutch, Emergency, BJ and the Bear, and Chips were my shows. But that was an interesting insight, thanks for posting

[moose135]

While the TV show was a bit before my time (Shuddup, Kenny...) I am familiar with it thanks to my SAC days. They used "Sky King" as a collective call sign on HF message traffic broadcasts for SIOP assets - the bombers and tankers. You would hear "Sky King, Sky King, do not answer..." followed by a coded Emergency Action Message. It would apply to some, or all, of the alert force, depending on what the message decoded to. Sky Bird was the collective call sign for SIOP ground stations. Here's a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3mlu1Sq8Pc

[megatop412]

SIOP= strategic integrated operations plan? from what i can remember

[gonzalu]

Ah you younguns have so much to learn!! :biggrin: I remember watching this show in the mid-60s when it was in syndication.
That and "Whirlybirds" started my love of all things flying!!

Thanks for that :tongue: Feels good to be 45 and called a "young gun" ROTFL!!

For me it was growing up near an AFB in Cuba with Mig-15s and 17s buzzing the house on an hourly basis sometimes.

[moose135]

SIOP= strategic integrated operations plan? from what i can remember
Close - it was the Single Integrated Operational Plan

And they still use the Sky King call sign for radio traffic, which is probably why the airline uses "Songbird".