A little off topic, but I also know old WWII planes have a huge part in our hearts as well. As for the B-17, an absolute favorite next to an AV8 Roadster. Found this on You Tube...Take off, flyby and landing of a Boeing B-17. Absolutely breath taking...next to being there im sure. Listen to those engines....DAMN! I hope you enjoy.
My wife and had the pleasure of flying in the B-17 '' Liberty Belle '' this past summer. We got to sit in the cockpit, back to back with the pilots on takeoff. Then we flew around, north of Dallas for 1/2 hr. while we got to tour the plane. We had a blast. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone who enjoys flying, and vintage warbirds. The one picture was taken from the open upper turret hatch, the other was in the nose where the bombardier was stationed. Both photos were taken in flight.
I've seen the Sally B fly at Duxford during the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain airshow a few years back - it was escorted by a P-47 & a P-51 - I will never forget the sight & sound of it! Cool vid!!
Thanks for that! Love those old war birds, spent last weekend touring a local air museum. They have aP40 restored and a couple of p51' and an f86 they're working on. they also have an old glider like they used on D-day to drop in infantry. It was found in North Idaho and had been converted to a motorhome of sorts. Does anyone know how many 17s are still flying?
Now imagine thousands of them flying nearly wingtip to wingtip over Germany as the "Aluminum Overcast" - that's when the Air Marshalls knew they didn't have a snowballs chance! Thank a Vet!!!
My dad was a co pilot in a B-17 during WW2. I took him and my 2 sons to see a restored B-17 at Martins airport here in Md. a couple of years ago. It was very cool to watch my sons listen to their grandfather tell them stories about the plane and how it got them back to base many times even though it had been all shot up. He also told them how he lost his brother (my uncle Pete, he was a navigator in another B-17) in a crash over Poland. The pilot of the restored plane was very interested to hear that my dad was a pilot and he had him sign a poster that he kept for just such an occassion. I was glad to have shared that afternoon with my father and my boys. My dad died about a year later, he was 84. Below are some pic's of my dad. One of him hanging out the window of the B-17, and the other with some friends. He is the one on the left. The last picture is of the wings he wore on his uniform. I have them mounted on my dash. I figured if they got him through 26 missions safely, then maybe they will give me a little luck traveling down the hiway in my bucket of bolts.......
I'm usually up on my flying B-17s, but I didn't know the Belle was flying. I know she was on Memphis' Mud Island for a while and then got transfered to the museum in Dayton. Is it the real Belle or a very good paint job on another? Looking at the nose, it doesn't have the Astrodome for the navagator, so it looks like a real block-10 from Boeing. And its a grass field! Anyone know were? As a side note, if anyone in the north east Illinois area wants to help restore the second oldest B-17 in existance, PM for info. Django, hows that run up to Mike's coming (hint hint )?
The real Memphis Bell was taken back by the USAF, it was only loaned to the City of Memphis. After it was discovered to be in really bad shape from outside display and vandalism. The USAF told Memphis that if they did not do something then they would lose the Aircraft. Story after that is that the AF was not happy with the Mud Island facility and took the aircraft back. I'm sure that the historical value of the aircraft had a lot to do with the AF taking it back and deciding to use its resources to restore the B-17. I saw the B-17 in the Video at the 2004 Air show at MacDill AFB in Tampa Florida it was a very nice aircraft. I talked to several of the people involved with the aircraft while working the flightline and was very impressed with the dedication it takes to keep a Warbird in the air. If I remember right I believe that this B-17 was actually a G model that had been modified to look like an F model although I am probably thinking about a different B-17 that I saw at another show around the same time, the 2nd one was probably the one that had been modified.
Fantastic - I too love the old warbirds. Im planning a trip Stateside for a ride in "Aluminium Overcast" Now THAT would be a dream come true for me, Ive been a WWII and warbird NUT since I was a kid. Lost count of how many model aircraft Id built a s a kid and always wanted to join the AF too. Rat
My dad, at 19 years old, and his crew picked up a new B-17 at the factory, flew it to England, and completed the required 25 missions over Germany. He turned 20 after the first mission to Germany. After returning stateside it was less than 2 months and he volunteered for training in the, then new, B-29. After training he and his crew flew a new B-29 to Guam and finished the war bombing Japan. He came home after the war and 4 years later re-entered the Air Force spending the next 31 years flying B-29's, B-47's and B-52's. His crew was picked as "Combat Crew of the Year" While stationed at Lincoln Air Force Base in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was among he last to leave the Pacific after completeing the bombing of Viet Nam at the end of that war. He died 4 years ago, a patriot to the end. I miss him. Frank
It says at the start that it's the 2006 Geneseo Airshow. That's where I grew up. Anybody know when the 2007 show is going to be?
WOW! Thats is a great story. Thanks for sharing. Bless your father and his service. They just don't make them like they used to. What was his crew position?
Double cool that it's flying from a grass field Flew in the 'Aluminum Overcast' several years ago - worth every penny!!!
Just another reason I can't wait til summer... when "Yankee Lady" starts going out again. She flies right over our house on the return leg, just before landing. No matter what I'm doing, I stop and run outside like a kid after the ice cream truck. Jay
Nothing quite beats that sight or sound, does it? I get goosebumps all over my body and my neck hairs stand on end. I scored big time last weekend. The local antique store had an "Antique Metal Buoy" for sale that I nonchalantly paid for. The guys asked me what I wanted with an old buoy, and it was my distinct pleasure to burst his holier-than-though bubble and tell him it was an oxygen tank on a B-17. Ha-ha! You should have seen his face and the mental dollar signs going down in flames. Someone said they were rated to 120 p.s.i., so with a little imagination, I'm sure I can find an automotive application for my car. Hehehe!
We have the only flying Lancaster bomber in a local warplane museum. The sound of four supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin V12s blasting overhead does something to ya inside Flatman
Sixgunner...I'm in Yankee Lady's flight path too, during their summertime pay flights.....I do the same thing, drop what I'm doing and run outside. Jack Roush likes flying his P-51 over my place too...He's a little harder to catch, he's usually cookin' For those interested, July 6-8 at Willow Run airport, (just outside Detroit), the Yankee Air Museum will have their annual air display. This year's theme is B-25's and the Blue Angels. 16 B-25 are scheduled to attend along with numerous other warbirds, and the Navy Blue Angels team. Should be an excellent show because almost everything that is on display, flys during the day. Couple years ago, they had 8 B-17's. All in the air at once. Simply unforgettable. Couple of pics for y'all.
Those radials sound awesome. Kind of off the topic but I was up on the wreckage of a B-29, twice. It was on heckuva 4 wheeler ride up in the mountains near Wasilla Alaska. I had the "push to reverse props" button from the engineers panel for years, gave it to and old CIA mercenary pilot.
I went up in "Aluminum Overcast" a few years ago, best plane ride I ever had. Dad spent most of WWII as a Chief Armorer for the 385th at Great Ashford in England. He died in 1983 and it always bothers me that I never asked about the day to day life on the base. Now that I've done some research flight crews and ground crews never hung out together, they were housed in different areas. When I first read that I thought it was odd, then I realized that most of the flight crews weren't coming back. Loosing the plane you had maintained was one thing, loosing the TEN guys in it was another.
It'd be a better war display (of a fantastic killing machine) if they dropped a live bomb load. War machines are fun until you get hit.
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