Only thing that excites me more than old cars is old airplanes! These pictures are makin' me weak in the knees!
jimbob, Very cool tread the plane is looking good. I love old airplane as much as I do cars. Keep the progress up for us on the HAMB.. Cruiser
to target japanese shipping, of course... friend of my dad talked me into spending the money even though i really shouldn't, but it's tax deductible. a 25, 24 and 17 are in town till friday, so i figured what the hell, ya know?
well, flight went well. the sound was amazing... kinda like a top fuel pass, stretched into a constant roar. idled like my buddy's fairlane too. i rode waist gun, so i stuck my gunner's wings and 5th air force patch on the coveralls and dusted off the aviator shades. bought batteries for my camera at the gas station, but they were dead and i didn't get a single damned picture from the air. i remember it well enough though. landing was smooth as a baby's ass even though i wondered if i'd get bounced into the receiver of the 50 cal that kept me company. crawled into the back, and that tail gun is one lonely spot to be in. i do wish the 50s weren't tied down. morning was foggy as hell, but it burnt off enough to go by 0900 and it was like a movie when we passed through the low fog when it took off. the wright cyclones weren't pissing around, either. kinda funny, it's about how i always figured it'd be. oh yeah, zanesville's all clear. no "marus" to be seen on the muskingum river at all.
I'm not sure which B-17 is there but I suspect its the '909'... I flew in the 909 about 4 years ago here in Jacksonville FL. Well worth the $350 I paid back then and now I think its up to about $425 or more. A lifetime experience to be sure. I've seen the Tondelayo (B-25) but have not had the pleasure of a flight in it.
At least we'll be able to sleep tonight, know ing that. My 81 year old neighbor was a belly gunner in WWII. He's claustraphobic bad enough he starts to sweat getting in an elevator. Can't imagine what he went through back then.
no doubt... they didn't make a belly turret that was roomy! i'm not that big of a fella, we're talking 36-38R as far as WWII uniforms go, 'bout 5' 10" and i have doubts that i'd fit in the damned things. simply amazing... i hate heights, myself, but loved every minute of that flight, didn't even mind looking straight down past the twin 50s in the tail at the ground a half a mile underneath me. B-25 lets you know it's alright...! feels kinda weird to have something on my mind besides women and the occasional car.
Hey I meant to ask, whats the story behind the downing and recovery and survival all these years ( at least to the resto in the 70s) of the plane? Is there a link to it or did I miss it? Thanks Bob
I've been holding off on this until I had all the facts separated from the fiction, but it goes along the lines of this, and I will expand when I get the full story written down from all the reports we have. Aussies in the trenches were watching a dog fight overhead, with one soldier taking a random shot at the Albatross as it flew within range. That one round pierced the fuel tank, with the aircraft landing behind the lines, allowing the Aussies to "casually walk" over and capture it. The aircraft had sustained virtually no damage aside from the holed tank. It was brought back to Australia and has been at the memorial ever since.
I'd have thought it would have been worth contacting the Imperial War Museum at Duxford here in the UK which is where they house their aicraft collection and restore them to see if they have an advice to share on the doping issue. mY grandad may well have fired his rifle at that plane as he took part in every major battle in WW1 apart from the Battle of Loos, he was a cavalryman in the 4th/7th Irish Dragoon Guards.
This is a wonderful thread. Thank you. I was interested in how interrupters work also, and found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrupter_gear
Lippyp, how things work in damp cold England vs here can be quite different. Mosquito wood and glue used to delaminate and fall apart as well. But an excellent suggestion. Jimbob the Lancaster etc turrets must have been brought to us by the same people that sized up Model A pickup cabs!
We are in contact with them regularly, and several other museums from around the globe on this issue, all have the same problem. As you have stated, most are recent "restorations" so this condition has not yet occred, although with thier unrestored examples, the condition does exist. We try to "conserve" rather than restore also, big difference.
"Jimbob the Lancaster etc turrets must have been brought to us by the same people that sized up Model A pickup cabs!" To true, my 33 isn't much better.<!-- / message -->
Has been a while and I have been way to busy to keep this updated, so here is a link to the blog on the exhibition that the aircraft will be displayed in. The team will try to keep the posts on the blog regular, and I will try to post a bit more on here and answer questions if any. http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/category/aircraft-1914-1918/ Cheers, Jamie
I've met a few old boys who were tail gunners in lancasters ( one of my mates uncles was the first RAF gunner killed in WW2 ) and they were all short ,around 5' tall and in 1939-41 most were only 18-19 years old so were pretty agile .
Update on the Albatros wings. After the fabric had been removed we foung a large amount of damage, and some pretty average repairs. We do not fly our aircraft, but rather try to retain as much of the original structure and finish as is possible. This also extends to the repairs we carry out, and as long as the repair is sufficient in strenght to support its own weight, we are happy. Here is one of the rib repairs in progress... And here is the end result. We mark all repairs we carry out so that in 50-100 years time, who ever may be carrying out another future restoration of the aircraft will now what has been done by us. Next comes the rib stitching, and oh what a job.....
EXCELLENT Thread !! The "We mark all repairs " part is what impressed me the most ... Waay cool !!! Klaz
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