Saw something REALLY cool today- B-17 bomber!!

very cool. thanks for sharing

 

Here's an awesome little vid of a B-17 and B-25 over Arizona. Very well done.
http://vimeo.com/18135369

And then there's Betty,she flew B-17's during the war. I work next door to
http://www.fantasyofflight.com/ and have had the opportunity to meet a
lot of legends there and Betty is hands down my favorite.She is always
there for their Roar-n-Soar car/boat/plane show in Nov.

Here's a short interview at FoF:
http://growingbolder.com/media/livi...n-still-sting-736287.html#content_tabshttp://

 

Ive been on the aluminum overcast. What a step back into time. The story that this plane is even around is a great one. The plane was sold for cheap, something like $750 after the war. Most b17's were scrapped. It was used as a cargo hauler, airial mapping and as a crop duster. What a huge crop duster! It is amazing to see this plane in the sky. I got to go into the nose and man was it a tight fit. but what an amazing view from the sky. it unfortenatly did not see any action during wwii as it was delivered too late in 45. I wrote an article about the history as well as my visit aboard the historic plane. I work at the Hayward CA airport and I love to see it when it comes to town.

Herr is a shot of when we got to see this beauty.


Here is the article I wrote on my website.

http://vividlyvintage.com/2010/02/19/“aluminum-overcast”-b-17g-wwii-veteran/


Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

Had a girlfriend years ago who's mom was from the uk - she told stories of seeing the sky filled with B17 s headed to Europe to burn the Krauts

Other girlfriends parents met on a B24 assembly line ha ha het mom married a 4-F !


Poverty leaves an impression

 

A couple years ago we surprised my Dad with a ride on that B17 - he still grins when thinking about it...

 

There was a 17 and 24 here in Sacramento this weekend--couldn't go but would have loved to--the 24 just flew over my place in Roseville about an hour ago.

 

I saw them ( the B-17 as well as the B-24 Liberator) a few years ago in NorCal. Very neat, here's a pic of my son in the B-17 hunting Nazis

 

I took the kids to go see it last summer when it came to a local airshow,we did the tour thru it it,the kids and myself loved it.I'm considering paying for me and the old man to go for a ride in it this summer if it comes again,I'm sure it's worth the money.

 

my dad was a bombardier in a B-29
flew missions in Tunisia??(think that's what he said)
all those missions and broke his back on a bad landing

 

The B17 and B24 come around here a time or two each year. I always get a little choked up when I watch one fly over.
I intend to take a ride in one the next time one comes around.

 

Great post w pics Chris. I could hear it taking off from my house but couldn't see it for the treeline untill it got some altitude further out. I couldn't help but think what 25 of them taking off at max weight at the same time must have sounded like. Thats the stuff that fueled the "need for speed" in those boys when they came back home. Sorry I didn't know you guys were going, I have been wanting to talk to your gramp.

 

i flew in the yankee lady two years ago ...best 400 ive ever spent

 

So, how many ME-109's did he shoot down???

 

i love old aviation and it doesnt get much cooler than the B-17! but a little off topic i have a big soft spot for bi-planes especialy the christen eagle. do you have anymore info on that little christen eagle peddle car?

 

That's one of my favorite planes, I always favored the B-17F aesthetically though.

 

Damn !!

Thats the one I wanna go up on next year - great pix and thanx for sharing !! One on my list for sure !!

VV what a breathtaking vid of Aluminium Overcast - AWESOME !!

Rat

 

I am working towards finding a shop that restores old war birds. So far I am on the ground floor working on engines on small aircraft such as mooneys and cessnas.



Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

I had the privilege to fly on the Collings Foundation B-17 "Nine-O-Nine" a few years ago. They were kind enough to let me drive my roadster onto the flight line to get some pics with their aircraft. They had the B-17, a B-24, and a B-25. What a rare opportunity. Enjoy the pics.

 

I wear that shirt EVERYWERE

 

Way cool deal put together by Lt. Dan (Forest Gump)'s Gary Sinise. A moving
tribute for his uncle Jack and a B-17 ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re2ZTbgZJqI

 

Stunning

 

Next time that plane comes around you've GOT to get a ride! I rode in the Yankee Lady B17 a couple years ago and it was AMAZING! I got to be the co-pilot for take off and the nose gunner for the landing. You'll never think of WWII the same after you take a ride in one. They are so big and loud, I can't even imagine what it was like for hours and hours on end or under enemy fire!

Here are some pics and video I took on my ride:
http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e46/ChevyGirlRox/Yankee Lady B17 ride 2008/

 

Super cool!

Planes of Fame in Chino Calif. had a WWII airshow... video here: http://primerpodcast.com/videos/planes-of-fame/#respond

 

Here is a poem written 1945 about the ball turret gunner writthttp://homepages.wmich.edu/~cooneys/poems/jarrell.turret.htmlen

 

I went there Saturday, had a great time. We always do. I figured with everyone at York with lawn chairs and Feather Dusters.. I would go get some Autographs of "real American Idols" Surviving members of the "Band of Brothers" 101st Airborne were all there..Also Former fighter aces and Bomber crew members. How fitting for the 67th Anniversary of D-DAY! Below is a photo of my Uncle (bottom row 3rd from left), and his B-24J liberator crew, prior to taking off for a bombing mission over Northern Germany to hit Submarine Pens along the coast Winter 1944.

 

Damn! I wish I knew it was here. I went and saw the last B17 that came and my Dad decided that we should take a ride the next time one came. I guess we missed it this year. My grandfather was a ball-turret gunner on a couple of B17s, one that crashed and resulted in him being smuggled by the French Underground. Oh well, I'll have to wait until next time to take a ride.

 

I can only imagine how loud those 50 cal guns were, firing at enemy planes. That total experience of combat must have been overwheming!

 

A friend of mine is one of the pilots of Aluminum Overcast. Says he LOVES it!! I'm reading a book called B-17 Combat Missions, fighters, flak & forts. There is a chapter on each crew members "position" on the plane. Probably the most detailed stuff that I've ever read about the Flying Fortress.

 

My dad flew a B-17, and liked to joke that it had Studebaker engines (they were actually Wright engines made under license by Studebaker).

 

in my foggy old memory there is some connection between the B-17 and the old kinmont disk brakes?does anyone remember or do I write it off to bad acid at woodstock?