This may be one of the coolest things I've ever done...

[woodstock]

a ride in a B17 Bomber. and they took the "roof" off so you could stick your head out - got a bunch of really good tail shots as well as a movie. you could clamber through the whole plane but you couldn't climb into the ball turret gunner's spot (bit of trivia - one thing that got me very interested in history and war history in particular was the poem by Randall Jarrell, the Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. morbid and fascinating. we read it in class in the 6th grade...)

at any rate, many cool pictures. this was in Hilton Head, I had a few hours to kill before my plane took off so I walked over to see this one - was just going to watch and take photos and I saw a bunch of people with stickers on their coats - I said "what's up with the stickers?" they said "we're going for a ride, you should too!" "How much?" "425 bucks". so, 425 bucks poorer but oh it was worth every single penny.

www.tinypic.com/kbyx48.jpg

www.tinypic.com/kbzihz.jpg

verdict: planes, like cars, are oh so much cooler when they are topless. neato neato neato

oh yeah, I put an offer on a house today.

 

[silver-eagle]

I took a ride in the EAA's Aluminum Overcast a few years ago. Topless as well. Nothing beats 160Knot wind in the face. Of course, ground temps were breaking 90 that day so it was great airconditioning.
Definitely one of the coolest. Next you'll be doing Air Combat!

www.b17-org
www.aircombatusa.com

 

[gismo]

a ride in a B17 Bomber. and they took the "roof" off so you could stick your head out - got a bunch of really good tail shots as well as a movie. you could clamber through the whole plane but you couldn't climb into the ball turret gunner's spot (bit of trivia - one thing that got me very interested in history and war history in particular was the poem by Randall Jarrell, the Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. morbid and fascinating. we read it in class in the 6th grade...)

at any rate, many cool pictures. this was in Hilton Head, I had a few hours to kill before my plane took off so I walked over to see this one - was just going to watch and take photos and I saw a bunch of people with stickers on their coats - I said "what's up with the stickers?" they said "we're going for a ride, you should too!" "How much?" "425 bucks". so, 425 bucks poorer but oh it was worth every single penny.

verdict: planes, like cars, are oh so much cooler when they are topless. neato neato neato

Nice. I gotta believe sticking your head into the 120+ mph breeze did a number on your hair, and I assume you needed to hang on to the camera pretty tightly.

 

[Bill]

"How much?" "425 bucks". so, 425 bucks poorer but oh it was worth every single penny.

Very cool, Beth. I'd love to do that someday.

oh yeah, I put an offer on a house today.

I thought you had a house, or are you looking for one with metal pipes?

 

[woodstock]

Very cool, Beth. I'd love to do that someday.



I thought you had a house, or are you looking for one with metal pipes?

I do have a house! this is a second home.

 

[woodstock]

but I don't know if this one has metal pipes either.

 

[Bill]

I do have a house! this is a second home.

Vacation home somewhere warm and sunny? Rental property?

(nosey, ain't we)

 

[mgkdrgn]

I have .10 hrs in the "right seat" of the B-17 "Fuddy Duddy", from back in the good ol' days of the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY, when they use to have "volunteer day" in October after the airshow. No pictures though. :-(

a ride in a B17 Bomber. and they took the "roof" off so you could stick your head out - got a bunch of really good tail shots as well as a movie. you could clamber through the whole plane but you couldn't climb into the ball turret gunner's spot (bit of trivia - one thing that got me very interested in history and war history in particular was the poem by Randall Jarrell, the Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. morbid and fascinating. we read it in class in the 6th grade...)

at any rate, many cool pictures. this was in Hilton Head, I had a few hours to kill before my plane took off so I walked over to see this one - was just going to watch and take photos and I saw a bunch of people with stickers on their coats - I said "what's up with the stickers?" they said "we're going for a ride, you should too!" "How much?" "425 bucks". so, 425 bucks poorer but oh it was worth every single penny.

www.tinypic.com/kbyx48.jpg

www.tinypic.com/kbzihz.jpg

verdict: planes, like cars, are oh so much cooler when they are topless. neato neato neato

oh yeah, I put an offer on a house today.

 

[woodstock]

Vacation home somewhere warm and sunny? Rental property?

(nosey, ain't we)

initially a vacation place, but likely end up renting it out for a while (if I can stand to put up with renters - I sure hated having roommates whine whine whine). although now that I'm all psyched about my new house (assuming they accept the offer etc. etc.) I don't know if I want strangers in my house! hahaha

 

[EdFred]

initially a vacation place, but likely end up renting it out for a while (if I can stand to put up with renters - I sure hated having roommates whine whine whine). although now that I'm all psyched about my new house (assuming they accept the offer etc. etc.) I don't know if I want strangers in my house! hahaha

PoA timeshare?

IIRC it's somewhere warm and near a beach right?

 

[woodstock]

warm and beachy, yes!

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Outstanding !

The closest I've been to B17s and Liberators in flight is side by side on finals to 13 L&R, or sequenced in the pattern, also an awe inspiring feeling.

 

[Bill]

PoA timeshare?

IIRC it's somewhere warm and near a beach right?

Sounds like a plan! Better yet if Beth buys a beater car and leaves it at the local FBO with the keys under the mat and directions to the beach house in the glove box.

 

[fgcason]

Several years ago I was walking into the grocery store when a B-17 came out of nowhere and went right over at 300-400 AGL. I looked up and all I saw was a vast expanse of aluminum and a bazillion rivets while standing in it's shadow for what felt like forever.
People who have BTDT seen it all can tell you stories, you can read books, you can stand next to the thing, you can watch videos, you can have a great imagination, you can even lay on the ground underneath one on the ramp...but until one roars over the top of your head without warning, you have no clue what the term Aluminum Overcast means. Times like that make you wonder what it was like in the 1940's when there were literally thousands of those flying around instead of todays extremely rare instances.

$425 for a short flight in one? There is no way I could afford that and there is no way someone could justify that kind of expense for a single one off flight especially if they won't let you fly it...who do I make the check out to?

 

[woodstock]

Sounds like a plan! Better yet if Beth buys a beater car and leaves it at the local FBO with the keys under the mat and directions to the beach house in the glove box.

if things continue to go well I may leave my current car there and get a new one for home. or maybe the new one for there and keep my current one here. doh! I don't know...

it's not on the beach by the way. the current one I'm looking at is on a golf course though...

 

[woodstock]

$425 for a short flight in one? There is no way I could afford that and there is no way someone could justify that kind of expense for a single one off flight especially if they won't let you fly it...who do I make the check out to?

the funny thing is, I had a few hours to kill before flying home so I thought, "I'll go to the airport, maybe there is a CFI standing around who would take me on a discovery flight for a little bit, then I can grab my stuff and go home..."

and when I got there I saw it taxiing back after landing and I sped to keep up with it (on the road) and tried to get pictures of it taxiing.. little did I know within half an hour I'd be clambering around inside it, all over the place. bummer is timing was so tight I barely got to talk to anyone afterwards, I grabbed my stuff and took off. I spent barely 5 minutes talking to anyone.

 

[jesse]

it's not on the beach by the way. the current one I'm looking at is on a golf course though...

Perfect. Land on the golf course, taxi up to your house.

 

[fgcason]

maybe there is a CFI standing around who would take me on a discovery flight for a little bit

A discovery flight in a B-17. It'll be really tough to beat that.

and when I got there I saw it taxiing back after landing and I sped to keep up with it (on the road) and tried to get pictures of it taxiing.. little did I know within half an hour I'd be clambering around inside it, all over the place.[/QUOTE]

Those are the best outings. One plan gets totally trashed and replaced by something far better.

 

[woodstock]

in about 25 minutes I'll have the ofoto site ready - all photos I took. good or bad. haha

 

[woodstock]

try this

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=eldvm1b.7t0qexpj&x=0&y=-61l4tw

 

[Lance F]

Very nice pictures, thanks. Looks like they put in a few panel upgrades since '44

 

[mgkdrgn]

Here's a couple of shots for y'all ... something that no one might ever see again, this may B-17's all together flying....

 

[EdFred]

Perfect. Land on the golf course, taxi up to your house.

And get a 7-iron taken to your knees!

(My last round of golf I broke par, you DO NOT damage the golf course!)

 

[woodstock]

Here's a couple of shots for y'all ... something that no one might ever see again, this may B-17's all together flying....

that was the plane I rode in - second from right.

 

[Richard]

When I was working on my IR the B-24 Diamond Lil and the B-17 Sentimental Journey were to fly in one day around noon. I had a couple days warning of their impending arrival so I hurriedly changed my flight schedule to match their ETA. As the day and hour drew near my excitement rose because it seemed it would be working out that I would be making some practice approaches when they checked in with APP. Alas, they arrived early so I was outbound just as they were cleared to land. I told my CFI I wanted to cancel the lesson to double back to watch them land but it wasn't meant to be.

The next week unbeknownst to me I followed the B-17 to PRB. I could hear him on freq and could just barely make him out at my 12 o'clock but there was no way I was gonna' catch him. I caught up to him in the patt at the other end after a 30 minute flight. I watched him land when I was on the 45 entry. It looked like he floated forever but it just looks like that due to the plane's immense size. In any case, they sure look graceful.

The week after that 10 B-25s and four A-26s arrived in formation to make a low pass and circle to land. There were also a couple P-40s, and five or six P-51s in loose trail. I was turning cross to downwind on a personal flight when they arrived so I slowed down and twr told me to extend so I got to watch the B-25s race down the rwy in formation followed by the A-26s. The fighters were about 5 miles in trail so when they made their low pass they really poured the coals on. By then the bombers were lining up to turn final and I was loitering way outside the downwind (I had departed the patt while on downwind) for the pararllel rwy and I got to see the whole shebang from the air at a distance of between 1/4--5 miles.

I had landed and just cleared the rwy when I heard the fighters check in with the tower. I taxied onto the parallel taxiway and watched as the fighters landed two by two almost within spitting distance.

A couple days later I finally got what I really wanted. I was doing my run up for a training flight when Sentimental Journey taxied to position and hold about 20 yards in front of me. I was ready in sequence right behind him. He held the extended centerline on departure. That heading would take him almost directly toward the VOR I was using to begin my practice approaches. No way were we gonna' catch him but we still got an eyeful of B-25 from the air. I didn't go under the hood for quite some time after departure.

As cool as all that was I don't think any of that beats Elizabeth's ride.

 

[kobijo]

Kinda loud and windy is'nt it?
I got to fly left seat in Aluminam overcast for about 20 min a few years back. pretty cool. Makes you wonder how those guys did it day after day.
We owe them a great deal of thanks.
Joe