Saw a B17! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hatterasguy · #1 08-23-2007, 01:39 PM

I was going to post this yesterday but I forgot. Yesterday I came home to let the dog out, after I threw her back inside I was walking to my car and I heard a very distinct engine drone. I live under a flight path for Sikorsky so I get a lot of interesting stuff going over me, mostly small private jets and a ton of military choppers. So anyway I look towards where the sound is coming from and I see a beautiful B17 come lumbering over the horizon. Naturally I stopped and stared, and it circled my house low and slow and went back. Awesome plane!

Made my day!

Kinda looked like this one, but I couldn't get the number off the tail. It just had a virtical stripe on the rudder, which I beleive was black or a dark blue.

Txjake · #2 08-23-2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I was going to post this yesterday but I forgot. Yesterday I came home to let the dog out, after I threw her back inside I was walking to my car and I heard a very distinct engine drone. I live under a flight path for Sikorsky so I get a lot of interesting stuff going over me, mostly small private jets and a ton of military choppers. So anyway I look towards where the sound is coming from and I see a beautiful B17 come lumbering over the horizon. Naturally I stopped and stared, and it circled my house low and slow and went back. Awesome plane!

Made my day!

Kinda looked like this one, but I couldn't get the number off the tail. It just had a virtical stripe on the rudder, which I beleive was black or a dark blue.

I saw what I think was the same B17 in Oklahoma City, just south of the airport, this weekend. I was doing lawn work and heard an unusual engine sound, looked up and there she was, pretty as WWII. I showed it to my wife and told her to imagine what hundreds of those flying overhead would sound like....

LUVMBDiesels · #3 08-23-2007, 02:04 PM

I saw one a few years ago. flying up the Hudson river.

I saw three of them in formation along with a B24 up in Horseheads, NY. There was a WWII air show at the local Jetport. They also had P51's P47's, C47 transports and some fake Zeros
Those suckers are LOUD! I can imagine hundreds of them would drive people on the ground insane even before they dropped their loads.

When I was a kid there was a derelict Thunderbolt at the local grass strip near my cousin's house. It was a huge airplane. We used to go over there and sit in the cockpit and pretend we were killing Nazis.

I went back there a few years ago and it was gone. I wish it had been me who carted it off

R Leo · #4 08-23-2007, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

Those suckers are LOUD!

You should be in the nose of one at take off. That's loud.

Hatterasguy · #5 08-23-2007, 02:12 PM

They would darken the sky then turn it white with there vapor trails.

It must have been a site to see some of the big raids go off with over 1,000 planes.

LUVMBDiesels · #6 08-23-2007, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R Leo

You should be in the nose of one at take off. That's loud.

At the show in HHeads, they were giving rides in a B17. The line was too long so I had to settle for a ride in a C47

I can only imagine the sound level in a B17 when all four engines are at takeoff power!

Kinda makes sense that all those vets had big cigarette pack hearing aids in the sixties and seventies

CSchmidt · #7 08-23-2007, 02:20 PM

Man was that an eye opener. All air control surfaces are run by cables coming from the stick. The interior of the plane is just aluminum space frames and skin... the control cables run through the holes in the space frame. Open windows on the side for the guns. At the tail, the body just ends. There was the tail mounted gun, a window above, and leather strapped in between the body and the barrel of the gun. No wonder all those flyers wore those heavy bomber jackets. I always thought the B-17 is one of the prettiest airplane designs out there.

Chuck

Nate Stanley · #8 08-23-2007, 02:26 PM

Out here on the Central Coast we have a rich variety of airshows and small airfields in Watsonville, Hollister, San Martin. Monterey, Half Moon Bay and Salinas.
Around April-May, the Collings Foundation sends over a B-17 and sometimes a B-24 to the local airfields. In addition we have the Watsonville Fly-in over Memorial Day weekend. It's quite a sight to see and hear them around here, better yet to hear the stories from the guys that flew them in the war.

dynalow · #9 08-23-2007, 02:32 PM

You may have seen this one Hat.

The Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour 2007.

Hop in a B 17G "Nine - O Nine" and fly for a mere $425.
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/cf_schedule-wof.htm

They'll be here in my immediate area (Wildwood NJ) three days next week. Seriously thinking of taking the B17 Hop.

I was in one on the ground some years ago. TEXAS RAIDERS owned by the (then) Confederate Air Force. Fortresses without armor.

What bomber crews had to endure in the ETO is unimaginable to me.

R Leo · #10 08-23-2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Stanley

Out here on the Central Coast we have a rich variety of airshows and small airfields in Watsonville, Hollister, San Martin. Monterey, Half Moon Bay and Salinas.
Around April-May, the Collings Foundation sends over a B-17 and sometimes a B-24 to the local airfields. In addition we have the Watsonville Fly-in over Memorial Day weekend. It's quite a sight to see and hear them around here, better yet to hear the stories from the guys that flew them in the war.

AFIK, the only flying B-24s are the CAF's "Diamond Lil" and Collings' "Witchcraft". Lone Star Flight Museum is in the process of returning a PB4Y to flight status but, with LSFM's money problems, who knows when it will ever make the airshow circuit.

R Leo · #11 08-23-2007, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

I can only imagine the sound level in a B17 when all four engines are at takeoff power!

Noisy and, with the vibration, it's like riding the inside of an orbital sander.

Weird things about the B-17...
When the main gear retracts, the tire contacts a small rub pad in the top of the well which stops the wheel from spinning. Doing that also produces a significant 'burning rubber' smell throughout the fuselage. Alarming if the Captain hasn't warned everyone.

Pulling back on the yoke to climb, instantly reduces your airspeed by about 15kts without any significant climb.

The nose skin is friggin' thin.

beevly · #12 08-23-2007, 03:37 PM

I flew in the Colling's Foundation B 17 "Nine-O-Nine" a few years back, it was quite the thrill. I wanted to go up in their B24 Liberator, but it was sold out - turns out it came up with a fuel problem and didn't fly that day so I was lucky to be signed up for the B17. In retrospect, I'm glad.

Once airborne, you unstrap and have free roam of the aircraft. The engine noise would best be described as thunderous. It was about $300 back then and we were up for about 45 minutes; down the CT. coast, up to Rhode Island, back to Groton and up the Thames River to bomb Norwich (my turn in the nose), then back down to Groton. I'd do it again for twice that in a heartbeat.

I walked away with a new respect for my elders, which was pretty healthy to begin with.

cjlipps · #13 08-23-2007, 03:57 PM

Got to ride in the B-17 "Aluminum Overcast" for my birthday 4 years ago. What a thrill! The sound is awesome and when you look out the sides from the nose you can see all the props churning. And looking out the little side window from the flight engineer's seat (just behind the co-pilot) your head is about a foot from the prop arc. The catwalk across the bomb bay is about 6 inches wide and I can just imagine crossing it with the bomb bay open over Nazi Germany in January at 30,000 feet. I could hear the ghosts of those 19 year olds laughing and saying: "Grow some balls, buddy. We did it then so you can do what you do now."
The relief tube and the toilet near the back were interesting too. By far the biggest thrill was sitting in the nose on the tiny stool watching the world rush by and peering through the Norden (sp?) bomb sight. I heard a story (I think from my uncle who was a nose gunner/bombardier in a B-24) that they were instructed to destroy the bomb sight (preferably with their sidearm) if the plane was going down behind enemy lines. We didn't want anyone else to have one. He also told me that the crosshairs in the Norden were made from black widow spider web.
All in all a huge thrill for a WWII buff and aviation nut. I highly recommend it to anyone.

LaughingGravy · #14 08-23-2007, 04:26 PM

From a local pilot's newsletter I receive:

In case you haven’t heard, EAA’s "Keep It Flying" B-17 Tour will be coming to a town near you soon! The tour brings the beautifully restored B-17 Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast” to a local airport for flight experiences and walk-through tours. Out of over 12,000 that were built, this aircraft is one of a handful of airworthy B-17s still flying.

EAA invites you to reserve a seat for a flight aboard this rare WW II bomber and experience "the ride of a lifetime."
Tour Stops
August 14-15
Elmira, NY
Elmira/Corning Regional Airport August 17-19
Lawrence, MA
Lawrence Municipal Airport
August 21-22
Oxford, CT
Waterbury-Oxford Airport August 24-26
Caldwell, NJ
Essex County Airport
August 28-29
Trenton, NJ
Trenton Mercer Airport

Here's what some other people have said about this truly special opportunity:

"To say it thrilled me beyond belief is an understatement. I, like the others, was allowed to unbuckle my seat belt and move about the aircraft, but the waist-gun position was where I spent most of my time. Partly because the view from that position was so good, but mostly, I think, because I somehow identified with those young men who manned that position." - Paul

Thanks for bringing unspeakable joy to a proud old man who, at 77, still remembers the thrill and the awesome responsibility of being at the controls of a "Flying Fortress." He told us today that the sound of the engines warming up was "sweeter than a Beethoven symphony." - Keith

"This was a thrill beyond compare and it brought a tear to my eye as my mind traveled back those many years. The smell of that exhaust and the deafening noise brought back the faces of my crew, and I was 22 years old again, and on my way to Bremen. My son was along for this flight . It has been a life-long dream of his to fly along side his Dad, on the 'Flying Fortress' and we thoroughly enjoyed our 40 minutes in the air together!" - Robert

You can learn more about the flight experience, history and operation of our B-17 at www.b17.org

Pre-booked flights cost $359 for EAA Members, and $399 for non-Members. Walk-up prices are $385 for EAA Members and $425 for non-Members. Seats are filling up fast, so pre-book your flight today and save $26 off the walk-up price! It's a great experience you won't want to miss ... plus you'll be helping to support the preservation of aviation history and supporting aviation in your local community.

Don’t delay, call our B-17 hotline at 800-359-6217 or visit our website at www.b17.org to reserve your seat today!

t walgamuth · #15 08-23-2007, 06:44 PM

There are ww2 war birds that fly over my house from time to time to land at the purdue airport.

their rumble is pretty distinctive.

Tom W