There I am quietly minding my own business at our outdoor graduation this morning, keeping track of who gets more thanks, God or the faculty, when I espy a plane flying low in the distance towards us. I'd read in the paper this morning that a B-17 was in town, giving rides at $400 a pop. Tail is large and it definitely has radial engines. Sure enough, it flies right at use at a very low altitude, roaring away to the south. About a half hour later, it returns, flying a little higher. Very cool. I can't imagine a squadron of those things taking off over a town.
By the way, the faculty won, 30 to 9.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Cool sighting.

Imagine the sight and sound of 100+ of those things in formation.

Sometimes, I wish I was there.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Imagine riding in one without proper hearing protection... not to mention the unpressurized cabin. Oh then there are the Germans!!

I knew a guy when I was a kid that was a B-17 commander. Seem's they were hit with flak(he guesses) and he was blown clean away from the acft. He woke up just in time to pull the rip cord... spent the rest of the war as a POW. He was the only survivor of his crew.

I wonder what the fuel burn is on 4 wright radials?

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08 R320 CDI current

Past
95 E420
87 300D Turbo 5spd
90 300TE
83 300SD
85 300TD
92 400E
85 190D

B29 flies here every month - all day Saturday & Sunday. Sometimes a B17 too.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Where do you see the B29? I thought there are only like 2 still capable of flying. Not sure if the one being rebuilt by Boeing is completed.

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MB-less

LUV, (Dallas Love Field) or Addison, Texas airfield. Not sure of the origin - since my Texas home is immediately east of downtown Dallas, Texas. They fly out over Lake Ray Hubbard, then head back west. It may in fact fly out of Addison - since Addison's runway can support Boeing 727s.

I believe they call themselves the Confederate Air Force. They also come to Omaha, Nebraska at least once a year too.

Japanese Zero aircraft replicas have been manufactured for many years in an Addison, Texas hangar - naturally by a private entrepreneur. 10 years or so ago - I called my buddy that lives just north of Love Field - Merrill Road & Marsh Lane frantically telling him that I was out in the backyard looking at a Japanese Zero aircraft with Rising Sun markings fly over (he's a private pilot) - he told me I was nuts. I told him that I knew a Zero when I saw one, and I was wondering if there was a time warp and we were under attack. Weeks later a local news channel did a write-up on them. I wasn't seeing things.

Garland Airfield - located where I-635 & Northwest HWY. is in NE Dallas, was a manufacturing facility of WWII aircraft during the war. The airfield is long gone.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I live 3 miles north of Love, never have seen any except when they were giving rides at one show. I wish I had done it, but when I got there the rides were 3 hours away... Got some pics from behind the fence. The CAF B17's travel around a lot. Saw a home video of a guy who took a ride. It is a big damn deal to spool up the engines and get everything set for takeoff. A 100 plane bomber mission had to be spectacular.

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MB-less

wiki (for what it's worth) says only one, out of midland, texas. ??

those guys had, uh, "cojones" to fly in those babies. well, we were all young once, i guess, and the thought of a victorious hitler, the emperor and il duce probably was a great motivation too.

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"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

There were two fellows here in Lafayette that I knew who flew in 17s in ww2. Both gone now. They had some stories. It was cold and they had armor plating on the seat bottoms in case of flack from below.

The flight pattern from Purdue airport goes over out house. I will occasionally hear a ww2 airbird flying. The radial engines have a distinct rumble that is pretty identifiable. The 17 came here once and I saw it go over.

ONe year at the Indy 500 they flew over a 17 and about four mustangs before the race. Chuck Yeager was in one of the fighters. That may have been the year he drove the pace car....no I imagine that would not have worked, but he also drove the pace car one year back around the same era, I would say 12 to 15 years back.

Hah! I just googled it and he drove it in '86 and '88! 22 and 24 years ago! Time flys when you are having fun. I must be having fun!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

For those on the East Coast, Here is a link for some WW2 warbirds SE PA in mid June.
http://www.n57.com/

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

One comes to Sikorsky airport at least once a year. I'm going for a ride next time its in town.

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2006 CL500
2009 C300 4matic
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

“FIFI” is the only (kept) airworthy B29 at this time. It is based out of the Commemorative Air Force, CAF (Previously named the Confederate Air Force, based in Harlingen TX, until they decided that the salt air wasn’t good for the aircraft and the “not so politically correct” name wasn’t good for business.) headquarters in Midland, TX. (seems they out grew their San Marcus base and are slowly heading north.)
There will (we should all hope and pray) be two more B29s taking to the sky in the future.

The Addison fleet of WWII aircraft is out of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum there at ADS. Nice fleet. The biggest bomber you’ll see spending any time there is the B24, which actually is maintained and operated by the CAF (along with FIFI) by a guy named Dave Miller. If you want to know anything and everything about either aircraft, he’s the guy to contact.

As for the Zero retros. There was a joint there that did replica conversions (used T6s), just as there was a place at Meacham Field, Ft. Worth that was making replica BF-109s (from scratch !). Not sure how/if either is doing at this time. The first things a bad economy hits hard in aviation is the passengers and the toys. Those are certainly in the “toys” category. The Vintage Flying Museum is based there at Meacham. They have a B17 that is seen about now and them. Nice restorations done there.

Both of those air museums are worth a visit, as well as the Frontiers of Flight museum at Love Field, Dallas, if you ever find yourself in town with some time to kill. Cavanaugh is your best bet if you’re looking to take a ride in anything vintage. They have a regular ride schedule/reservation with their WWII trainers as well as the B24.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

I completely understand that feeling, especially after attending an airshow.

Then I am reminded of the conversation I had with an ex 8th Airforce B-17 pilot from Raleigh, NC who told me his aircraft was the one out of his squadron of 12 that survived their 25 mission quota and that not all of the guys in his aircraft survived the 25 missions.

11 B-17 x 10 crew = 110 casualties or POWs plus the couple of guys from his B-17 that didn't make it.

So perhaps 8 guys out of 120 made it. Or just under 7% of the men in his squadron (including himself) completed their 25 missions.

Those numbers really sobered me and helped me to understand why he and a lot of other vets don't or didn't glorify their war service.

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Anders

1995 E300
2015 VW TDI Sportwagen 15K
1977 240D (197K)
2002 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (115k) (Wife's)
Gone but not forgotten:
2005 Buick LeSabre
1998 C230
1984 300D
1983 240D
1981 300SD
1974 240D
1974 Fiat 124 Spider
1968 Triumph TR250

I remember watching a show on Discovery a few years back, a documentary about a B29 that had been discovered up in Greenland, I think - preserved in the ice for 50+ years. A team went up there and restored it over a course of time - I remember a guy actually died during the restoration. They got the thing airworthy and were warming it up to take off from a runway they'd plowed in the snow, and there was an accident inside with a heater system in the back that cause the aircraft to catch fire and burn to the ground right there. The whole team just sat beside it watching it, completely dumbfounded. My eyes teared up pretty good watching that plane burn. Such a tragedy.

We're lucky enough to get buzzed a few times a year by one of two airworth Avro Lancasters in the world. The noise from 4 Merlins is awesome. Last year my son and I were at its home airport and stood about 100 yards behind it as it fired up and taxied out to go to an airshow - the propwash and noise was unbelievable.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

Very understandable.
So many movies, etc have glorified the American aviator role in WWII. But, when you start crunching the numbers and talking to those who were actually there, fear horror and death supercede anything glorious about it.

By “wish I was there”, I mean in that era of aviation. Were pilots were actually true aviators.

If I could choose an MOS in WWII, I think I’d lean toward fighter/escort pilot. But even that was full of horrific moments.

I’ve flown quite a few mock dogfights with our -51 against some pretty good pilots in the past.
Not one did I get out of the aircraft not covered in sweat. Having someone on your tail that you must shake or “die” is quite an adrenaline rush as well as nerve racking experience without the bullets. It almost makes you sick. I can’t imagine playing that game for real.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !