B17 ride- part 4 (last)

[beaky]

Back to the nose again... here's another view out the cheek-gun position. Sing on, mighty Cyclones!!








This might be the best aviation photo I've ever taken... yes, that's our shadow on the water.









I just turned the camera on myself for a moment, not realizing that I looked like this. See that expression? That is what you get for your money on this ride...what's the word...? Yes, "agog". Or possibly "agape". Maybe both. All that's missing is a string of drool from  my mouth... LOL!!  ;D










I head aft again, and catch the flight crew making their last turn before pattern entry. For landing, I wound up sitting at the radio operator's table. It's sort of like "musical chairs"...when they give the word to buckle up, you sit in the nearest seat. The WWII vet I mentioned earlier (an artillery man, if I remember correctly) was sitting across from me; he told me about how he had shipped back from Europe aboard a C47 when his tour was over, nonstop from Ireland. He said it was a long ride and cold as hell, but I could tell the B17 was reviving that memory for him as a happy one.












Downwind, final, a smooth landing (albeit with a surprising decceleration as those big tires grab the runway, and of course much rumbling after the tailwheel settles on) and then back to the ramp... with those big brake drums keening.







     







I can't believe it's over... but the spell won't wear off for a long, long time. Thanks, EAA... I hope my modest contribution made a difference !!






Coming Soon: American Airpower Museum!

[Hagar]

Nice one & some great photos. I'm delighted you decided to go..

[beaky]

Nice one & some great photos. I'm delighted you decided to go..

That makes two of us.
Glad you guys enjoyed these... hope you all get to do something like this someday, if you haven't already.

[Rifleman]

WHAT a story !  :o


........thanks for taking us along with you on this fabulous trip into the past !  8)

[deadkennedy]

Fantastic story and photo's, great stuff. I'm so jealous.  ;D

In fact, there's a B-17 coming to Belgium soon, during the Beauvechain open days. Don't know if they will be taking rides but even a quick peek inside would be great.

Thank you for posting these, I really enjoyed them all.  ;)

[ozzy72]

That shot of you looks like you've just suffered a multiple-mega-orgasm

[Omag 2.0]

Fantastic! I loved the series! Thanks for sharing it Sean.

[FLYING_TRUCKER]

Well done Sean...thanks for taking us along...and by the twinkle in your eyes we can all tell what a GREAT time you had.

It is folks like you who keep HISTORY alive and help preserve those special artifacts so you should be very proud of yourself

Now do us all a favour...go comb your hair LOL

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[beaky]

Now do us all a favour...go comb your hair LOL

 I..  I can't!!!

   ;D

[Fly2e]

WOW!
Great stuff!!!!!

You should have contacted me, I am only 15 minutes away from Republic!!  ;)

Dave

[Willit Run]

First of all,  Great for you!!  To walk through a piece of history is great but, to fly in a piece of history is a life memory!!

  Now tell me would you want to fly in a B-17 for eight hours or longer at 25,000 ft. with flak going off around you for what would seem forever.  Then being attack and having bullets and cannon rounds being fired at you for almost half that mission.  Sure make you appreciate what those fight crews went through during WWII.

 Great series, Great smile but that hair - WOW!!  

   Cory

[beaky]

WOW!
Great stuff!!!!!

You should have contacted me, I am only 15 minutes away from Republic!!  ;)

Dave

Yeah, I should've thought of that... well, we should go flying together sometime, anyway.
If you want to take a ride in the B17, she'll be at Trenton-Mercer on Wednesday, I believe... something tells me she'll be joining the Thunder Over the Boardwalk show.

[flyboy 28]

Kahfgda!

She flew over my house when I was eating dinner!

[beaky]

First of all,  Great for you!!  To walk through a piece of history is great but, to fly in a piece of history is a life memory!!

  Now tell me would you want to fly in a B-17 for eight hours or longer at 25,000 ft. with flak going off around you for what would seem forever.  Then being attack and having bullets and cannon rounds being fired at you for almost half that mission.  Sure make you appreciate what those fight crews went through during WWII.

Tell me about it... this is why many WWII bomber crewmen went from being absolutely thrilled on their first training flights to not ever wanting to set foot in an airplane again after their tour was over... despite the strength, power, (relative) agility and excellent armament of these big ships, with a blanket of flak exploding around you and fighters swarming everywhere, not to mention the risk of another ship in your formation colliding with you or dropping bombs (or parts) on you, and sometimes harrowing weather, their crews were very vulnerable. I could easily imagine how frightening it must have been.
  And their mission was to destroy...  not just factories, airbases and ports, but city centers as well, sometimes. I can see why many veterans never want to look back on such things. War leaves deep emotional scars.
But- some of those guys formed a loving bond with their ships and crew that never faded. Just before heading to the airport yesterday for my ride, I grabbed the latest Plane and Pilot magazine for a little bathroom reading, and read a lovely anecdote about none other than Aluminum Overcast: the writer recounted a visit with the plane on a recent tour stop, during which an ambulance pulled up, and a very old, obviously ill man was removed from the ambulance on a back board and gently slid into the tail of the bomber. Everyone cleared away and left him there for a few minutes. One of the EMTs quietly explained to the writer: "He had been a tailgunner..."  apparently the old warrior sought some comfort there... for him, the love of the B17 outweiged the bad memories. And he was "only" a gunner, not a pilot! After riding in belly of that beast, I think I can safely say I'd have wound up feeling the way he did. A plane like that just seems to say "don't worry; I'll protect you and do my job as best I can- give it your all, and so will I".



 

Great series, Great smile but that hair - WOW!!  

Hey, smart-ass.. you try sticking your head into a 150-knot breeze and see what your hair  looks like...

[beaky]

That shot of you looks like you've just suffered a multiple-mega-orgasm

I did!!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: flying is better than sex.