Fantasy of Flight- part 1

[beaky]

Soooo many pictures... whew; this could take all week. but I've got little else to do here in this hotel room, so I've started culling and formatting...even making thumbs this time.


Let's start with a little introduction, and a look at the ramp area...


A perfect dreamy vintage sky today... this Texan(?) was just passing through.






Biplane rides, and even aerobatic lessons in a Stearman... heaven!!






Somebody pinch me...





Some queens of the ramp- a Martin B-26 Marauder. Because of the incredible high wing-loading of this beast, it was hard to handle on approach... a local saying during WWII regarding training flights (out of MacDill) in the Marauder was "Two a day in Tampa Bay."

[url]http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotFOF0101.JPG[/url]





A B-24... not the original name ("Joe"? Who the #$%@*  names a bomber "Joe"?)

[url]http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0102.JPG[/url]






One of the finest airworthy B-25s in the world...

[url]http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0103.JPG[/url]





A recently-arrived Catalina...

[url]http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0104.JPG[/url]




But there's more... lots of room in the main hangars for all kinds of goodies...




Next: the North Hangar

[Willit Run]

Great shots!!

Looks like a cool place.

 Are the B-26 and B-24 static or flyable?

 Keep them coming!!

[beaky]

Great shots!!

Looks like a cool place.

 Are the B-26 and B-24 static or flyable?

 Keep them coming!!

Not 100% sure, but I believe both are airworthy, or nearly so.

[C]

Great shots!!

Looks like a cool place.

 Are the B-26 and B-24 static or flyable?

 Keep them coming!!

Not 100% sure, but I believe both are airworthy, or nearly so.

The B-26 is a reasonably recent restoration, and I believe was ferried by Kermit himself from California. There are pics of it airborne on the FoF website. After the CAF's B-26 accident in the mid 90s, it's the sole survivor in the air.

The B24 is also airworthy, o has been reasonably recently.

[ATI_7500]

("Joe"? Who the #$%@*  names a bomber "Joe"?)

Airforce guys are gay. Knew it from the beginning!  ;D

[fighter25]

Isn't it bad luck to name a plane (or boat) a guys name like Joe?  :P

[beaky]

Don't know the whole story, but the name was given long after it left service... maybe somebody let an interior designer loose in the restoration hangar, I dunno.  ;D