Anyone in the TriCities area want to see a B17?

[ArmyBrat61]

http://www.wcyb.com/news/a-flight-to-remember/28072970

 

I went aboard the Sentimental Journey went it came to Nevada a few years ago. I will be taking the Mrs. tomorrow so she can see what I've been raving about. It is an beautiful aircraft with musical, radial engines....

[Rightwinger]

I'm no where near you and I want to see it !  Whoever goes, post plenty of pics please!  Can't tell you how many models of the 17s I built as a young man.  I still have books in a box somewhere on those beauties.

[Grand Torino]

http://www.wcyb.com/news/a-flight-to-remember/28072970

 

I went aboard the Sentimental Journey went it came to Nevada a few years ago. I will be taking the Mrs. tomorrow so she can see what I've been raving about. It is an beautiful aircraft with musical, radial engines....

I flew on that with the missus in Mesa, Arizona back in 2012......it was an awesome experience...one I'll never forget.

 

[Garufa]

I think flying in a B-17 pretty much is my bucket list.

[Peace]

^^^ this.  

 

     My great Uncle flew in B17s for 50 missions.  Co-pilot for 25, pilot for 25.  I didn't know that until I was out of college... he has some stories.  He never talked about it, and my Aunt basically told him "no more" when she got him home after 50 missions, so he stayed on the ground ... he is that kind of guy.

 

PS - another great uncle was a belly gunner for 25 missions.  When his tour was up they asked him if he wanted to re-enlist.  He laughed and told them, "when the japanese get to Milan (TN), call me."

Edited September 21, 2014 by Peace

[MacGyver]

I got to fly with my grandfather back in 2003. He had a bunch of combat missions in one as a pilot over Europe, and then flew hundreds of missions in an H model dropping life boats over the Pacific. He was 83 years old and on a walker due to breaking his hip, but the evening before was commenting on whether or not we'd have to pull ourselves up through the hatch like they did when they had a full load.

The next morning, that plane pulled onto the tarmac at John C. Tune with its Pratt and Whitneys roaring in all their glory. He tossed his walker to the side and walked up to that plane like he was 20 again. The pilots were as honored to have him on board as he was to be there. They put the navigator's chair down and a space for him in the cockpit. On the taxi out and takeoff roll you could see his head and the pilot's turning in sync as they both went through preflight checks.

To the day I die, that will be one of my most cherished memories.

[hipower]

I got to go up last year from Smyrna Field. It was a thrill that I will never forget.

 

If you can...do it. You will not ever regret the flight.

[Major Kong]

I got to fly with my grandfather back in 2003. He had a bunch of combat missions in one as a pilot over Europe, and then flew hundreds of missions in an H model dropping life boats over the Pacific. He was 83 years old and on a walker due to breaking his hip, but the evening before was commenting on whether or not we'd have to pull ourselves up through the hatch like they did when they had a full load.

The next morning, that plane pulled onto the tarmac at John C. Tune with its Pratt and Whitneys roaring in all their glory. He tossed his walker to the side and walked up to that plane like he was 20 again. The pilots were as honored to have him on board as he was to be there. They put the navigator's chair down and a space for him in the cockpit. On the taxi out and takeoff roll you could see his head and the pilot's turning in sync as they both went through preflight checks.

To the day I die, that will be one of my most cherished memories.

That is awesome Bryan. One of my greatest regrets is that I never talked to my grandfather about his time in WW2. He died when I was 15 and I had no interest in the military or military history at the time.

[peejman]

Nothing like that sound. Can't imagine what hundreds of them sounded like. My wife is in San Antonio and said there's a B-17 and B-25 giving rides there.

[hipower]

I got to fly with my grandfather back in 2003. He had a bunch of combat missions in one as a pilot over Europe, and then flew hundreds of missions in an H model dropping life boats over the Pacific. He was 83 years old and on a walker due to breaking his hip, but the evening before was commenting on whether or not we'd have to pull ourselves up through the hatch like they did when they had a full load.

The next morning, that plane pulled onto the tarmac at John C. Tune with its Pratt and Whitneys roaring in all their glory. He tossed his walker to the side and walked up to that plane like he was 20 again. The pilots were as honored to have him on board as he was to be there. They put the navigator's chair down and a space for him in the cockpit. On the taxi out and takeoff roll you could see his head and the pilot's turning in sync as they both went through preflight checks.

To the day I die, that will be one of my most cherished memories.

 

That is an awesome thing Mac. I'm so very glad you got to see that. 

 

This doesn't compare with yours, but on the day I got to ride along, it was the last flight of the day. The people running the show had scheduled a flight for some "VIP" persons.

 

I wasn't aware of this, all I knew was that I had been lucky enough to snag the last seat on the flight.

 

As we were called out to board, we were told there would be some special passengers, and asked to stand by to assist them in boarding if necessary. Didn't really know what to expect from that.

 

But 3 Air Force vets and their wives were brought out and introduced to us as being survivors of 50 missions. And they were not charged for the flight like the rest of us.

 

I couldn't really tell you what was said after that, as I heard one of the gentlemen refuse the flight; saying he had enough bad memories of flying in the old planes and didn't really want to go up again.

 

That got me to thinking about what he must have endured to make him not want to fly again.

 

Not explaining it well, but it did leave quite an impression on me.

[TacoBubba]

There will also be a P51 at the tri with the bomber through monday. I am going to head out there Monday on my day off and take a look at some awesome history,

[McGarrett]

Our shop is near Knoxville's McGhee Tyson airport so we regularly hear planes fly over on approach or take off so that much we don't really pay attention to them. I'll never forget one day about 12 years ago when I heard something that sounded different and I looked outside to see a B17 coming in flying low and slow. It had a distinct sound for sure.

 

What a sight to see. They don't call it a flying fortress for nothing.

[Mike.357]

saw them when I lived in Boca Raton years ago.  Pretty awesome sight to see the B17 and B25 flying over the golf course.

 

I went to the airport the next day to see the planes.  It was really cool to climb aboard and be able to spend time inside of them  I wish I had taken a ride

[ArmyBrat61]

Here is a video I took at the airport...kinda shaky but I was excited!

 

http://<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/Armybrat1961/embed/slideshow/vidoes"></iframe>

 

 

 

 

I have more pics if anyone is interested.......

 

http://

 

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Edited September 22, 2014 by ArmyBrat61

[MacGyver]

Cool!

[GKar]

I went by Sunday morning and spent a couple of hours there.  Standing there looking at the B-17, a guy beside me offered that he was fulfilling a promise to his recently-deceased uncle to come and see one whenever he had the chance.  Turns out his uncle was a B-17 pilot for 30+ missions, and had survived being shot down 3 times over Europe. 

 

After crawling around inside for a bit, I came to realize that I simply couldn't comprehend managing all the necessary tasks in those tight spaces while was hitting the fan...

 

Did get to see the take-off for one of the tour flights (already full, darn it)...music of the heavens.