Cool! Imagine dealing with cramped quarters, the bitter cold..and oh yeah being shot at by enemy fighters and dodging flak. These guys were truly hero's.
seventy2plus2 wrote:
I had my flight this morning, and yes it was cool. I was seated in the radio operators area, and once we were airborne we could walk around the center part of the aircraft. Keep in mind there aren't a lot of windows, so it makes photo opportunities a little difficult. However, the sense of sound is overwhelming - yes those 4 engines make lots of noise. I've flown in a number of DC3 cargo planes, so generally the same vintage, and yes I'd say this is a little louder. It was interesting seeing people trying to walk around while we were in the air, they didn't seen to have their footing - however as many who know me knows - I move like a cat.
It was an extra $175 to have a seat in the nose (the bombadier and navigator positions) and I can only imagine how cool it was to sit up there. I tried to get a shot of me at one of the waist gunners position, not sure how well they turned out as you're inside, and taking a photo against a cloudless sky. I'll try to post in a few days.
It was probably 65 degrees F when we took off, but not a cloud in the sky so temperature wise it was comfortable in a t-shirt. We only went up about 1000 feet so basically the same temperature as on the ground. I did see some people that had jackets on sweating a bit. I was way in the back when they opened the bomb bay doors mid flight, so I missed that.
After the flight, I got talking to the fellow who was sitting at the radio operators position, on how it would have been really cool if they let us fire off a few rounds from the waist gunners. The ball turret was right where I was seated, it would have been cool to take a seat in that for a while.
I can only imagine the experiences of the young soldiers who did their missions over Nazi Europe. The noise, the vibration, the cold and yes, the enemy shooting at you. All to drop a few bombs and hope one hit something to make a difference.
These planes are nothing more than tin cans with engines, guns and a bomb bay, crew comfort was NOT a concern.
Looks like it was fun Clint. For sure you'll have something to talk about that most of us will never experience. You look like you should have been flying that thing.
That looks like so much fun. I just love the artwork on the planes from WWII.
Here's something funny. I first went to see the 3 bombers on Monday, and paid the $5 to take the walk through the B17. As I approached the rear of the aircraft, a fellow was just exiting, and was asking why there were paintings of girls on the fronts of the planes. He seemed to be quite buffalo'd on the whole subject. One of the B17 crew indicated the lady on the B17 was Betty Grable, arguably the most popular pin-up of the WWII US servicemen. He stated that he'd served in Vietnam, and in his day the most popular pin-up was likely Racquel Welch. The gentlemen that had been asking the question still really didn't understand. - I'm not sure what planet he was from, but what else would be on young mens minds.
1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
