| Author | Message | ||
     Birdy |
I just signed on at the local airfield to help out a little. They have a small plane that needs a bit of work to get back in the air where she belongs. The Champaign Lady is a B-17 and the goal is to get her back in the air. She’s not to be a “Hanger Queen” like a lot of us have seen. She needs a ton of work and a lot of man hours but I want to hear those 4 radials roar down the runway. I've heard a B24 and if you think your Drummer sound mean you ain't heard nothing! You don’t see these birds anymore or the men who flew them into combat. And when you think about most were in their teens with the Captain or “Old Man” in his early 20s yet they went off to war and all too many never made it home. What better tribute to them than to help bring a bit of history back? There are a few vets that flew or worked on these planes in WWII that stop by to see here and everyone has said he hope he lives long enough to see her fly. We lose 1500 WWII vets a day. Here's a link to the site about The Champaign Lady. You can see there a LOT of work to do BUT they come a long way. If they were just going to make her look pretty to sit in a hanger somewhere it'd be easier and faster BUT they want her to fly again. http://www.b17project.com/ | ||
| Mikexlr650 |
my grandfather went down twice in one of those. used to love those stories as a kid. once in the sea of japan and once over a polar cap. really great plane. good on you to bring one back. have heard one before and your right, the sound is amazing! | ||
| Xl1200r |
I'd love to get into something like that. B-17 and P-51... tough combo to beat! I think there's only one B-17 currently in the air and I have been able to see it once. Really impressive stuff. | ||
| Toona |
I took my son last August to see some that flew in to our local airport.  I think he enjoyed himself   | ||
| Toona |
Standing on the wing, with permission from the owner.  | ||
| Etennuly |
That is too cool. He will remember that forever! I recall seeing and hearing P38's fly over my home town when I was a kid. I've seen the 17's but not heard them. | ||
| Birdy |
Mark there are about 20 B17s flying around the world. Still when you think how many were built that's only a handful. A few B24 also take to the air (I saw one) and more were built than B17 BUT I think there are only two B29 (Fi-Fi and Doc) flying Seems that fighters faired better as a number of different types of planes are flying...cheaper and easier the rebuild? | ||
| 46champ |
If any of you ever get a chance to fly in one do it. It costs a pile of money, but it will probably be a once in a life time event. FIFI is getting engines changed it could be several more years before she flies again and who knows about DOC. The Collins foundation B-24 is still flying mostly because of shear determination by their ground crews. Their may come a day when they won't fly no more, like the day leaded gas is outlawed for anything. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
There is a B17 flying out of Falcon field in Mesa AZ. It was doing weekend flights, and charging a lot money to do so. I figured it would be worth if I was an airplane buff. It is cool see it flying around the valley. | ||
| Jstfrfun |
Isn't that the home of the confederate AF ? | ||
| Xl1200r |
I didn't realize there were so many still in the air. I think 20 is pretty good number considering the typical fate of most military machinery. Fighters likely fare better just due to the smaller size and (generally) single engine. I'd imagine it's easier and loads cheaper to rebuild one engine than 4. I'm curious how the current crop of military vehcicles will fare in the future. For instance, I would imagine the per hour operating costs of an F-16 or something similar is quite a bit more expensive than that of a Hellcat or something similar. Time will tell. | ||
| Sifo |
Very cool! Last summer I was out for a ride with my wife and 2 other guys that both happen to be military aircraft nuts. We were stopped at a stop light when I caught sight of a B-17 just over the trees to our right. The light turned green and we got honked at for not going. I was leading our group so I went through the intersection and just pulled over on the shoulder and we shut the bikes down. The 17 had just taken off from the local airport and was climbing out low and slow. WOW! It made a shallow right turn on climb out and went almost right over head. The sight and sound sent chills down my spine! I could only imagine what a whole squadron flying over would sound like. After it was gone we just looked at each other kind of questioning if we had really just experienced that. Amazing stuff! | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
The B-17 Memphis Belle is at the Joint Services Open House at Andrews Air Force Base this weekend, along with many other historic and RARE WW2 aircraft. If you're into military stuff I highy recommend you attend this yearly event. http://www.jsoh.org/display_ns.html | ||
| Just_ziptab |
What a gigantic project. A small fortune in clecos alone. Do they have all the engines? Glass? It would seem impossible to find usable parts that are missing......like a ring turret or belly gunner piss tube. What is missing? It looked like a pile of unusable junk on the truck it came in on. All I can say is WOW!!!!! | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Sentimental Journey was here last year. I crawled around that thing for hours.[list]   | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Way cool. I love the old birds, they scream history. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
A local veteran passed away last week(94). He flew 34 missions as a tail gunner in a B17. Was a POW for 6 months when they had to bail out on the 34th one. Rest in peace,Ivan Hunter, rest in peace..........Very interesting read on Ivan.Click:Mr. Hunter (Message edited by just_ziptab on May 17, 2009) | ||
| Bcordb3 |
The Sentimental Journey's web page. Cool stuff. http://www.azcaf.org/pages/rides.html | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
If you're into the old warbirds & ever in the UK, you MUST visit the Imerial War Museum at Duxford. http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/ . Also the Shuttleworth Collection is well worth a look too http://www.shuttleworth.org/ . I grew up just up the road from Duxford & recall seeing squardons of planes flying over our house when they were filming "The Battle of Britain" there when I was a boy. Nothing like the sound of a load of V12 Merlins to get you tingling. | ||
| Stingaroo |
My Dad and I are participants/coordinators for the WW2 Commerative weekend in Reading, PA. Its usually the 1st weekend in June. If you like WW2 Vehicles, uniforms, and Aviation, try making it there some year. Its pretty big, and each year different aircraft showed up, everything from F4Fs, B-25s, P-38 ME 109, B-17s, B-29, P-40s, Hurricanes, Lancasters, Spitfires, usually between 40-80 aircraft. Just to give you an idea, here are a few pics I took while flying in a B-25J my friend Larry Kelley owns. I am very biased towards B-25s, thats what my grandfather flew his 58 missions in wiht the 345th Air Apaches. (his plane he named Stingaroo)    | ||
| Stingaroo |
Birdy, That old lady looks wonderful! Like any restoration project one just has to have the imagination to keep the motivation. There is nothing like bringing a vehicle/aircraft from the junk pile backinto operational condition to share with the public. Plus the chance to make new friends, work on different parts, and imagine the men served on the aircraft makes it all worth wild... I am ready to get back into the shop | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
When is the WW2 Commemorative weekend in Reading, PA?? I couldnt find any recent info for it. | ||
| Stingaroo |
http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html My Dad will be set up in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, just look for bamboo, tents, guys in khakis, an HD WLA, either a Jeep or a Dodge Weapons Carrier and an old guy wiht a cigar, sunglasses, nad a blue sun hat, thats my Dad Carl. Can't make it this year, wont be home till Sept. | ||
| Rfischer |
If ever travels happen to take anyone to Moscow, make a point of visiting Victory Park and the Great Patriotic War [WWII] Museum. There is a fantastic open-air display of all manner of period machines and equipment, including aircraft set in full-scale scenes of the time. Also, inside the museum, which is immense, there are multiple full-scale dioramas depicting the ground war in various theaters. For those may not know, the first, and grandest, memorial to the Holocaust is in Victory Park. Well-worth the time, expense, and trouble to tour and experience. | ||
| Iamike |
My father-in-law was an Air Force mechanic during WWII. He has quite a few stories about Austrailia and Phillipines. It was interesting because he wouldn't talk about it for many years, he always said the guys that talked a lot didn't experience 'the action'. It wasn't until my wife had him write down his memoires that he opened up. He just got selected to do an 'Honor Flight' to DC next month. I tried to go but since I wasn't an immediate relative I didn't get invited. | ||
| Peeping_jon |
Great post with Memorial day upcoming. My Dad flew the ball in a B17 in WWII. 32 or 34 missions bombing Germany. Bailed out once over the channel & pointed the plane for Germany. Dad was one of those 1500 a day that we lose last July. Don't know if this was such a good idea reading & writing in this post. Damn I miss him. Thanks to all the Vets. Jon | ||
| Just_ziptab |
My Dad is close to that short list. Going down to AR to see him in a week or so....he's 90 and said that's enuf. He hardly ever mentions a word about his service during the war,but he did have something to do with sighting in the 50 caliber wing guns on Corsairs. Said they had to converge on a 4'x8' hunk of plywood at a half mile. He had a 50 bullet go over his shoulder at short range on a ship. Somebody put the arming plug "in" and a single round remained in one gun and went off. I guess somebody got court marshaled for that one. I have the arming plug that he gave me and all his training notes on the 50's opperation as well the Blue Jackets manual and some of his hats,name ID stamp for the uniforms and "whites" and "dress" uniforms. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Sounds like your B-17 group needs to get in contact with Paul Allen (of microsoft fame) He has one of the largest private collections of full restored/operational war aircraft on the planet. http://www.flyingheritage.com/default.aspx Everyone of his craft is in flying condition, and they routinely take them out to play. Nothing is more eerie than hearing a ME-109E-3 buzz over head. Paul has a habit of supporting restoration project just like this. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Stingaroo- Do you have any involvement with the guys restoring the P-61 Black Widow in Reading? THAT is a cool project. http://www.maam.org/p61.html | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Nothing is more eerie than hearing a ME-109E-3 buzz over head. Or seeing a Me-262 flying overhead http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html | ||
| Hughlysses |
Wow- that's a cool project too! That one brings back memories from later era for me...   | ||
| Patrick2cents |
Wow! seeing some of those pics of sentimental journey took me back a bit! I used to live in Meza near by the airfield/museum where that b-17 was at a bit (i don't think CAF was there at the time, but I do know that b-17 was there every now and then!) |
