On Sunday 03 April 2005 09:36 pm, RBHouston@aol.com wrote:
> Next Wednesday, the B17 and B24 that fly out of Connecticut will land about
> 2 miles from my house at War Eagles Air Museum, Santa Teresa Airport. For
> $400 bucks I can get a 30 minute ride on either plane.
>
> Anybody done this? Worth it?
Was a birthday gift to myself about 5 years ago. Well worth every penny (I
think it was $300) at the time. The only places you could not go were the
belly gun, tail gun and the pilot and co-pilot seat. You will be amazed how
small the B-17 bomb bay is. The bombardier had a real hairy seat, hanging
out over a plastic nose cone. Neat view, had to be a really bad spot during
a fight.
You will also get to meet some of the crews that flew the planes as they seem
to turn up at these things. Plan on spending some time talking with these
WWII guys as they are getting scarce. I spent some time talking to one of
the belly gunners. He got the job because he was the smallest guy on the
crew. It was so tight in there no parachute or flak jacket. For a day out
it was worth the cost.
Gilroy
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