On Wed, 17 Oct 2018 13:44:50 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:

On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 4:28:00 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/17/2018 2:54 PM, Its Me wrote:

And I am pumped about it!

http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

They'll be at a event at Owens Field in Columbia this weekend to raise money for Camp Kemo. There are only 15 B-17's left in airworthy condition, and it'll be amazing to get a ride in one.



There is another group ... the Collins Foundation ... that tours the USA
with a B-17, a B-24, a B-25 and a Mustang P-51. They were just at the
little municipal airport near where I live last month.

The rides in the B-17 and B-24 are fairly reasonable because they can
carry several passengers who share the operating cost. But the one I
wanted a ride in was the P-51 Mustang but not enough for the $2,800 cost
for half an hour.

Ouch. I'd love a ride in a P-51, but that's pretty steep. One seat on the B-17 is $450, but they carry 9 at a time. They do let you roam around the plane to take pictures out of the gun turrets, and it lasts 30 minutes.

A couple of years ago my wife and I went up in a 1942 Waco biplane down in Key West. That was a blast. We sat up front, and the pilot sat in the rear flying and talking to us. The guy was good, I could barely feel the wheels touch down when we landed. If I remember correctly it was $300 for 20 minutes.

My wife bought me this ride in San Diego to thank me or driving there
from Tahoe so she could see here friend (decided at the last moment).
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/california/...in%20Plane.jpg
He did a loop or two but it was mostly just sight seeing.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/california/...0the%20air.jpg

On Wed, 17 Oct 2018 21:53:30 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/17/2018 4:44 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 4:28:00 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/17/2018 2:54 PM, Its Me wrote:

And I am pumped about it!

http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

They'll be at a event at Owens Field in Columbia this weekend to raise
money for Camp Kemo. There are only 15 B-17's left in airworthy
condition, and it'll be amazing to get a ride in one.



There is another group ... the Collins Foundation ... that tours the USA
with a B-17, a B-24, a B-25 and a Mustang P-51. They were just at the
little municipal airport near where I live last month.

The rides in the B-17 and B-24 are fairly reasonable because they can
carry several passengers who share the operating cost. But the one I
wanted a ride in was the P-51 Mustang but not enough for the $2,800 cost
for half an hour.

Ouch. I'd love a ride in a P-51, but that's pretty steep. One seat on
the B-17 is $450, but they carry 9 at a time. They do let you roam
around the plane to take pictures out of the gun turrets, and it lasts 30 minutes.

A couple of years ago my wife and I went up in a 1942 Waco biplane down
in Key West. That was a blast. We sat up front, and the pilot sat in
the rear flying and talking to us. The guy was good, I could barely
feel the wheels touch down when we landed. If I remember correctly it
was $300 for 20 minutes.



I took a bunch of pictures but I'll be dipped if I can find the folder
on this computer where I saved them. Found one so far:

http://funkyimg.com/i/2McLd.jpg

Best on I have is of a group standing around an old guy in a leather
jacket and Army Air Force hat. He was a WWII pilot of a B-17 and was
answering questions about what it was like.



Wife gave me an hour in a T-6 Texan. Got an education in loops and rolls.
I got to do some loops and rolls under the pilots guidance. Wife has
gifted me some great stuff over the years.

Gosh, in Vietnam I spent about three hours in an OV-10 Bronco supporting two bombing missions and
then doing a bunch of loops and rolls. I was also allowed to do some back-seat flying.

Went through all four of the barf bags on the airplane too. A couple used more than once. I was
doing great until the pilot looked in the rear view mirror and said, "You're not getting sick, are
you?"

Well, not until then.

On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 2:54:11 PM UTC-4, Its Me wrote:
And I am pumped about it!

http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

They'll be at a event at Owens Field in Columbia this weekend to raise money for Camp Kemo. There are only 15 B-17's left in airworthy condition, and it'll be amazing to get a ride in one.

My wife initially didn't act like she wanted to go up in it, but it turned out she was thinking it would be like the ride in the 1942 Waco biplane we went up in a couple of years ago (cramped). Once she realized we'd be able to get up and move around, she warmed to it. So when we got there, I asked if they had a seat left, and they did.

The flight was awesome. We were allowed to go anywhere on the plane except for the tail gunner's position and, of course, the belly and chin ball turrets. I even got to crawl under the cockpit and out into the nose gunner and bomber's position. Great views from there, and really good photo ops. Got some great pics and a video. The thing really was a flying fortress. Thirteen .50 cals onboard! The radio operator's gun was removed and the opening was open, so you could stand up and literally stick your head up and out while flying. You could kiss anything loose goodbye, it would get sucked out.

If you're the kind that likes this sort of thing, I recommend it. It was definitely a blast.

On Sun, 21 Oct 2018 13:51:31 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 2:54:11 PM UTC-4, Its Me wrote:
And I am pumped about it!

http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

They'll be at a event at Owens Field in Columbia this weekend to raise money for Camp Kemo. There are only 15 B-17's left in airworthy condition, and it'll be amazing to get a ride in one.

My wife initially didn't act like she wanted to go up in it, but it turned out she was thinking it would be like the ride in the 1942 Waco biplane we went up in a couple of years ago (cramped). Once she realized we'd be able to get up and move around, she warmed to it. So when we got there, I asked if they had a seat left, and they did.

The flight was awesome. We were allowed to go anywhere on the plane except for the tail gunner's position and, of course, the belly and chin ball turrets. I even got to crawl under the cockpit and out into the nose gunner and bomber's position. Great views from there, and really good photo ops. Got some great pics and a video. The thing really was a flying fortress. Thirteen .50 cals onboard! The radio operator's gun was removed and the opening was open, so you could stand up and literally stick your head up and out while flying. You could kiss anything loose goodbye, it would get sucked out.

If you're the kind that likes this sort of thing, I recommend it. It was definitely a blast.

Glad to hear you had a great time and returned safely!