I just flew formation with a B-17!!!!!!

[Jim McCauley]

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[Jim McCauley]

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[Jim McCauley]

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[Jim McCauley]

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[Panzer Rob]

Jim-

I see that you are from Rhinebeck. When I was a kid, my dad and my uncle used to take my brother and I up to the Rhinebeck air show every year. It was always a blast, but it has been years since I've attended.

Seeing a B-17 in flight gives me the chills It's awe-inspiring... I remember one day when I was stuck in traffic on a hot summer Friday afternoon I saw a B-17 come flying directly over head, engines humming, moving ever so slowly. After is passed overhead I will never forget looking around and seeing just about every person around me leaning their head out of their windows to get a better look

[Alan Smith]

Rob,

I enjoyed your comment about how everyone looked up to see the B-17. Your observation did, however, bring back my recollection from 10 years or so ago when I saw quite the opposite.

The Collings foundation had its B-24 and B-17 here in Jackson, MS for a few days. On the day the planes were scheduled to depart our town, I managed to get off work to go out to the airport (a WWII-era B-25 training strip for Dutch pilots) to watch them take off.

Finally, after some delay, the B-17 and then the B-24 came roaring down the runway at full power, just a few hundred feet from me. Well, the end of the runway is also near a hole on a local golf course. Sure enough, there were 3-4 guys at the hole getting ready to take their shots just as the B-17 came over and, again, just as the B-24 came over. Believe it or not, NONE of the golfers ever looked up at the planes nor did they appear in the least bit distracted by the roar of vintage radial engines passing directly overhead.

Oh well, just goes to show that different folks have different interests and, for these golfers, historic items such as these aircraft were absolutely NOT going to interfere with their game.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Rob,

I enjoyed your comment about how everyone looked up to see the B-17. Your observation did, however, bring back my recollection from 10 years or so ago when I saw quite the opposite.

The Collings foundation had its B-24 and B-17 here in Jackson, MS for a few days. On the day the planes were scheduled to depart our town, I managed to get off work to go out to the airport (a WWII-era B-25 training strip for Dutch pilots) to watch them take off.

Finally, after some delay, the B-17 and then the B-24 came roaring down the runway at full power, just a few hundred feet from me. Well, the end of the runway is also near a hole on a local golf course. Sure enough, there were 3-4 guys at the hole getting ready to take their shots just as the B-17 came over and, again, just as the B-24 came over. Believe it or not, NONE of the golfers ever looked up at the planes nor did they appear in the least bit distracted by the roar of vintage radial engines passing directly overhead.

Oh well, just goes to show that different folks have different interests and, for these golfers, historic items such as these aircraft were absolutely NOT going to interfere with their game.

Hi Alan,
I will never forget the time that I went to the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas one day during the week. I was the only person in the museum, and the hangar doors were opened to the runway. There was a nice old gentleman in a Willys jeep riding around. I caught his attention to ask where the B-17 was? Seeing the dissapointment that she was not there, he said "You are in luck....hop in". I got in the jeep, after which, we sped off to the end of the runway. About two minutes later...the beautiful old girl treated me to an up close an personal view of her underbelly as she passed over on her landing approach. My wife thinks I am nuts when I talk about that day. When I hear those engines, I feel as if I am being taken back in time...hearing them chills me to the core. If I live to ba 100, I will never forget the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of that experience .......ahhhhhhhh.

[Alan Smith]

Steven,

Yes, I too share those same feelings/emotions when around the old warbirds.

I think it is sort of taboo in warbird circles to say what I am about to say, but the fact of the matter is that these old planes simply cannnot be kept airworthy forever. Lack of parts, airframe fatigue, etc. will eventually take its toll on the overwhelming majority (if not all) of them.

My hope is that even in coming decades if the planes can not be put up into the air, outfits like the CAF Museum will at least fire up the engines and taxi them around on the ground - so that the audience can still feel some of the thrill you described.

In the decades beyond that, hopefully the sights/sounds will have been preserved on media formats like IMAX so that future generations can get at least some sense of what it was like to have been around these old 20th century warbirds back when they were "alive".

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Steven,

Yes, I too share those same feelings/emotions when around the old warbirds.

I think it is sort of taboo in warbird circles to say what I am about to say, but the fact of the matter is that these old planes simply cannnot be kept airworthy forever. Lack of parts, airframe fatigue, etc. will eventually take its toll on the overwhelming majority (if not all) of them.

My hope is that even in coming decades if the planes can not be put up into the air, outfits like the CAF Museum will at least fire up the engines and taxi them around on the ground - so that the audience can still feel some of the thrill you described.

In the decades beyond that, hopefully the sights/sounds will have been preserved on media formats like IMAX so that future generations can get at least some sense of what it was like to have been around these old 20th century warbirds back when they were "alive".

Unfortunately, I think it is inevitible, just as the last WW I German plane made its last flight a few years back...I plan to take advantage of the flight offered once in a while where you can fly for an hour at the cost of $400.00. I think that will be the best money I ever spend.