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John H.[_5_] John H.[_5_] is offline
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Default Made a flight reservation for this weekend...

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.