This is most excellent! The Collings Foundation's B-17 and B-24 are going to be at Moffett Field this week (13th-18th). That's right next door to work.
Like last year, which I missed, there will be ground tours for $8 and if you pony up $400, you get a 30 minute flight. (I think they were $300 last year?) I'm very, very tempted. Besides, I believe the $400 is tax deduction.
Anyone else planning to go--either to walk through or for a ride?
I should take my camera to work. My window kind of sort of faces Moffett and they're gonna be flying rides throughout the week, it seems. If I'm smart, I'll bring in my handheld and tune to 119.55 (tower/CTAF) or 121.85 (ground) to get a heads-up on when they're flying.
Oh, for more info about those two planes, either click on their images or visit their respective pages: B-17g and B-24j.
Posted by jzawodn at May 11, 2004 01:47 AM
i'm seething with jealousy! (i'm across the pond...)
$400 for a ride in one of those babies is the stuff of wet dreams....
go for it!
Pony up for a ride. It's worth it. In a previous life I was a photographer and spent a weekend at the EAA Fly In in OshKosh, WI...as part of my assignment I went up in a B-17 for about an hour. It was quite cool. The pilots were cool and let me sit in the left seat for a bit. It was great, I suggest going for the flight. You'll be happy you did.
Not too mention there aren't many flying B-17's left, so take advantage of this while you can.
I'm jealous as well.
I've flown on many military and civilian aircraft, but never a B-17 or B-24. If I lived anywhere near there, I would pony up the cash for a ride. I wonder how much they would charge to jump out of one?
Same here.... if I had the time I'd probably fly down just for that, but a flight from vancouver to sf just to fly another airplane is a bit nuts, even for me.
Course, then you'd have to agonize over which one to ride in.... both of those planes were favorites of mine as far as WW2 bombers go, I'd probably have to ride in both :-\
As others said J, go for it if you can afford it, and make sure you take pictures!
I just saw video of a restored B-17 crashing on landing a couple of days ago, it's all over the Collings Foundation front page. The landing gears went down but wouldn't lock, they tried to take her down very softly and see if they would hold, but the gears collapsed on landing. That's one plane that won't be going back up anytime soon. I'm not sure I would have the nerve to joyride in an old warbird after that incident, the old birds aren't getting any younger.
You sound like Mr. Burns there for some reason..so, when are we going to see you in upper management? :-)
"the old birds aren't getting any younger"
Actually, the huge majority of airworthy vintage warbirds are probably better maintained and 'younger' than your average 737. Thank God for highly skilled volunteer labor :-)
Here's the link to the B-17 story:
So, which one are you going to fly? I'm waffling.
I have a pretty good view of Moffett from the end of my building, be we can't have cameras in here so I might have to go over for visit. It's going to be hard to get any work done with them flying by my window all week. Not that I'm complaining. :)
Isn't there an airshow coming up soon?
I was a member of the crew on the B-24 Wet Dream. We were shot down near Lake Ballitin near Budapest Hungery, August 22,1944. We lost three crew membwes that day....the pilot and engineer never were ablw to get out of the plane and the radio operator's chude did not open. We were captured and held in Stalag Luft lV, near the Baltic sea. The last 86 days as a prisoner we were on a forced march of approx 500 miles, and librated near Luenberg, Germany May 3,1945.
