Posted on 03/04/2009 11:29:50 AM PST by txroadkill
B-17 pilot Bill McAleb, who flew several combat missions over Germany during World War II, takes a nostalgic flight on the "Liberty Belle," a newly restored bomber, at Addison Airport.
Video at link
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
A mint restored B-17. Check out the younger pilot and co-pilot. Notice how big they are in relation to the plane. The B-17 was not that big by today’s standards.
I wonder how many P-38 Lightnings are left. I think only a few. If I was loaded - I would love one of those.
Yeah - that would take care of your being loaded, easily enough. LOL!
At least the Allisons are more available than the Merlins...
Way TOO COOL!
TT
Did the older spec P-38 use Allisons then they switched to RR Merlins?
I had to take a 2nd look at the title. Thought it was about the Memphis Belle.
The P-38 that was retrieved from that Greenland glacier was restored to flying condition at great expense. I believe that she might be the only flyable P-38. But I’m not sure that there might not be others. Flyable WW2 warbirds are becoming exceedingly rare.
Not sure on the total P-38’s in the air, but I have seen a couple flying at the Chino Air show through the years. Two years ago a counted six on the tarmac, just not sure how many were for show and how many were for go.
The “Confederate Airforce” had one crash on takeoff a few years back. Their website makes mention of an ongoing restoration effort.
I’m sure you know the folded to PC and changed their name to the “Commemorative Air Force”. I think the B-17 had it’s landing gear fail either before a takeoff or after a landing.
No P-38 ever flew with Merlins. They tinkered incessantly with the forced induction system and kept updating the Allisons.
http://home.att.net/~C.C.Jordan/P-38K.html
Correction: That was the EAAs Aluminum Overcast that drew up it’s gear after landing. I belive it’s flying again.
There was a obituary in our paper yesterday of a B25 pilot that crash landed his plane on a coral reef in the South Pacific. Everyone survived. I'll see if I can find it...,
A relative of mine was a young B17 pilot.
flew over 20 missions over Europe and after taking
off loaded with bombs from England his plane went down. He stayed with it to crash in a field away from a town in Eng.
To this day, they have a memorial service for him there
each year.
My uncle was a B-17 pilot and my dad was a design engineer on the P-38 at Lockheed.
Sadly both are gone but the stories were amazing.
I think there are very few P-38s left. I thought there were a few others in that glacier further down. Some of them were used in plane racing and were crashed.
The P-38 was an amazing plane. The Germans called it the forked tail devil. War sucks but tyranny is worse.
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