Vintage: A B-24, B-17 and P-51 flying in formation. Collins Foundation photo.
Posted on 03/15/2010 9:43:01 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Vintage airplane buffs can get a close-up look at a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-24 Liberator and a P-51 Mustang at Ellington Airport this week.
The Collings Foundation, a non-profit group that's been taking its Wings of Freedom planes on tour for the last two decades, will have its rare birds on display at the Clear Lake airport 2-5 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.
Visitors can explore the World War II aircraft inside and out or take a tour. A donation of $12 is requested for adults, $6 for children under 12. Flights are available starting at $425 for the B-17 or B-24 and $2,200 for the Mustang. A Huey helicopter will also take up passengers for $80 and up.
The foundation's B-17 bomber is one of only nine still in flying condition in the nation, and its B-24J bomber is the only one of its kind still flying in the world. The two bombers were the backbone of the American effort during the war from 1942 to 1945 and were famous for their ability to carry out their missions even when damaged.
The foundation's P-51C Mustang fighter is also the only one of its kind still flying in the world. The Mustang was affectionately known as the bombers' "Little Friend," saving countless crews from attacking fighters.
Other Collings Foundation planes on display include:
• F-4 Phantom • A-4 Skyhawk • Grumman S-2F Tracker • T-33 Shooting Star
For more information, go to www.collingsfoundation.org To reserve a flight, call 800-568-8924.
Vintage: A B-24, B-17 and P-51 flying in formation. Collins Foundation photo.
I live in the flight path that these planes take when they fly out of Love Field in Dallas. It is beautiful to watch because when they come over they are still pretty low. It is an amazing memory of a bygone era.
... the sound of freedom!
BIG BIG airshow at DM here in Tucson this week.
I’ve seen and toured both the Collings’ B-17 and B-24. A bunch of us saw them up at Martin State Airport near Baltimore years ago, in the company of a guy who flew 24 missions as a bombardier in B-24Js with the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy. On his 24th mission, a bomb hung up in his plane’s bomb bay; he ended up 10,000 feet over the Adriatic, standing on a 6” girder over the open bomb bay doors, with no parachute on (no room for it), using a fire axe to hack at the shackles holding the stuck live 500-pound GP bomb in place. He couldn’t knock it loose. When the plane arrived back in Italy, it ran off the end of the runway due to battle damage, and only then did the bomb fall off the shackle and explode. Miraculously, he survived, but his war was over.
You should’ve seen his daughter’s face as we toured the planes and he explained everything about them to her. You could see that he’d never really talked much about his service, but a friend and I who were big WW II aviation buffs got him to open up. I thought his daughter was going to cry, she was so stunned and amazed at the heroism and duty that he just took for granted.
If you’ve never seen one of these old warbirds before, you have to. You just have to. You’ll gain an even greater appreciation for the Greatest Generation.
}:-)4
...the sound of freedom, Amen
My uncle flew B-24s out of New Guinea in WWII, the Jolly Rodgers, he does talk about it, the heat, the malaria, the abject terror at the beginning of every mission. Look up the casualty statistics for the B-17 runs on Germany, you stood more a chance of being in cemetery at the end of your tour than you did coming home to your sweetie. The guys in uniform today have the same stuff but the populace does not have the stomach for that kind of sacrifice.
Come down here to Savannah. Spend Money!
At the 8th Air Force History Museum, you can actually spend the night in a B-17 (there is a charge).
They also have a B-47, a German Komet, and other aircraft on display.
You wouldn’t believe how small a b-24 is. I was astonished when I stood next to one.
For you fellow airplane buffs, I took several photos of WW2 aircraft, including the interior of a B-17 and Howard Hugh’s ‘Spruce Goose” a couple years ago at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
http://cid-43a5ea5f19df92bd.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/.res/43A5EA5F19DF92BD!389/?sa=997037017
For me, just sitting in the pilot’s seat of the “Goose’ was a thrill.
If you are in the area definitley take time to go see these planes. They made the tour in my area last year and it was worth every penny to see them up close/ inside. The restorations are impeccable. In many areas they also do flight tours for a fee.
Interesting. I wonder if your Uncle knew my late Father. He was a bombardier on a B-24 stationed in New Guinea with the Jolly Rogers. He didn't talk about his experiences much, but what he did tell me was unbelievable.
Men were smaller then.
I saw that very B-24 last fall when it visited Manchester, NH, perhaps (sadly) for the last time. After viewing the plane on the ground at the airport, I went off to pick up some things at a store about 3 miles away. While I was walking back out to my car, I suddenly heard the distinctive roar of multiple props and looked up to see the Liberator flying at about 1500 feet, looking enormous and beautiful. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Okay, it did.
My uncle was a bombardier also, he was color blind and it's what they did with those disabilities. I see the vets had a website for the 90th Bomb Squadron up but it got hacked some time ago, probably by some KosKids.
Briol was wifey's uncle...never knew about the diary until we happened upon it and noticed the "Briol" name (that being her Mom's maiden name).
Makes you cry how many didn’t come home, how brave these boys were. Going up in below zero temps in an unpressurized cabin, before the P-51s, having to go at it alone with no fighter escort over France, the low countries and Germany, at the mercy of the flak AAs and the wolfpacks of BF-109s and the Focke Wulf fighters. My uncle said in the pacific he rarely saw a Japannese aircraft and only a few times did he actually see a Zero fighter. Their problem was mechanical breakdowns, AA and dangerously low altitudes they flew at.
Gorgeous photo ... thanks for posting! The P-51s were my favorite warbird ... there’s just something about the sound of the big Merlin/Rolls Royce engines that give me the chills :-)
What happened to the B-25?
I flew in her in Tucson and again in North Houston.
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