Posted on 08/02/2014 12:25:57 PM PDT by Squawk 8888
My flight instructor many years ago had many many flights in a Lancaster as pilot in command and paid nothing for the flights. In fact he was paid by his Majesty’s government to do this. However, when he did those flights to France and Germany there were ME-109s waiting to kill him.
Mr. Frank was a humble and gracious man. After the war he became a school teacher and later headmaster. When a student pilot was a “bit nervous” they would have the student fly with Mr. Frank. His calm demeanor and skill would quickly put the student right. It was a privilege to be taught by Mr. Frank.
Back in the late '70s I went on a short flight in a b25 mitchell operated by a forestry service contractor. It had an all-glass extended nose with just a few insubstantial bits of aluminum inside to hang onto (it was like the nose was sticking out on a aluminum ladder or something). The operator had cleaned it up and lightened it so it was a quite bit faster than stock. It was pretty amazing to crouch down in the very front and be almost completely surrounded by glass over the desert about 100' agl and 270+ KIAS...no charge for a teenager who was willing to help out around the airpark...
...And remember, there’s a magnificent Lancaster at the Aviation Museum in Ottawa! This museum is worth more than a visit...
Agreed. Have you seen (at :05 and 1:50 this beauty?
That sounds like it was something else.
Here is a couple of useable seconds from the nose of the B17. The shake was rough on the Canon 60D.
http://tysonneil.smugmug.com/Airplanes/Old-Aircraft/i-dmstwpk/A
I saw it on Jay Lenos Garage, and they said it was the ONLY one still flying, but I believe Diamond Lil is the oldest War plane still flying in the world. And has been since 1938 I believe. It is a B25A, and was converted to a passenger plane because of an accident. It was on its way to England during LendLease when the accident happened. The one that belongs to the Collins Foundation, I believe was never in the war and was sold to India after the war.
I meant to say B24A instead of B25A. Big difference.
It was called ‘’909’’. It was a G model with the twin fifty under the nose. The plane was built shortly before the war ended and never flew in combat.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.