Boeing B-17 Bomber Flight

"NotUnlessRoundIsFunny" (notunlessroundisfunny) 05/22/2016 at 13:42 • Filed to: planelopnik, boeing, b-17, bomber, wings of freedom, collings foundation

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My lovely wife and I flew aboard a 71-year old B-17 bomber yesterday, thanks to the Collings Foundation and the appropriate exchange of U.S. Currency. Note: this was her idea!

I’ll try to write more about it but in short, this is a remarkable experience and highly recommended if you have any interest in aviation, history, or even just mechanical / motorized things in general. You belt in, take off, and when the engineer gives you the signal you get to wander about the plane and sit at different stations (my favorite was probably the bombardier station, with the incredible view).

They even let you stick your head out the top of the airplane...here’s a shot of the tail of the plane with the Santa Cruz Mountains in the background:

For more info, check out the Collings Foundation:

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TheTurbochargedSquirrel > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 13:52

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The collings foundation is awesome. If only the people who built their houses around the airfield that the foundation owns would stop being such dicks about the noise. Same with the people who built their houses around lime rock. They knew the airfield was there when they moved in so they have no right to complain about the noise.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 14:12

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I saw one of the planes overhead on the way home! Didn’t believe what I was seeing at first.

Xyl0c41n3 > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 14:46

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You write!! I sometimes see the odd notification or two from you and your username always cracks me up, but I think this is the first time I’ve run across one of your posts.

Sounds like you guys had a pretty good time I look forward to reading about it when you write the longer post. :)

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Xyl0c41n3 05/22/2016 at 17:35

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Aw, thanks! You’re very kind.

It was pretty amazing...and one of those “how often are we going to get to do this?” moments.

71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 17:35

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Was this above Santa Barbara a few days ago?

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > 71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors 05/22/2016 at 18:02

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This was out of Moffett in Mountain View, so maybe Santa Barbara was the previous stop?

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 05/22/2016 at 18:09

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They also have a dual-control P-51 Mustang you can get flight training in. It was...expensive. But hubba hubba.

71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 18:11

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Gotcha.

Nothing > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 22:12

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That’s awesome. I just checked the schedule, they’re in CO when I’m out of town in July. Hopefully next year. My dad was a top turret gunner in a B17. This is something I *need* to do.

GUYMANDUDE > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 05/22/2016 at 22:35

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This is awesome. Thanks for sharing. I would love to fly in an actual b-17.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Nothing 05/22/2016 at 22:58

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They make a pretty regular rotation—we’ve been hearing them overhead for a few years now in May, and my better half looked into it as soon as she heard it. (Bless her heart, she’s become sensitized to engine sounds of all types!)

And wow, your dad was a top turret gunner in a B-17? What service. Being on this flight really gave us a new appreciation for what those guys went through—you’re right, you really need to do it if you can!