"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/13/2015 at 14:00 • Filed to: PLANELOPNIK
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"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/13/2015 at 14:00 • Filed to: PLANELOPNIK | 2
| 21 |
And I really mean the worst photos ever.
They’re in town this week, from the Collings’ Foundation’s Wings of Freedom tour. Pretty cool to see and hear them thundering overhead.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
When they were here last year, a self-righteous local “journalist” went on a ride in the 17, and somehow came away from the experience & the people who flew inspired to write his article about the military industrial complex and the negativity the planes represent. The point, he missed it, and was duly flamed in the next week’s letters. I’m pretty damn anti-war, but if ever one was justifiable in principle, that was it. These planes are deeply moving, full stop.
Snuze: Needs another Swede
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:04 |
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I can’t contain my excitement - I’m going for a ride in their B-29, “Fifi”, on Sunday!
McMike
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:05 |
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(high five) those are just as bad as mine!
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/my-photos-from…
PanchoVilleneuve ST
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:07 |
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Is that B-17 the Nine-O-Nine? If it is, I’ve flown in it. We scattered my grandfather’s ashes from it back when I was a kid.
Sam
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:12 |
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The B24 has always been my favorite WWII plane, since the level where you’re a gunner on one over Tunisia in Call of Duty 2.
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:14 |
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USA! USA! USA!
K-Roll-PorscheTamer
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2015 at 14:15 |
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YOU LUCKY SOB!!! :D
I haven’t seen Fifi since 2012 at Thunder Over Michigan!
First B29 I’d ever seen, and the first I’d ever seen fly. A magnificent machine. :)
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RallyWrench
> PanchoVilleneuve ST
05/13/2015 at 14:17 |
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Wow, that must have been pretty moving. EDIT, yep, it’s the Nine-O-Nine. I thought you were referring to the serial number at first.
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PanchoVilleneuve ST
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:21 |
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He was stationed in England during the war, where he was a mechanic who serviced B-17s.
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RallyWrench
> PanchoVilleneuve ST
05/13/2015 at 14:23 |
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Better that than flying them over the Channel! He must have had some incredible stories. My boss’ dad was a bombardier on a 17 in Europe.
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RallyWrench
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2015 at 14:25 |
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You have my envy, sir. That would be just amazing.
Nothing
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:31 |
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My dad was a top turret gunner on a B17. Member of the Lucky Bastards Club. His was the first crew in the 447th to fly 30 missions over Europe.
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/13/2015 at 14:33 |
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I think until Doc comes online it’s the only one flying. And I’m not luck, just an idiot with more money than sense. Though I’m going up with my dad. His father was a B-29 flight instructor during the war, so there’s a special connection there for the both of us.
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 14:34 |
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Thanks, I’m really looking forward to it. My dad and I are going up, his father was a B-29 flight instructor during WW-II, so there’s a special connection there. I just wish my grandfather were still alive to go with us.
Jcarr
> PanchoVilleneuve ST
05/13/2015 at 14:38 |
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My dad took a flight in Nine-O-Nine from AirVenture in Oshkosh to Chicago. He needed to be in Chicago for a business meeting the next day and they were headed to Chicago for their next show so he arranged to fly with them.
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K-Roll-PorscheTamer
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2015 at 15:01 |
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Fair enough, that’s freaking awesome! :)
But to increase and help your sensibility, you should totally take me with you. :p
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/13/2015 at 15:12 |
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Well my dad has the other ticket, so you’d have to fight him for it. Haha.
Your boy, BJR
> RallyWrench
05/13/2015 at 15:13 |
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Funny you mention that! I’m actually covering the planes for my new writing gig here . My B-17 article will be up tomorrow!
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K-Roll-PorscheTamer
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2015 at 15:18 |
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A wise person once told me “don’t fight with dads, they’ll woop your ass”. Who that person was, me inside my head after debating on muscle cars with my dad.
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/13/2015 at 15:26 |
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Hahaha, yup. Well my dad and I get along swimmingly most of the time, but we’ve had our moments. We almost got into a fist fight 2 years ago on a jobsite I was working with him. Thank god I don’t work for him anymore.
ttyymmnn
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/15/2015 at 15:17 |
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I expect a full review of the flight.
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ttyymmnn
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/15/2015 at 15:20 |
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You are correct, Fifi is the only one flying until Doc gets airborne. There was a third, Kee Bird, which was pulled from the ice in Greenland and restored to flying condition, but when the tried to fly it off it caught fire and burned. Very sad, particularly for those who had put so much effort and money into making her flyable.