How lucky I am

Anonymous Poster · Sep 7, 2002

I saw something today that I'm confident today's teenagers could live a lifetime without seeing. My shop is next door to a small airport, and today they had an airshow. I could hear the little biplanes doing stunts, and then I heard something that I knew wasn't a biplane. I looked up and saw what I consider a very cool thing to see. There in the sky was a WW2 B25 bomber! Not in a museum. Not in a picture book. Not on TV. Overhead in all it's glory-a B25! My dad was born in 1935, and he told me he could remember what I will now never forget; the sound of those mighty engines roaring overhead. They also had a P51 Mustang dogfighting with a Zero (probably a replica Zero). They also had a little F4 Wildcat zooming around! I love those old fighter planes, and have seen them fly before. I will not be surprised, however, if I never get to witness another B25 bomber in the air again. The sound of that plane cannot be accurately described. I about peed. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

njrqs · Sep 7, 2002

The old warbirds are great to see in action.

Not familiar with a B25 but I love the sounds of all the old engines.

Our airforce still operates Caribou with radial engines.

Gee they sound awesome !!!

Cheers

Boondox · Sep 7, 2002

I used to live near a small county airport frequented mostly by little Cessnas. Got so I never bothered to look up as one puttered by. But some lucky fellow owned a P-51D, and the roar of that beauty coupled with the speed and grace just blew my socks off every time I saw it! Lovely bird!

Pete

Kodiak · Sep 7, 2002

I know this isn't as graceful as some of the WWII war birds. But there is an old PBY Catalina flying boat That occasionally flys around here. It is one of the most distinct sounding aircraft I've ever heard.

Anonymous Poster · Sep 7, 2002

This may be the exact plane I saw today. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.realtime.net/centex/B-25.htm>http://www.realtime.net/centex/B-25.htm</A>
Just trying to find one on the internet confirms how rare it is to see one in the air.

Anonymous Poster · Sep 8, 2002

Now if I could just see a B29 in the air, I could say I've lived a full life. Wonder what my chances are....

bgott · Sep 8, 2002

They flew the last flying B-29 into Houston for the airshow a couple years back. I paid the five bucks to crawl up into the cockpit. Rather roomy after going into a B-17. We have the Confederate Air Force down here. That is an organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration and flying of old war birds. They frequently fly those old birds and I'm in the flight path of the old Ellington AFB. I hear the engines and run out to see a B-17 loafing around at 500 to 1000 feet, or a flight of Zeros, Kates and Vals flying by.

s1120 · Sep 8, 2002

<font color=red>I know this isn't as graceful as some of the WWII war birds. But there is an old PBY Catalina flying boat </font color=red>

Not as graceful?? The site of one of those old flying boats landing on, or taking off from the water cant be beat. That with the sound of the radial engines,[the best sounding engine EVER. IMHO] IS gracefull. Lets see a Mustang do that. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Anonymous Poster · Sep 8, 2002

I think that it's the Confederate Air Force flying the Mitchell this weekend. I guess you just have to love those planes to get that excited about the sound. I can only imagine the terror that the enemy must have felt hearing that sound getting louder and louder. My uncle flew a B29 towards the end of the war. I would like to pay tribute to him by seeing that plane in the air. Unless I'm mistaken, Fifi is the one you saw in Texas. I've seen pictures of her. Have you ever seen an authentic Japanese fighter restored? Every one I've ever seen were replicas (old AT-6 Texans and the like).

TWINKLE_TOES · Sep 8, 2002

Ben,

Pretty good if you can settle for the S307 (commercial version of the B29). Those four "big" Studebaker engines make an awsome sound. One is being restored to flight condition in Seattle for delivery to the Smithsonian. This is the second restoration, The first retoration set down in Puget Sound about a year ago (out of gas) /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Al