Vintage Warbirds

[Brad]

I'm sitting on the porch where I occasionally I see and hear a B-24 Mitchell and a B-17 Flying Fortress fly over.  Those big heavy radial engines have a distinctive sound.  The flying museum/restoration group is back at the county airport raising money by giving rides up to Lake Michigan in these two and a B-24 Liberator.

I still get goose bumps when I see them fly over.

[rcjordan]

Candy Bomber stays here frequently on the USCG air base about 3 miles from my house.
http://generalaviationnews.com/2009/11/19/candy-bomber-at-first-in-flight-festival/

PLENTY of C130s & just about every kind of military helicopter you can think of, too.  But they ALL pale when compared to our blimps. Everybody loves blimps!

[littleman]

I'm a fan of WW2 flying machines.  You are a lucky guy.

[Drastic]

They fly over our house about 200 yards up when they come to town. Surreal, just hanging there roaring.

I think it's $400 to take a flight in one, next time they come I may go up in the B-17.

[Brad]

I'm a sucker for WW II flyovers. Every time they do one in the UK I catch the BBC video.  Love those Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancasters.

Saw a P-51 Mustang flying once.

>Candy Bomber

Those guys were extremely brave in unarmed transports and on a very important mission.

[JasonD]

In my former life, we lived about 2 miles away from where the aircraft would turn around before flying through through Central London.

Every WW2 anniversary or special occasion when the old aircraft, alongside modern day RAF planes would have a procession through London, we saw them all right about our houses. It was truly amazing.

[Rumbas]

>Everybody loves blimps!

Amen. Especially after seeing the hangers in NC. Amazing.

[Brad]

Next time you are in the UK, visit the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.  They have lots of WW II planes and vintage jet fighters and even some tanks.  When I was last there, 35 years ago, they also had a Concord airliner you could walk through and a Japanese "Long Lance" torpedo.  Great place.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford

[littleman]

The thing I love about WWII planes (and technology in general) is the same thing that made the war so horrible and deadly.  It was a hyper-accelerated race in technology, where the brightest minds of the world were competing for life and nation.  The advances were not theoretical, but proven from engagement. 

The performance of the piston driven propeller planes are still on par with the best performing propeller planes 70+ years later.  The P-51 Mustang actually out performs the A-29 Super Tucano.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang#Specifications_.28P-51D_Mustang.29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_EMB_314_Super_Tucano#Specifications_.28EMB_314_Super_Tucano.29

[rcjordan]

> best performing propeller planes 70+ years later

True, but isn't that because general aviation has been belly-up since the 80s? That and the hellatious FAA certification requirements.

[littleman]

I think that works its way into my point.  It is amazing what can happen when an all out race with huge stakes is on.

[rcjordan]

I agree with your point about fast innovation during ww2. Same for our space program and sputnik.  Humans run the fastest when chased by boogiemen.

[buckworks]

My dad was rejected by the Canadian forces because of an eye problem.

He spent the war as a mechanic doing maintenance on planes like these, for the Commonwealth Air Training Program.

[Gurtie]

We used to be on the Wooton Bassett flight path and have chinooks and other interesting stuff at all hours of the day and night. Now its much less frequent but we were getting a lot of what looked like Taranis' a few weeks ago which was genuinely cool.. I don't really understand why they come across so often after WB closed but can only assume that some combination of the valley we sit on and the airport lights make for a good naviigation waypoint still.

The vintage stuff is less frequent -- we get quite a lot of red arrows turning after shows etc but I think the older stuff has a shorter turning circle!

[Rooftop]

We have a spitfire flying over with pretty regular frequency.  I probably see it a couple of times a month, but always stop to look.