WWII Aviation Thread

[marshallnoise]

Saw this and it was too good to not share. I love WWII aviation stuff.

[BlackbirdM3]

This could be a fun thread. I've got tons of pics I could post here.

Will

[Mike30e]

That was great! My new favourite thread. More!

[BlackbirdM3]

A few pics of WW2 planes that I have taken this year.











Will

[marshallnoise]

Gahhhh! I love it!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Nick_S]

LOVE WWII stuff. The planes especially have always fascinated me. My grandfather was in the 11th airborne and I've got a bunch of old photos of him from the war I'll try and dig up.

[BlackbirdM3]

A few more. All my shots.


















I have TONS more.

Will

[FLYNAVY]

Great pics! While home over the holidays, I was just looking at a picture of myself as a kid standing in front of FiFi in 1988. Looks great today!

[CENTURION]

Ah! I love ww2 stuff. p51 mustang and p38 lightning were my favorites!

[BlackbirdM3]

Great pics! While home over the holidays, I was just looking at a picture of myself as a kid standing in front of FiFi in 1988. Looks great today!

I got to fly aboard Fifi in 2014. It was an amazing experience. I look forward to there being two flying B29s later this year.








It was an amazing ride. If anyone has the chance to do it, you should. You can use the cost as a tax write off as its a "donation" to keep Fifi flying. For the record, it costs roughly $10K per hr to fly Fifi (that is all costs, fuel, insurance, ect)

The second B29 is Doc, pulled off the China Lake firing range in April of 1998 has been fully restored, essentially a zero time airframe and is now ready for flight testing. http://www.b-29doc.com/docs-story/

Will

[TimeMachinE30]

I just flew in, and even "took the controls of", a T6 Texan. Super experirnce.

These came into our possession just recently. I am not sure of the artists background but originals, hand drawn with what seems to be pencil and gifted to family member many moons ago. They are being framed. These are a few of them.

[marshallnoise]

I finally was able to open this thread on a computer and wow, I love these pictures. Thanks for sharing.

My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps during WWII and then was a test pilot for Convair before going to work for NASA during the Apollo Missions. It's genetic.

[FLYNAVY]

I got to fly aboard Fifi in 2014. It was an amazing experience. I look forward to there being two flying B29s later this year.

It was an amazing ride. If anyone has the chance to do it, you should. You can use the cost as a tax write off as its a "donation" to keep Fifi flying. For the record, it costs roughly $10K per hr to fly Fifi (that is all costs, fuel, insurance, ect)

The second B29 is Doc, pulled off the China Lake firing range in April of 1998 has been fully restored, essentially a zero time airframe and is now ready for flight testing. http://www.b-29doc.com/docs-story/

Will

Haha I don't think I will be spending 10K+ anytime soon on a warbird ride, but that sounds pretty damn cool. For those who can afford it, that is a great organization to "donate" to. Cool that there will be another! I remember seeing the documentary about the one they tried to salvage from Greenland that burned up prior to takeoff. That guy has some bad luck (if you also take into account the F-104)

[gkurey]

Love warbirds!

So fond of them, that I made a few miniatures out of steel so I can open beers!

[BlackbirdM3]

Haha I don't think I will be spending 10K+ anytime soon on a warbird ride, but that sounds pretty damn cool. For those who can afford it, that is a great organization to "donate" to. Cool that there will be another! I remember seeing the documentary about the one they tried to salvage from Greenland that burned up prior to takeoff. That guy has some bad luck (if you also take into account the F-104)

Not $10K per person, I think the seat I had was $400 or something.

Daryl Greenamyer has indeed had some bad luck. The F-104 was possibly illegally obtained and there is speculation that the plane was going to be seized anyway. As for Kee Bird, the story from an insider was that National Geographic was having him do extra high speed taxi testing so they could get more film footage. He didn't want to and was ready to pick up and fly out. Yes, the jury rigged fuel can for the APU was a bad idea, as was the lack of a fire extinguisher in that area. There is also evidence that even if they had gotten Kee Bird to Thule, it never would have left there due to political reasons. Even after Kee Bird burned, there are still salvageable parts there. An expedition landed and took a look last year.
Kee Bird as it was about a year ago.








A video they shot. https://vimeo.com/106871067


Fifi's APU, identical to the one on Kee Bird.


Will