No Way Out

Been working on this one as background task for a while. (See earlier posts on the B17 flight via the Collings Foundation). When I took it I didn't even realise that seagull had flown by and it was only after I got home and uploaded them that I saw the happy accident. So much for artistic skill and planning, then.

After a basic B/W conversion, curves and sharpening stuff, the thing I've been holding out on the longest is the cropping. I think this one works best, but including all that turret in here is still something I go back and forth on.

Comments always welcome!

B-17 Flight (4)

B-17 & Wartime Record

So finally, a shot of the nose! Once landed, there was ample time and access to walk around the plane and take some extra shots. If these tags are indicative of the actual wartime record for this plane then she flew quite some sorties and acquitted herself well.

B-17 Flight (3)

Starboard Waist Gun, B-17

We flew out over Monterey and then turned right back towards Salinas. First-off, I headed down to the forward nose area where the bomb sight was still in place. Alas, the trigger was off to the side and non-operative otherwise I could have scared the hell out of some farmers ... From that point I went towards the rear of the plane to see how things looked from the side and top.

Part way through the fog cleared a little, mostly because we were heading inland at that point. I made a point of taking some shots (pictures, I mean!) from the starboard-side waist gun position since that was my father-in-law's crew position. As you can see, you have to be careful where you point the .50 cal as you have a clear shot at the outboard propeller, never mind the other planes in your own formation.

And that was it. All too quickly we were back on the ground wishing it were like Disneyland where you could queue-up and go round again.

Next year I might do the 24 or 25 if they all come back, but I have to say I may fly "Nine-O-Nine" again. Worth every cent, and highly recommended.

B-17 Flight (2)

Airfield Looking Back From Radio Operator's Position

I ended up seated behind the pilot for take off and landing. Sounds good, eh? Well, let's not get carried away: in practice, this means sitting on the floor between the pilot's chair and a bulkhead, trying hard not to kick the large, red fuel transfer valve for the port wing-tanks that was right in front of me.

We had about 15 minutes for pre-flight checks and taxiing, plenty of time to enjoy the sights and sounds of all 4 engines on part-throttle idle, drifting in and out of synch and sending waves of vibration through the airframe. Stirring stuff.

Anyway, time to go and the pilot pushed the throttles to full power and off we went. Hard to get an impression of how fast we were climbing but overall it was a smooth and seemingly-quick take-off.

B-17 Flight (1)

B-17, Monterey Jet Center

Glad to say, the weather was good enough to allow us to fly, with the marine layer in Monterey sitting around 1,500 feet and no ground fog. Only 6 passengers (9 is the max)and we were airborne for around 30 minutes.

Simply put, what a fantastic opportunity to fly in such a historic aircraft. I'll post more later but here's something to be going on with - my ride parked outside a hanger at Monterey airport.