B-17 Aluminum Overcast

Last weekend I flew copilot's seat on a Ford Tri Motor and got a ride in the B-17G Aluminum Overcast.

The panes were great. And the people involved were really nice, and loving their volunteer service.

Both experiences were fantastic!


The Tri Motor was a realy sweet flying plane. We hustled to get in, in front of an RJ. We hit 90 MPH!

The 17 was really an eye opener when we powered up for take off. It was a little other worldly at first.


Highly recommended.

 

Sounds fun. A group near Seattle does the rides every summer. Forget the name of the plane and group. Was planning on it and now will do it this year.

At EAA I did get to climb into a B-17. Wow it was small.

 

Does anyone remember that "Aluminum Overcast" was the name originally given to the B-36?

 

I did the same two flights a couple years ago... It was real interesting. Not sure I believe that you hit 90 in the tri motor though.

 

Bob- Affirmative, and I have seen it when my father was stationed at Kelly AFB in the 50s. Mass launches of B-36Hs. Unbelievably noisy with 10 turning and burning.

Aluminum Overcast was a real B-17 during WW-II, so she preceded the Peacemaker by quite a while. You could make quite a bit of peace with a MK17 at ~15 megatons.

 

I saw a maximum effort launch of KC-135's and B-52'sat Larson AFB in 1964. Scariest thing I have ever seen. The exhaust smoke was so thick that you couldn't see any of the succeeding B-52's until they broke left and right out of the cloud. The shriek of the KC-135's on water injection was ear-splitting and the sight of the long trail of airplanes ascending into sky leaving their exhaust trails was a sight that I'll not forget.

 

No pics?!
Where did you sit in AO for takeoff and landing? Check out the Norden?

Hard to believe it's almost 7 years since my flight over Oshkosh. Memories for a lifetime.
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Experienced the same thing when my dad was stationed at Strategic Air Command(SAC) headquarters at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana during the Cuban missile crisis......just unbelievable sights and sounds as my treehouse was right at the end of the runway.

 

They were still carrying live nukes in 1962. Spain stopped that.

 

MITO. I believe some one here commented back in General LeMay's day, he had them even shorter TO distance!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCnCXAhPDts[/ame]

 

My dad flew with Curtis LeMay in the specially modified B-29 Super Fortress that set new records for flying......he also flew out of Tinian in the Marianas in a B-29 against Japan.

My dad was also a good friend of Gen. John McConnell who took over when Curtis retired.

As you can tell I am very proud of my now deceased Father.....he was one of the most decorated members of the 9th Bombardment Group.

 

I flew on "Aluminum Overcast " a few years ago . It was incredible! The noise was deafening! Hard to believe they could communicate even with their head phones a throat mics.. Wish my dad had been around to go. He flew about 8 missions right at the end of the war. He had some great stories . Jimmy Stewart was the CO of his squadron .

Edward

 

I flew on AO in Oct of 2007 while living in NC and shot this photo out of the radio operators emergency exit on take off.

Photo: N5017N (CN: 8649) Private Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress by Robin Guess - www.Jet-Fighters.net Photoid: 6079100 - JetPhotos.Net

 

As you should be! Amazing career as you tell it.

Several years ago I was delivering a Viper to the ROC that needed repairs after I landed on Guam. I was fortunate to have a little extra time, so I hopped north to Tinian to wander around. It was as serene and ghostly a place I have ever been. Almost every trace of us being there completely swallowed by the jungle, but for some long flat segments of cracked concrete runway. It was nearly impossible to visualize a B-29 flying from anywhere on that island, let alone doing so and unleashing the fiery fist that brought Japan to its knees. It was like being in a holy place.

A wonderful gift your father has passed to you in retelling his experiences.

 

Even though the war was nearing its end and your dad was flying the more modern and advanced aircraft, he was flying in a very unpredictable airplane and the two of them were stretching the limits of survivability.
They were brave men in dire times and you have good reason to be proud of him. If one looks back as far as the Civil War, this country was saved by many unsung heroes. I didn't mention the Revolution because we weren't a country yet but the thread is continuous from then 'till now.

 

great pic. Wind buffeting is pretty strong sticking your hear out of the top ain't it?

Here are lots of super photos of AO (not by me)
B-17 Aluminum Overcast

 

Tri Motor is on my bucket list...used to be one at Wings and Wheels in Santee SC...by the time I convinced my dad we needed to take a ride, the aircraft (and I believe the museum) was gone.

Anywhere near Sarasota? I'm typically there over New Years...would love to get a ride in a Tri Motor...

 

This morning I was working and heard a familiar sound... multiple radials.

Aluminum Overcast flew right over my office in Cherry Creek here in Denver.

Beautiful sight.


It's here in conjunction with the "Wings Over the Rockies" museum and based at Centennial.

Heard that it's leaving today due to incoming weather.

 

I was one of the first "locals" hired as a tour guide, when Wings & Wheels relocated to a hanger adjacent to MCO / Orlando International Airport. This would have been in 1977. Enjoyed taking my lunch-breaks in the Staggerwing. My favorite vehicle was a 1932 Packard Dual-cowl Sport Phaeton. The chief mechanic would balance a nickel on a flat windscreen, then start the V12 engine and let it idle without the coin falling over. These engines inspired Enzo Ferrari to build V12s for his new car company. Wonder where this car is located today.

I suspect the whole operation was a tax write-off for the owners. Christies' famous auctioneer, the late Sir Patrick Lindsay handled the liquidation when the museum closed. He owned the more-famous Napier-Railton Special. Good times...good times!

 

Salute to your father!

I know your pride. My dad flew C-47s over The Hump, then North Africa and the invasions of Sicily and Italy, and was awarded the DFC and several Air Medals. His favorite missions were flying supplies to the Italian partisans before the invasion. Great guy.

 

None of us can imagine what our fathers and brothers (in my case) went through during the war. i bunked with many of them and knew many more after the war and their service was never seen as anything more than something that had to be done . It was an interruption in what they really wanted to do but a great adventure that was soon relegated to be a part of their individual history. None of them wore medals, none of them mentioned the things that they had done except as a humorous anecdote most of the time. i lived with many of the unsung heroes who never placed themselves in that category and the only time that they talked about it was in quiet conclaves with others of their ilk who simply traded incidents in which they endured. Those who told "war stories' were quickly identified and ignored. There were a lot of those, also. Tom Brokaw was correct in his book, " The greatest Generation', they were a breed that is passing and and I doubt will ever be seen again.

 

I know. I never knew what my dad had done, except in very general terms, until I discovered a clipping about him from his hometown newspaper. Then I didn't even know how to approach him about it. I told my mother about my discovery. She said she'd let him know and he could decide how, when or even if to bring it up. It eventually worked out fine. Between my wife's family and mine there are nine veterans including two combat vets.

 

I missed the B-17 here in Albuquerque while in San Antonio, but did see her on final approach near Cutter Aviation. Beautiful even from a distance.

 

When "Nine O Nine ' was here this summer she was flying out of Paine Field and often flew over the neighborhood. From the very first faint rumble, I knew what was coming and always rushed out of the house to see it go by. It has been 71 years since I heard those R1820's rhythmic rumble all day and all night and it still accelerates the heart. The B-17 has no equal in it's appearance, a graceful beautifully proportioned piece of equipment that speaks of strength, reliance, and a quiet commitment. I am almost finished the profile painting of "Mr Lucky", the B-17 that my buddy, Joe Frank Jones , served as tail gunner and had to ride the severed tail down 13,000 feet and survived. The painting will be part of ten others in Boeing's 100th year celebration display next year. In my mind, I think that the Stearman PT-13 has the same aura about it, beautifully put together, strong, and willing to do anything you threw at it.
My favorite airplane.

 

Wait, what?!?! He never bailed out and LIVED???

I'm with you on the B-17 Bob.
At the RAF museum last week I spent a good amount of time looking over their Halifax, Lancaster and B-24 and while they all have their technological strengths and weaknesses none can touch the B-17 for sheer aeronautical beauty.
In particular the gun turrets struck me as completely different. B-17's have such well integrated tail and chin turrets, while the others have big bulging appendages (that admittedly look badass with quad machine guns sticking out....).

My father flew on 909; we're quite lucky to have people willing and able to keep these artifacts in the air, and the opportunity to see and even fly in them today.

PS I wonder what the stats are for hostile aircraft shot down by various bombers' machine guns. Were there any significant differences between the gunners' effectiveness on various WWII heavies?
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