Ford B-24 Liberator build video at Willow run

[427TJ]

I got ten minutes in the left seat of the Collings B-24 back in the summer of 1992. I was AWOL from my squadron for a day but it was clearly worth the risk.

[earntaz]

Awesome!!

[Charley Lillard]

wearing a bomber jacket no less.

[HawkX66]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427TJ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got ten minutes in the left seat of the Collings B-24 back in the summer of 1992. I was AWOL from my squadron for a day but it was clearly worth the risk.</div></div>
That's great. I remember when they originally flew one of those into the small Stow airport instead of their private field for some reason. They wouldn't let them take back off because of the size. They ended up trucking it out of there. I used to bring my Scouts to Collings every Father's Day. We lived in the town next door, Harvard. Were you at Hanscom?

[427TJ]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SgtHawkUSMC</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427TJ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got ten minutes in the left seat of the Collings B-24 back in the summer of 1992. I was AWOL from my squadron for a day but it was clearly worth the risk.</div></div>
That's great. I remember when they originally flew one of those into the small Stow airport instead of their private field for some reason. They wouldn't let them take back off because of the size. They ended up trucking it out of there. I used to bring my Scouts to Collings every Father's Day. We lived in the town next door, Harvard. Were you at Hanscom? </div></div>

I was based in Rapid City at the time of my B-24 flight. My buddy knew the copilot who asked if we wanted to ride with them to Scottsbluff, NE. I said to my buddy, &quot;How will we get back?&quot; My buddy's reply was, &quot;Who cares?&quot; Off we went!

I've probably told this here before but it's good so here it is again. Coming in to land at Scottsbluff we made a few passes over the town as barnstormers would have in the 1930s. Get people to come out and see (pay) the airplanes. I was alone in the rear fuselage hanging out of the right-side waist window where the waist gun was located. Open hole about 5x4 feet with a small wind-blast deflector at the front edge. Great place to sit. My buddy was up front with the pilots. We came in low and made a pass over the airfield and pulled up into a somewhat steep climb. The copilot rolled the airplane into a right bank and stepped on the right rudder a little too hard and the sudden lurch of the aft part of the plane swung me out the waist window! (Sitting there, the bottom edge of the opening is just an inch or two above the belt line of my pants.) I was about 1/2-way out but had hooked my right arm around the gun mount, otherwise I might have gone all the way out. I pulled myself back in and thought I'd soiled myself but hadn't. Then we came around for a straight-in approach to land and I was still looking out the right waist window. Close to the airport, short final and maybe 200 feet up, gear and flaps down, low and slow over some homes as we approached the runway we come over someone's backyard. There the family is, four or five of them in a row, standing almost at attention by their pool watching the bomber come over. At least two little kids, maybe three and then their mom and dad. I swing out again, on purpose this time, right arm around the gun mount and left arm waving madly at the family by their pool. We were low, maybe even 100 feet and about to cross the fence to land, and I'm thinking no way they can't see me! As the plane roars over them and as I think rats, they can't see me, the see me! They broke ranks and started jumping up and down as I kept waving back at them. Great moment! My buddy and I manned the Collings booth the next day and met a lot of WWII-era folks and I kept waiting for that family to come by and ask who the crazy guy was who waved out the waist-gunner's window but they never showed.

View out of the right waist-gun position. No window. The Collings B-17 can be seen under our wing. The engine sound, especially as power came up for takeoff, was out of this world. I ran out of film before the B-17 fell back and came into close formation on my side. I just waved and pointed to my camera: &quot;Out of film.&quot;

[earntaz]

There only one word to discribe this ... WOW!!

[SS427]

Another view from the waist gunner position. Sorry Annie.......

[HawkX66]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427TJ</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SgtHawkUSMC</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427TJ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got ten minutes in the left seat of the Collings B-24 back in the summer of 1992. I was AWOL from my squadron for a day but it was clearly worth the risk.</div></div>
That's great. I remember when they originally flew one of those into the small Stow airport instead of their private field for some reason. They wouldn't let them take back off because of the size. They ended up trucking it out of there. I used to bring my Scouts to Collings every Father's Day. We lived in the town next door, Harvard. Were you at Hanscom? </div></div>

I was based in Rapid City at the time of my B-24 flight. My buddy knew the copilot who asked if we wanted to ride with them to Scottsbluff, NE. I said to my buddy, &quot;How will we get back?&quot; My buddy's reply was, &quot;Who cares?&quot; Off we went!

I've probably told this here before but it's good so here it is again. Coming in to land at Scottsbluff we made a few passes over the town as barnstormers would have in the 1930s. Get people to come out and see (pay) the airplanes. I was alone in the rear fuselage hanging out of the right-side waist window where the waist gun was located. Open hole about 5x4 feet with a small wind-blast deflector at the front edge. Great place to sit. My buddy was up front with the pilots. We came in low and made a pass over the airfield and pulled up into a somewhat steep climb. The copilot rolled the airplane into a right bank and stepped on the right rudder a little too hard and the sudden lurch of the aft part of the plane swung me out the waist window! (Sitting there, the bottom edge of the opening is just an inch or two above the belt line of my pants.) I was about 1/2-way out but had hooked my right arm around the gun mount, otherwise I might have gone all the way out. I pulled myself back in and thought I'd soiled myself but hadn't. Then we came around for a straight-in approach to land and I was still looking out the right waist window. Close to the airport, short final and maybe 200 feet up, gear and flaps down, low and slow over some homes as we approached the runway we come over someone's backyard. There the family is, four or five of them in a row, standing almost at attention by their pool watching the bomber come over. At least two little kids, maybe three and then their mom and dad. I swing out again, on purpose this time, right arm around the gun mount and left arm waving madly at the family by their pool. We were low, maybe even 100 feet and about to cross the fence to land, and I'm thinking no way they can't see me! As the plane roars over them and as I think rats, they can't see me, the see me! They broke ranks and started jumping up and down as I kept waving back at them. Great moment! My buddy and I manned the Collings booth the next day and met a lot of WWII-era folks and I kept waiting for that family to come by and ask who the crazy guy was who waved out the waist-gunner's window but they never showed.

View out of the right waist-gun position. No window. The Collings B-17 can be seen under our wing. The engine sound, especially as power came up for takeoff, was out of this world. I ran out of film before the B-17 fell back and came into close formation on my side. I just waved and pointed to my camera: &quot;Out of film.&quot;
</div></div>
I love it. What a great story. Not many have been able to experience something like that. A little page 11 NJP would have been worth it for all that!

[mssl72]

Cool stuff! I'd love to get a ride in one, one day.