25 Nov 2002 - Replaced photos
with clearer scans. Updated style and format.
17 May 2009 - Added additional photos.
One of my favorite spots in the Metroplex is Addison Airport, home of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. Today, they were playing host to a B-17 and a B-24 operated by the Collings Foundation. And for a fee, rides were available.
I chose the B-24J. A workhorse of W.W.II, this is a 4-engine, huge, lumbering beast of an airplane. This plane was painted as "The Dragon and his Tail," in memory of what I am told was the last B-24 to be scrapped at Kingman AAFld after W.W.II. The forward right side of the fuselage was adorned by a large painting of a dragon holding a young--and unclothed--lady. I had to be sure and get a photo of the left (undecorated) side as well so I would have a photo suitable for posting at work! The Collings Foundation bills this as "The world's only fully restored and flyable Consolidated B-24 Liberator." They further state it was built in August, 1944, at Consolidated's Fort Worth Plant (Government Owned Aircraft Plant #4). Adjacent to the former Carswell AFB, this facility still exists as Air Force Plant #4, and is where General Dynamics builds F-16 fighter jets.
After the paperwork six other passengers and I received our safety
briefing. Stay buckled in during taxi and takeoff; one ring of the bell means its
okay to unbuckle and roam the aircraft. If you crawl up to the nose compartment,
don't step on the nose gear doors or you'll fall through. Be careful of the nose
wheel; right after takeoff its still spinning at 120mph. As you walk through the
bomb bay, don't fall off the
catwalk.
The bomb bay doors are designed so a falling bomb would punch right through without
detonating. So would a falling person. Be careful around the waist gunner
window openings. Two rings
of the bell means buckle back in for landing.
We made a "hot load" of the aircraft, walking out to meet it on the taxiway as
it idled. A few people crawled out from the bomb bay; then we crawled in. Made
our way back to the seats (actually four seats and three sets of belts on the floor) and
strapped in. Gets nice and noisy when those engines rev up for takeoff! We
lifted off smoothly and while we were still climbing the bell rang. Gentlemen, you
may move about the cabin. And the gunner stations, and the bomb bay.
The plane was actually kind of crowded with two pilots, seven tourists and a flight
engineer on board (this equals the original crew of ten). I went back to the
tail gunner's compartment and
checked out the view. There was plenty of wind whipping around the various openings -- not the
airtight sterility of an airliner. From seeing planes like this on the ground I knew
there were openings around
turrets
and doors, but you really notice this in flight with gusts of wind hitting you from
various directions. I worked my way forward, over and around various
bulkheads, and
went through the
bomb bay to the
cockpit. My, was that breezy and exhilarating!
It's kind of dark in the bomb bay, which had some dummy bombs in it for
realism. But you get some light from around the edges of the bay doors; and they
rattle around a bit in the wind. Kind of a tight squeeze on that catwalk, maybe a
foot wide with supports going up from each side. It's hard to imagine doing this
wearing cold weather flying gear, flak vest, and parachute -- while being shot at by AAA
and enemy fighters. Enjoyed the
cockpit view from
behind the pilots for a few
minutes. I started to crawl down and forward to the
nose position; but a closer look
at the narrow walkway next to the spinning nose wheel convinced me I
didn't need to crawl all the way forward.
We spent most of the flight gathered in the
waist gunner area. This was
the most standing room and the best outside viewing. Look back and see the rudders;
look forward and see the wings. A dummy
.50 cal machine gun on each side
added to the historical effect and made for good photos. One area of the plane not
available to us was the
belly turret; we climbed around it but did not go inside.
The control cables for the elevators and rudders were visible and within reach; whenever I
moved about I watched my handholds to be sure I wasn't grabbing a cable!
Ammo boxes and oxygen tanks added to the historical atmosphere.
The icing on this cake was our escort -- an
AT-6 from the Cavanaugh Flight
Museum took off after we did and flew tight formation off our right wing. Beautiful
sight; the
Texan seemed like
it was just a few feet away. The pilots communicated well and held the formation
tightly, even on turns. Very cool.
When the bell rang twice we went back to our seats and buckled in. Touchdown was
pretty smooth, just a minor chirp of the tires. The interesting thing about that
was, because of our relative position and the open windows, we could smell the burnt
rubber from the main gear touchdown. Not something you experience in a 747! We
taxied to a stop, and with engines still running we climbed down and
exited through the
bomb bay, so the next lucky group could board.
Great experience. Highly recommended for all the aviation buffs out there.
