UPDATED with video: World War II bombers fly from Love Field

by John P. Meyer

Yesterday I had the privilege of flying aboard the Nine O Nine, a WWII-vintage B-17 Flying Fortress, one of the vintage warbirds which the Collings Foundation has made it their mission to preserve and make accessible to the public.

WWII bombers visit Love Field

Now at the Frontiers of Flight Museum

(Click photo to see entire gallery)

Bombers: fun for the whole family!

Currently headquartered at the Frontiers of Flight Museum on the eastern (Lemmon Avenue) side of Love Field, visitors to the museum from now (Friday, March 21) through Sunday (March 23) will be able to amble out onto the tarmac (great and evocative word, is "tarmac") and get an "up-close-and-personal" look at these veteran propeller aircraft. And for a monetary donation to the Collings outfit (on the order of $425 for a seat aboard the B-17, for instance), you can get even closer up and more personal by actually hitching a ride.

I was an early-day prospect for a heart-pounding back-seat ride aboard the Collings' P-51 Mustang, but it turned out there were too many actual paying guests showing up for that experience (and since it's only a one-person per flight deal, the media definitely play second fiddle for purposes of that tune). Word had it that one of the high-rollers shelling out $2,200 for a trip aboard the P-51 was Jerry Jones. So you might say I was bumped by the owner of the Cowboys. (Wiseguy.)

I took some video of my own thrilling B-17 flight over the metroplex which I will of course be posting, but while it's in process I wanted to go ahead and give you a look at what awaits you if you decide to head on over for a look-see.

The Collings folks are friendly and know their stuff, and of course the same can be said for the entire (mostly volunteer) crew of the Frontiers of Flight Museum. No airplane fancier of any age can leave that facility - especially this weekend - without a smile on his or her face.

Video at 11, though I'm not promising which day.

WWII bombers over North Texas

In which the film guy meets the Why Guy

VIDEO UPDATE: My apologies to Charlene and Clark for washing their faces out in the sun, and also for the wind noise in my final interview with Fred. Beyond that, this video program should give you a pretty good idea what it's like to rattle around in a WWII Flying Fortress cruising along at about 1,800 feet over the metroplex. (Though it can't convey the pain when you connect the top of your noggin with a metal bulkhead.)

Note the WFAA Channel 8 film boys (Why Guy Mike Castellucci and his attendant camera dude) seated in the aircraft behind me during takeoff and landing; yours truly made a brief cameo (staring out the aircraft window) during Mike's broadcast piece which aired earlier this evening (March 21); once his segment is posted online, I'll link back to it in a comment.

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John Meyer, says:

Here's Why Guy's coverage of our shared flight: http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?... <p>My shadowy appearance on camera comes about midway through the piece, where you'll see me staring reflectively out the perspex-shielded waist gunner's portal.</p>

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1 year, 8 months ago
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sculptor, says:

John, I'm glad you had a real flight in a real B-17. When I was a kid in WWII, I saw lots of B-17's flying over Dallas, probably showing off for girlfriends. The skies were also full of B-24's (made in Fort Worth), B-26's, B-25's, Hudsons for the RAF, AT-6's (called the Texan because it was made near Arlington), P-38's, P-47's, and occasionally Navy aircraft such as the gull-winged Corsair. The age of flight turned 40 only in 1944; the speed of development in those years was all but unbelievable.

An older boy up the street, who had taught me to make model airplanes from kits, joined the Army Air Corps at 18, made it through pilot training, and was trained in B-17's and sent to the Eighth Air Force in England. He was promoted to captain on his 20th birthday because the casualty rate was so high on those daylight raids. He survived and came home, and we went to SMU together.

The B-17 was beloved by its pilots. Several of the WWII vets that I flew with in B-29's had flown B-17's, and they spoke of the airplane with affection, mainly because it flew well, but also because it could take a lot of damage and still get back to base. It was slow, of course, though on a par with other aircraft of its era, and it put a large crew at risk to deliver a bomb load smaller than most fighter-bombers can carry now and with far less accuracy than a cruise missile. The movie "Memphis Belle" gives an apparently accurate portrayal of the B-17 in combat. The postwar TV series (NBC, I think) on the air war -- there were companion series on land war and sea war -- uses combat footage to show B-17's being shot out of the sky by flak and fighters. As I recall, the series' name was something like "Victory in the Air". I recommend it.

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1 year, 8 months ago
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Mike Orren, says:

Been seeing these planes over my East Dallas home a lot in the last 24 hours. A little disconcerting if you don't know what's up. They are indeed flying low...

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1 year, 8 months ago
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Lisa Lawrence Merritt, says:

I really, Really, REALLY wanted to go out and take a flight...then I saw the price tag. Bummer.

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1 year, 8 months ago
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EdWeirdness, says:

I've seen this plane over east Dallas, its amazing to ponder the difference in technology. Its also pretty cool to see something this big, flying this low and slow. Lets hope we never lose sight of the importance this technology played in shaping our world. I wonder where they get the quality gasoline necessary to get this bird up? I wonder how the fuel economy might differ from modern aircraft of similar size?