by John P. Meyer

In case you haven't noticed, there are vintage bombers flying overhead. It's those folks from the Collings Foundation, back in town to make your commute more entertaining.

Retired USAF Col. Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson's wartime P-51 Mustang bore the moniker "Old Crow." (He flew both B and D models of the Mustang during WWII, variants you can see side-by-side here on the website maintained by his son, Jim.)

As we pick up our video interview with three-time ace Anderson, he's explaining how he came to name his airplane. Just as with the airframe of the fabled P-51 fighter itself, there are several variations on the story:

1) To his non-drinking acquaintances, he explained that it was in honor of the craftiest, most resourceful bird in the sky;

2) To his close friends, it referred to the sour mash Kentucky bourbon whiskey of the same name;

3) The third alternative proved less popular with Bud's wife, who noted that many pilots named their planes after their sweethearts back home...

California resident Bud Anderson (now 87, and seemingly fit as a fiddle) was in Dallas - and at the Frontiers of Flight Museum (FFM) specifically - to take part in a four-man World War II airmen's symposium last Sunday (April 5). He took the stage along with fellow WWII veteran pilot Calvin Spann (one of the Tuskegee Airman we covered during the release of the movie made about them back in Nov. of 2007), long-time FFM volunteer and P-47 Thunderbolt pilot Charlie Mohrle, and museum volunteer and former bombardier Sherman Goodfriend.

The airmen's symposium was scheduled to coincide with the appearance at Frontiers of Flight of the Wings of Freedom Tour for 2009. This exhibit and flight opportunity event is put on by the Collings Foundation, a non-profit group whose mission is to keep vintage warbirds flying and accessible to the general public. During their visit here last year I was thrilled to have the opportunity to stow along aboard the B-17 Flying Fortress "Nine-O-Nine" as it winged its way around the vicinity. (Drafty? Sure. Bumpy? You bet. Thrill of a lifetime? Right up there.)

Through Sunday April 12, you too can tour the aircraft on the tarmack (the B-17 Flying Fortress "Nine-O-Nine"; the B-24 Liberator "Witchcraft"; and the TP-51C dual-stick Mustang "Betty Jane"), or take off into the skies on a North Texas flyover - depending upon how much you can afford to pony up for the experience.

Rides in either of the vintage bombers will set you back $425 per person, while "hands on" flight training aboard the TP-51C runs $2200 for a half-hour or $3200 for a full hour's thrill ride. (NOTE that the fees are considered to be donations, and thus are fully tax-deductible.)

Walk-through tours of the aircraft cost $12 for adults and $6 for children (12 and under) for access to all of the aircraft. WWII Veterans get to do the ground tours at no charge.

After speaking with Col. Anderson on Sunday we spent a few minutes out on the runway where the aircraft were parked, and it was - how shall I put this? - so frakkin' windy that I thought I might be able to just flap my arms and achieve actual airborne status. (It didn't work, but if the jacket had been configured differently, who knows?)

Mike Bullock operated the video camera on this assignment