Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
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N972GL and the B-17 Sentimental Journey
My sister Shirley is the "Oscar" (aka crew chief) for the current tour of Sentimental Journey. And yes - I am stinking proud of her!!! Our father flew 36 missions in WW2 over Germany as a ball turret gunner in one, so our family as always had a connection to these amazing aircraft.
Today the plane was in Sacramento (Mather Airport) for the upcoming airshow. I flew 972GL over there this morning and was able to park right next to the big boy. And yes - I was grinning like an idiot as I taxi'd up next to her!
Since nothing was scheduled for the plane Shirley and I got to hang out in her. What really strikes you is that the plane is still flying with all of the old components, switches, controls and looks almost exactly as it did 60+ years ago. (Well, it did have a 430 WAAS and a Garmin G5 (or something similar) and Shirley mentioned that most of the pilots also fly with an Ipad).
This was such an amazing day and an amazing experience that I just had to share.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Austin on
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What a great day you had! ... and what a coincidence - I just watched a documentary on the B-17 last night on Amazon Video!
Years ago, a B-17 and a B-25 visited Memphis Int'l Airport. Our glider club's tow pilot was a B-17 instructor during WWII. I picked him up and we toured and went through the B-17. What an experience! He had 1000's of hours of B-17 time and gave me a tour like I'm sure no other person could!
The word "hero" is used so loosely it is now meaningless, but definitely, those young men who flew those missions in WWII were truly heroic.
Thanks for bring back fond memories!
John
N750A
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Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on
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Thanks for sharing! My favorite placard is the one for the “electronic turbo modulators”. I think I’ll make a placard just like it for my car and my 701!
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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on
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i didn't even notice that! Thanks for pointing it out.
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Magin on
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The B-17 has long been my favorite aircraft...hard to believe such a work of art was designed for such a purpose.the men who flew them and in fact that whole generation did nothing short of save the world.
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Forgot to ask, so just how did Sis get selected?
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Not elected - she worked her way into it with a brilliant mind, a great sense of humor and an attitude that she will get the job done whatever it takes. Its a huge responsibility and i know Dad would be so stinkin proud of her.
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