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I survived a long day in the sun and had a great experience. Even though I was forbidden to drop the cash to go fly, I did get hands-on a couple of planes. The weather threw a big wrench into the planned schedule, as the ceiling was way too low to fly in the morning, so a good chunk of the time I was there the big planes were all up in the air, and only coming in for about 10-15 minutes between flights for the bombers, and about 5 minutes for the P-51 and the Stearman. Gunfighter (P-51) was flying all day, so I didn't get the chance to walk up to it and get a good shot of my model with the real deal. They weren't too keen on random people crossing the hot flight line. BUT, I did get a second with the pilot while he was waiting for his next rider and showed him the plane. He held it and loved it. But, it was so short that I didn't have time to get a pick of him with it. Hopefully I will still get that chance as it's based here in town.
The highlight of the day was chatting to the crew of the A-26 "Lady Liberty". They had a late patron flight scheduled, so I was chatting them up a bit before hand. The pilot then asked if I wanted to help them prop the plane before engine start. Hell yes! So, I was an honorary crew member and helped prep them. The crew chief took the pic of me with Lady Liberty afterward. That's why I'm grinning.
Once the flying was done, we were finally able to walk through the B-24 and B-29. I only snagged a couple of pics of the tail section of the B-24. The cockpit was too tight with myself and 3 other people in it. On the B-29, I was too busy talking to one of the pilots and the crew chief to remember to take any. Sorry!
If any of you are in the Sioux City area, they will be there later on this week.
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