I'm on vacation!!

[jetmex]

And while you guys are arguing politics, stuck in the sssssn....the sssnnnnnnn...well, you know, David and I have been out and about.  The Collings Foundation came through this week, and yesterday they were at Ellington Field with a few of their airplanes.  Namely, the B-17, B-24, P-51C, F4D Phantom, a TA-4 Skyhawk, and a T-33.  So we went to see them.

The weather was bad (it was raining..the only day this week), so no one else was around.  The Mustang was hidden in a hangar somewhere on the airport, so we didn't get to see that one.  The T-33 was also hangared getting the leading edge of the right wing removed.  They were busy, so we didn't bother them.  The camera didn't fall off the bumper of the truck, so I'm able through the magic of digital technology to show you what we saw....



The Phantom was parked right inside the gate.  I had forgotten how big they were, and missed the fact that, at one time, I could cruise up to Holloman AFB and see fifty of them parked all over the place...




Of course, you can't park a Phantom without a sign....




Here's the A4.  There was a ladder up the other side so you could look in the cockpit.  David was amazed as to how small it was...




B-24J "Witchcraft."  I couldn't help but feel that this is what it might have looked like in England early in spring a long time ago.




Yours truly with the B-17G "Nine O Nine." 




David in the bomb bay of the B-24.  He grew a little this year, almost as tall as I am now.




The T-33 in the hangar.




The original NASA "Vomit Comet", a KC-135, at the entrance to Ellington Field.




B-24 cockpit.....




B-17 cockpit.


If you get the chance to see these machines, do it.  It's well worth whatever trip you might have to make!!

[balsum fractus]

l bashed my head so many times on protruding objects in those two birds...on the ground! I can't imagine bouncing around in turbulence, slipping on oil soaked aluminum floors, and being shot at all at the same time!!  I got nothing but respect for the young guys that actually took those things into combat!!!

[balsum fractus]

oh, and we had rain here today too!! Unheard of in March..there are still 2 more months of winter to go!!