These folks happened to be in town this weekend.  









http://www.gulfcoastwing.org/
With this old girl:
http://www.gulfcoastwing.org/trhistory.html
One of 11 still flying and about 50 airframes survive.
So I figured I better go.  
Very, very cool.  The old plane is loud, hot, cramped, smells like oil, in other words awesome.  If you get a chance, go!
Getting started:





So that is why the ride was so expensive.

Turnout after takeoff.

Rear gunner position.

Right wing, pilot's view.

Good thing I didn't eat that last breakfast taco, I'd never fit through.  Bomb bay looking forward, bombs to the left.  Top to right and left are the control cables.  






We would have never won the war without Garmin.






Radio room looking aft through "skylight".  Very loud but at least things have cooled off.

Old school radios.  This was the view of one of the radio operators (starboard side).

This plane is huge, tires are huge.  I am guessing about 4' diameter.

Fortunately plane provided lots of shade from the south Texas sun.  I am almost 6', but could easily stand halfway down the wing.

Old Stearman was out too.  I need a ride in this one.

SB2C Helldiver.  Only flying example in the world.  This too is a freaking big airplane.

Everything on this airplane is big.  The prop blades are probably close to a foot wide.

Profile view.  Rear turtle deck folds down for gunner.  





B-25 was out too, different than the last one.  They should really do something about the oil leak.  

I suspect that would not be allowed in today's airforce.

She has a nice rear end too.

 

Very nice!!

That is a lot of 50.  Window in upper right is the one I was next to.







Port side.











Dat ass

Op this is the coolest thread I have seen here in a while! Awesome to see those birds still flyin! We were at the air and space museum in Washington D.C. last week and while its cool to look at them I want to see them fly!

Thanks!  I will try to get some video uploaded this week.  



ETA:

Challenge coin presented to those who were onboard.











 

Somewhere around the house I have photos of "Yellow Rose" with her old topless nose art.

If a radial doesn't leak oil, is out of oil

Yep.  

"If there ain't any oil under it, there ain't any oil in it."

Totally awesome !

The old "No leaks, no fluid" adage holds true yet again!

Yep, pictures really don't capture the true size of these larger warbirds.

I snapped these pics of a TBM Avenger last month at the Air Expo 2014 show at Flying Cloud airport in MN. Fucking monster of a plane.





Thanks for sharing the pics with us.

I've been up 3 times in Texas Raiders - Never been on/in her when she landed!  
My favorite WW 2 A/C is the F4U-4 Corsair followed by the PB4Y-2 Privateer.  Why?  Simple - I spent about 3 yrs in a Corsair Sqdn as a Plane Captain, which means I had taxi lisc. cause we never towed the A/C anywhere except into/out of the hanger.  We drove it where ever it needed to go.  
I got tired of watching someone else fly my A/C while I stayed on the ground so I finally transferred to a Patrol Sqdn with Privateers and flew the 3rd mech position = waist gunner, except we didn't have any guns on them in the mid 50s.
That was the tail end of the Privateers service so I had less than a year before we got the P2V-5 Neptune.  Like getting out of a Crosley and into a Cadallac!  
Sarge

I have done Aluminum Overcast, Witchcraft and FiFi. Its always a great time getting to ride in the War Birds.  Gives you a new found respect for the men who had to fight in them.




Sir James...