WW2 B17 Bomber Flight

For Christmas 2010 my brothers, sisters, Mom and I all went in on pretty much the best gift my Dad has ever gotten. We bought him a ticket to ride on a WW2 B17 Bomber airplane! He was thrilled, and has been patiently waiting for Oct 15, 2011 to come so he could finally cash in on his Christmas gift.
All things World War 2 hold a special place in my Dad's heart, partly because his Dad was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne in WW2. (Read: My Grandpa Lee parachuted out of airplanes and landed behind enemy lines to sneak attack the Nazis)
My Dad rode on the "Aluminum Overcast" with my brother in law Jeremy, and Jer's dad Roger.  We all went up to the airport with them to document the occasion.  We had plenty of time to take pictures before their flight, which was awesome. Cory and I had never seen a B17 before, so it was especially fun for us.  I lost count of all the guns sticking out of the airplane every which way; forwards, backwards, sideways, underneath, in the very front and tail end of the plane. It was crazy!  Fun fact: there are only 11 B17 airplanes still flying today, and they tour the country giving a handful of folk a ride a few times a year.

Finally, it was time for the scheduled flight and they were off!

My Dad said once they took off they were allowed to stand up and look around the entire airplane.  They had removed a hatch on the roof of the airplane so each person, if they chose, could stick their head out of the moving airplane.  They were only going 160 mph, no biggie. :)  Here are some photos my Dad took during the flight.

 Notice the machine guns and bullets?

 tail of the airplane

 Pilots

 Machine gun at the very front of the airplane

Jeremy and Roger

I'm pretty sure this video of my Dad tells you all you need to know about how much he enjoyed his ride. Sweet Guy, he is crying at the end.  Merry Christmas Dad!!