Park day and the B-17

After canceling our ice cream social for park day twice, we finally had it. Of course the weather was cloudy and cool with a sprinkle here and there, but it was fine.

Next time we said we should call it a hot fudge sundae social and maybe the weather would take a hint and be hot instead if icy. Hannah wasn’t too happy with her ‘rice’ cream. I can’t find it in chocolate, so she had strawberry and vanilla.

I guess it doesn’t taste like her rice milk, ‘cuz all she ate was the whip cream and she threw away the rest.

After the park we headed over to Centennial airport to see…The B-17(G) Aluminum Overcast Flying Fortress. Awesome isn’t it?

This plane is 1 of 14 that are still in flying order.

It’s in Denver for 4 days and is flying 4-5 flights each day (you too can fly for only $400!) But we had enough kids to get in for $1 per kid and $2 per adult.

It’s only $15 for a family and I would have paid that, this plane rocks!

It was perfect weather, cloudy and overcast so it was nice and cool. We were practically the only kids there, so that was nice. The kids kept climbing in the front and running out the back, repeat 20 times.

As for this bomber - there were once 14,000 bombers in WWII flying missions that tuned the tide of war.

Each plane could hold 10 men: a pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, radio man and 6 gunners. This plane wasn’t equipped to haul men; it was equipped to haul these.

To get in we climbed up the ladder into the belly of the cockpit.

Then we had to (well some of us more than others) squeeze through the catwalk over the bomb doors to get to the radio room.

After that you went through another door to reach the back guns and the turret gun (Joel thinks that’s where Star Wars got the idea, look at that.)

Gunners in the turret might have to be in there 3-10 hours depending on the mission.

They could get out in flight though, the ball rotates into the plane and then the hatch opens up inside.

Joel must have looked like he wanted to get in because this veteran pilot and volunteer helped him into the turret.

(No, he was not supposed to be there and the flight crew chief was mad, but it wasn’t Joel’s fault.) The hard part was getting out.

This man was also a pilot of the B-17 and was giving the kids copies of his pilot license (with the word ‘void’ on them, don’t get any ideas.)

Wings over the Rockies hosted the event so they had some planes from their museum there. Also they had flight simulators set up on the computers so the kids could try to fly their plane.

They brought 2 of their airplane pedal cars and the little one was almost small enough for Hannah.

There was an Army jeep there too that had a really old first aid kit.

We assume this isn’t sterile anymore.

This is ‘Mountain Dew with Cannon.’

I walked around the plane just taking pics of the awesome design and power of this great machine.

At the end of the war most of these were sold for scrap or destroyed, this plane in particular was sold for $750 and cost about $1 million to restore and keep up. But as you can see, it’s well worth it. It’s part plane and part museum.

The radios are defunct, the old wiring is still visible and of course the guns and bombs are on board (the guns were loaded but on safety, the bombs, I’m not sure about them.)

A volunteer told us about one mission where 60 bombers were lost, that’s 600 men. Of course we lost more than that; freedom has a very high price.

What an awesome opportunity to see a piece of history. Joel wants to save up for a flight and see if they come back next year. If he books early and becomes and EAA member it will only cost him $325! Here is a look into the radio room and the back of the plane (the ball thing is the top of the turret.) We bought an autographed pic of the bomber signed by the pilots who are flying it around the country right now and a poster of Bomber planes. It was an awesome field trip.

Specifications (B-17G)

B-17G-1-VE, 43-39163, “Happy Warrior” of the 835th Bombardment Squadron 486th Bombardment Group. Lost over Parchim, Germany 7 April 1945 when struck by bombs from overhead. Crew: 4 KIA, 6 POW.
Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[25]

General characteristics

• Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer-top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner[123]
• Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
• Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
• Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
• Wing area: 1,420 ft² (131.92 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
• Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
• Loaded weight: 54,000 lb (24,495 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29710 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× Wright R-1820-97 “Cyclone” turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance
• Maximum speed: 287 mph (249 knots, 462 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 182 mph (158 knots, 293 km/h)
• Range: 1,738 nmi (2,000 mi, 3,219 km) with 2,722 kg (6,000 lb) bombload
• Service ceiling 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
• Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
• Wing loading: 38.0 lb/ft² (185.7 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
Armament
• Guns: 13× M2 Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns in twin turrets, plus single dorsal, fore and aft beam positions (with optional extra nose armament fitted in glazed nose).
• Bombs: Although it theoretically could carry 17,417 lb (7900 kg) of bombs, the B-17 rarely flew combat missions with more than 5,071 lb (2300 kg).
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