Warbird Information Exchange

Listen up people. Ol 927 is on tour and giving rides! They are in Red Wing Minn. now and ride day is Sunday. From there it's on to Oshkosh and then to Willow run. (Yipsilani,Michigan) Thunder over Michigan. You want more info, check the websites. Come out and get a ride!
Dave

Congrats Dave!

I followed this thread for a long time. I finally got to see "Ol' 927" as something other than Diamond Lil.

I was there when she was leaving Cavanaugh Flight Museum. Office is just the other side of the runway from the museum, until it moves that is.

By following this thread I knew what to look for. And where to point the camera.





Took lots of pictures and am looking forward to seeing more of her.

Well, we are at Willow Run for Thunder Over Michigan this weekend! Come on out and sign up for a ride or buy some great new items from our Px. The weather is supposed to be wonderful and the group of Warbirds here will be amazing!! Hope to see some of you while we're here.

Dave

Hope to see you there Dave. Cant wait to see that big beautiful bomber in person for the first time.
Mark

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Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards... for there you have been and there you will long to return. Leonardo daVinci

Awesome! Is your dad coming ?
Dave

Dave,
No, my grandfather did not come with us. I keep pulling myself back and forth on whether or not to take him over to the Yankee hangar to see our birds but I just dont know. He is in great shape physically but mentally it is starting to get rough. I am afraid if I take him he may get confused and I dont want to put any extra strain on him.
Ol' 927 looked great by the way. I took 2 of my cousins(wife's side) whose grandfather flew in B-24s in Italy (shot down on his first misson and spend the rest of the war as a POW). That was a real treat to show them what their Grandfather flew in.
Thank you for making it happen.
Mark

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Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards... for there you have been and there you will long to return. Leonardo daVinci

Can anyone else see Ol' 927 and a fully restored Swamp Ghost flying side by side in the future? Seeing a B-24A and a B-17E in prewar markings would be incredible.

Back in 2006, my wife bought me a ride in Diamond Lil for my birthday. This year, for my 66th birthday, my wife bought me a ride in Yankee Lady. I enjoyed both rides. After we returned to central Illinois from Thunder Over Michigan, I accidently found this site and I've read every post, all 195 pages, of this thread. After following Gary's "online journal" of the time, effort, and $$ invested in Lil's make-over, I now wish I had chosen a ride in Ol'927 over the B-17 ride. Hopefully I can correct that mistake next summer.

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Steve Turner, USAF aircraft refueler 54+ years ago.

It would be a great honor to have you on one of our flights. Thanks for checking out the site and following the progress from the beginning!!

Dave

I decided that to be a no-kiddin' WIXer I needed to read this thread from beginning to end. Over the past two weeks I've sat and read this from start to finish. Although I hate to admit how much time that took, it was simply great and, I must admit, it was easier on me not having to wait for updates as many of you patiently did ... as they were already there.

I just turned 40 and have been a fan of Warbirds and the CAF for nearly 33 years. I'd be lying if I said that Diamond Lil was one of my favorites along the way. I still remember seeing the photos of her getting re-fitted with her glass nose, but, somehow, that didn't seem to tip the scales. Seeing Gary's vision for the plane and how that was executed - now that's something to break the scales! Words can't express how proud and happy I feel for the B24/B29 Squadron. Bravo!

So, for what it's worth, I'm caught up. And I'll keep it that way. Thanks to all of you who took the time to share the words and images that sum up a fraction of the effort that go into keeping Ol '927 on the line. My hat's off to you all.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

Wow. Thanks for the kind words, Ken. And thanks for taking the time to read all the posts. It's great to know that there are still some folks out there still interested in reading about that little project we threw together.

Gary

BTW Gary.......That avatar is still your best

A quicky...miss your old hands on job ?

Take care

I miss working with tools vs. paper&computers every day, but it was time for me to move on to other projects. I'm the kind of person who can't sit still very long on one project. I like (and always have liked) working on different airplanes. I feel like I learn more that way. Inspecting the different airplanes in the CAF fleet is an interesting task and I'm still learning a lot.

Gary

Ol' 927 is now at Addison and we will be based with Mr Cavanaugh and his wonderful museum. Ride weekends will be coming soon, with more information posted thru the Cavanaugh website www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com and our newly re-designed B-29/B-24 website http://www.cafb29b24.org. Our newsletter will now be a little more on time, as Flying Sailor is now our Sqdn PIO (Public Information Officer) and I am the assistant PIO. He volunteered two days before me........lol ... Seriously, all museums need volunteers.... but not all museums fly...... If you like big iron..... you get the picture..... Come join the fun...... Alan

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Just call me Al.