B-17 "Chuckie" is on the move!

[wgrosz]

Took a while to upload but here's my copy that I'll be giving the Military Aviation Museum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AVMoYoliok&hd=1

[dougwolfpacker]

DougWolfpack,
Did you get a shot of the Spit making its pass after Chuckie landed when the leading edges were all lit up by the setting sun? That was an awesome site.
Bob

No I did not, but I got a great shot of the P51 with the sun on it as it was landing and lighting the trees in the background. I haven't processed it from the RAW photo yet.

[K5DH]

Poor quality video w/sound of Chuckie leaving Fort Worth:

http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/k5dh/?action=view&current=Takeoff_for_Virginia.mp4

[planenutti]

Thanks for the response Doug. Will love to see the Stang pic when you get a chance. You warmed up yet?
Bob

[dougwolfpacker]

[/quote] You warmed up yet?
Bob[/quote]


Nah it wasn't too bad. I grew up in Pennsylvania so I can handle the cold. It was warm compared to what the flight crew had to deal with.

[pmahaffey]

First of all I can't express how honored, blessed, and humbled I am to have been chosen to help deliver our beloved B-17 to her new home. That helped give me a sense of closure. Tomorrow I will return to a hangar with much more room than it had a few days ago.

I want to thank Bob Hill and Don Anklin. They made sure I was a part of the crew and allowed me to fly as much as I wished. It's the people you meet and get to know that make flying warbirds even more rewarding than it already is.

I want to express my deepest thank Doc and Chuckie. I can't imagine what the past 24 years would have been like without the memories and experiences that I have had with this airplane. They are like family to me.

As for the flight itself it was VERRRYYYYY COLD. Actually the first 4 hours or so were just very cold. The last 2 hours and 10 minutes were darn NOW IT'S FREAKING COLD. It was quite extraordinary; the temperature literally dropped 15 degrees C in seconds. We thought a window had opened in the nose, but it was just cold. The temp guage was hovering between -20 to -25 degrees C. We had hand warmers stuffed in our gloves and toe warmers in our shoes, but they did no good. I opened my suitecase in the hotel hours after we landed and everything was still frozen.

The Airplane performed very well. Considering that it had not done much flying in recent years, it performed amazingly well. The fact that we were more concerned about how cold we were is a good indication of how well the machine was behaving.
Now for some photos.

Making one last pass over the VFM



Crossing over DFW Airport


VFR on Top



Our shadow inside a glory



Pilot Bob Hill


Co-Pilot Don Anklin


P-51 and Spitfire escort



Sunset marks the end of our journey



Patrick Mahaffey
formally B-17 "Chuckie"
B-25 "Pacific Prowler"
DC-3 "Southern Cross"

[Robbie Roberts]

Great Pics Patrick!
I guess you guys got a llittle of the "Experience" the reenactors shoot for: The temps sound like they may have been representative of the flights endured by aircrews over NW Europe in the war. Might not have been as dangerous, but certainly sounded as cold...

Guess I have to get in touch with Don one of these days, and take a ride to Va and see her... I work for one of the companies which is owned by her new owner...

Scott

[Shay]

Great Pics!!

If only the Escorts had drop tanks to finish off the image.

Maybe I missed it, but are there plans to change the Fortress's current paint scheme? If so, to what?

Shay
_____________
Semper Fortis

[lmritger]

Shay, I talked to Mr. Yagen on Saturday about that exact topic and he stated emphatically there are no plans to change it "any time soon", out of respect to the Hospers and what the aircraft has meant to them for all these years. And I think that's entirely appropriate, and salute him for that.

Lynn

[lmritger]

Pat, those are some wonderful photos... but THIS is the one which really takes us back to 1944. All that's missing is about 400 other B-17s gathered together, headed for the Merseburg refineries.

[the330thbg]

How high did you take her?

Obviously not over 10K.., but what was the ceiling?

Cheers,

Smiz

[pmahaffey]

We started at 5500 feet and climbed up to 7500 to pick up better tailwinds. This also put us on top of the clouds. They Broke up as we approached N. Carolina. That was when the brutal cold hit us. We thought about dropping down, but that would have given us a pretty stiff headwind. So we traded warmth for speed. Except for the cold, we could not have asked for better weather.

Patrick Mahaffey
formerly B-17 "Chuckie"
B-25 "Pacific Prowler"
DC-3 "Southern Cross"

[the330thbg]

And you got a tiny brief taste of the cold our fathers and grandfathers endured in the 40's in these bombers. Of course they wore electric suits for warmth in subzero conditions. But for a moment you were forming up off the coast of England for your run over Bremen.

Awesome job!!

Best to you all

[CrewDawg]

It's taken me a while to figure out what to say. I'm so proud of the airplane for once again bringing it's crew home (even though it's a new one) safe and sound. I am equally proud of the incredible team of volunteers that helped me A LOT to get her back up in the air. Without Pat, Steve, James, Mike, Rick, Scott, Dean, and a lot of other people, last Saturday's flight would never have happened. I am also very proud of Chuckie (Mrs. Hospers) for making the incredibly difficult, yet necessary decision to sell the airplane. While it was difficult to do, in the end it was the best thing for the continued preservation and restoration of the airplane. It gives us all a great deal of comfort knowing that Jerry Yagen, Don Anklin and the rest of the MAM crew will take great care of her. With all that being said, Saturday morning was much tougher than I ever thought it would be. Once all 4 were started and we were waiting on engine temps before taxiing I had time to just reflect on the last 2 1/2 years and all the hard work, sacrifice, the good times and the bad. It was not easy to think about the fact that she was going to take off and not would not be coming back to Fort Worth (for the immediate future anyway). I don't have a daughter, but I imagine what I felt is something like what a father feels like when he gives away his only daughter at her wedding. No matter who owns her, everytime she flies we at the VFM will know that it was because we made it possible.

Thank you to everyone here on WIX for all of your kind words, encouragement and support of Chuckie and the Vintage Flying Museum. We are not closing or going away, like the B-17 we are just opening a new chapter in our history.

[the330thbg]

Very, very well said!

Blue skies!