Aircraft spotted off the starboard....

[scratch81]

...balcony? :D Sitting outside for a smoke, i hear four very large engines thinking "I know those engines" just as I see a B-17 come up over the tree line into view. Nearly crapping myself, i open the door to the living room and yelled "Alaaaaaaarm!" nearly giving my wife a heart attack. by the time she collected herself and got outside, we saw another contact, might have been a corsair, though it was pretty distant.


We hop online and find they're having some event at the addison, tx, airport, air-museum. the b-17 was none other than the liberty belle. was pretty cool.

[mookiemookie]

i open the door to the living room and yelled "Alaaaaaaarm!" nearly giving my wife a heart attack.

After my girlfriend watched Das Boot with me once, she screams "ALLAAAAARM!" at me everytime she hears an alarm bell like the one from the movie. :yeah:

[Zedi]

sh+pot=win

[scratch81]

wasn't pot, was camel.

[scratch81]

After my girlfriend watched Das Boot with me once, she screams "ALLAAAAARM!" at me everytime she hears an alarm bell like the one from the movie. :yeah:

I did that to my wife to see what kind of reaction i'd get. i know ima get paybacks soon enough. also recently spotted a b-24 and some other small fighters, but too distant to get possitive ID on them.

[JU_88]

About a year ago, a spit, hurri and a Lancster flew very low over my house in formation (i live in London and it was VE memorial day I think)
The noise made by 6 Rolls Royce merlin engines is almost ear drum shattering, our flat was almost shaking! :rock:

[scratch81]

We got to looking into the Liberty Belle, and to our amazement she's from Georgia, about 4hs drive from savannah, which we'll be moving to in August. My wife is not big on history, she doesn't really like submarines, uboats, ships, guns, knives, or politicians (the one thing we do agree on), but now she wants to see the memphis belle, uss cavalla, and battleship texas (the latter two we're hoping to visit this weekend).:D

[kylania]

One thing I noticed with SH5 is that you simply cannot see planes with the naked eye unless they are within a certain distance, 2-3k I think it was? Even on a clear day. You can see them with binocs, but they aren't even specs in the sky without binocs. In SH4 you could at least see them, there wasn't some crazy clipping distance.

[scratch81]

I noticed that too, and i began to wonder if my watch officer was into the becks again.

[SteamWake]

Its' always fun to have an un-expected sighting like that.

I remember the time my wife and I got buzzed by a B1B (at about 200 feet). He was pulling a turn over the lake for a low approach over the football stadium.

He crossed right in front of my winshield at about 200 feet. I nearly crapped my pants wondering if a bright white light was about to ....

[Sailor Steve]

A friend of mine was in Harlingen to see the Confederate Air Force. One morning he heard the thunder of sixteen Wright Cyclones right outside his hotel room. He jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony just in time to see four B-17s in a diamond formation flying less than 100 feet up - below his hotel balcony!

About that time he realized he had run to the balcony with no clothes on. Feeling that he should be embarrassed, he looked around, only to see at least five other guys on their balconies, all naked!

They had a good laugh over that, and decided the sight was worth the embarrassment.

[scratch81]

Thats awesome.

*edit* hey cool, enough posts to become a-gang. I remember my dads stories of being an a-ganger back in the 60's&early 70's. He had some crazy stories of his service.

[robbo180265]

My parents were very much into B17's (they were both children during the war) Through their interest the whole family (including myself) got involved with the B17 memorial flight and ended up as crew.

Which means - I've flown on this beauty a number of times , in all the positions:smug:

And if you get inside the Sally B you'll find a brass plaque with my mother's name on it (Betty Roberts)

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w181/robbo180265/SallyB_4engines.jpg


You can find out details of the memorial flight here

http://www.sallyb.org.uk/

[scratch81]

Jealous

[Sailor Steve]

Okay, it's official - I hate you now.
:rotfl2:
:salute:
:rock:

[robbo180265]

Lol,

It really was a once in a lifetime thing and something I'll never forget.

[Sailor Steve]

Oh, back in 1990 I built a model of the prototype - Boeing model 299 - for the 50th anniversary of Hill AFB here in Utah. Hill Field was named for Major Ployer P. Hill, who died testing the original prototype.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/299-2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/299-3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/299-5.jpg

[robbo180265]

^^ That's a beauty Steve , was it scratch built or from a kit?

The B17 will always be my favorite aircraft, through Sally B I met so many interesting people , vetrans of the war on both sides.

[scratch81]

I agree, she's another big beautiful girl.

[Bungmiester]

Nice Looking model,
Well so far this year I have seen two spitfires, one was the clipwing version, fly straight over my house, last summer I saw the Lancaster and a Hurricane. This is quite usual for me as I live in Eastern England and its the airshow season.:D

http://www.pandbartworks.co.uk/images%20small/Sig%20copy.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

^^ That's a beauty Steve , was it scratch built or from a kit?
Thank you.

The fuselage was the RarePlanes vacuformed Y1-B17 and the wings and stabilizers came from the Acadamy B-17B. The rest was scratched, as the 299 had different landing gear from every B-17 that followed, as were the engine oil intakes and the landing lights.

I had a good source in Detail & Scale's B-17 volume. Lots of close-up photos. I love how the insignia were smaller than the wartime ones, and are lined up with the aileron coupling, not the leading edge of the wing.

The numbered decals on the wing and tail were aligned by hand, and I was lucky enough to have a 1/72-scale Boeing emblem from the Williams Bros 247 airliner kit.

Unfortunately I didn't know beans about taking a good picture, so the detail on the tail doesn't show up very well. If you're ever in Utah, the model is still on display at the Hill AFB Museum.

[robbo180265]

Thank you.

The fuselage was the RarePlanes vacuformed Y1-B17 and the wings and stabilizers came from the Acadamy B-17B. The rest was scratched, as the 299 had different landing gear from every B-17 that followed, as were the engine oil intakes and the landing lights.

I had a good source in Detail & Scale's B-17 volume. Lots of close-up photos. I love how the insignia were smaller than the wartime ones, and are lined up with the aileron coupling, not the leading edge of the wing.

The numbered decals on the wing and tail were aligned by hand, and I was lucky enough to have a 1/72-scale Boeing emblem from the Williams Bros 247 airliner kit.

Unfortunately I didn't know beans about taking a good picture, so the detail on the tail doesn't show up very well. If you're ever in Utah, the model is still on display at the Hill AFB Museum.

Awesome stuff matey:rock: You must be very proud of your work.

If I ever am over your side of the pond I'll be sure to go see it:up:

[THE_MASK]

Well not aircraft but if i ask my wife to get my lunch from subsim by accident instead of subway one more time i am going to scream .

[scratch81]

Well not aircraft but if i ask my wife to get my lunch from subsim by accident instead of subway one more time i am going to scream .

Just don't ask her to get you a type II meatball uboat, mine slapped me for it.