Last night (Sept.3) the Antioch Marching band put on a heck of a show during halftime of the Antioch vs Waukegan game. Check out their performance! The video is 130 MB so it might take a couple moments to load.
B-24 bomber from WWII
The deep thrum of the four engines, the cramped, tight spaces, walking across the bomb bay on a 10 inch metal strip, sticking your hand out the window at the waist gunner position – these were experiences I had on my flight aboard “Witchcraft” a WWII B-24 Liberator bomber. I was able to experience this thrilling flight when the Collings Foundation brought the Wings of Freedom tour to Chicago Executive airport in July.
I had always wanted to fly on one of these vintage aircraft, and I’m glad I got the chance. Witchcraft is the only flying B-24 in the world, and the flight made me appreciate the sacrifice that the airmen made during WWII. In many places within the aircraft, there was literally no place to turn around. And you had to watch were you stepped – the nose wheel doors and the bomb bay are designed to give-way to weight – not a nice thing to happen if you’re a few thousand feet up.
B-24s over Polesti
I was able to move along the length of the plane in flight – from the tail gunner’s position to the nose gunner’s turret. This was not your normal flight experience – I mean there was a three to four inch gap between the fuselage and the retracted ball turret – looking down I could see houses, roads and trees passing below. When you get to the waist gunner’s positions – with the 50 caliber machine guns still in place – you get a feeling for what it might have been like fighting for your life and your crew mates as you fended off Axis fighters. These planes weren’t pressurized – crewmen had to wear special suits and needed oxygen masks to survive the frigid temperatures at altitude.
The ride on Witchcraft was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I won’t soon forget. Who knows how long this plane will keep flying – it did see actual service in China and Burma with the RAF, and spare parts and expertise are dwindling away. Enjoy the pictures below or check out the Flying in a B-24 video page.
I wasn't planning to go to the Rockford Airfest this year, but the kids determined that they wanted to go. Who was I to say NO to an airshow. So we shlepped out to Rockford on Sunday, August 1 to see the show. Things started well as the A-10 Warthog was flying as we approached the airport.
Once we got parked and into the show, we ate some food, looked around at some of the static displays, and watched the flying. As always at airshows, we did plenty of walking. My son was interested in everything and my daughter was impressed with how noisy the jets were.
Some of the show highlights were the F-4 Phantom in flight, a heritage flight that included the F-4 Phantom, the A-10 Warthog, and an F-15 Eagle. The final flight performance of the day was the USAF Thunderbirds in their F-16 Falcons. Besides the airshow, we also went to the Jeep event on site. Here I was able to drive a Grand Cherokee on a road course and a Grand Cherokee and a Rubicon on the off-road course they had set up.
Overall, it was a great day, topped off with a view of a DC-3 returning from Oshkosh on our way home and dinner at DQ!. I think we want to do it again next year!
Here are some images from the Blackhawk Victory Parade on June 11, 2010. My son took some footage with my Fuji FinePix S700 and I took some with my Motorola Droid.
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My son’s video He was right on the curb of Michigan Ave. as the parade went rolling by. |
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My video Just a little bit behind and to the right of my son. I was shooting the pictures in the previous post with my other hand. |
Today my son and I went into Chicago to celebrate the Chicago Blackhawk’s recent Stanley Cup win. We left home early and took the train into the city. On the train,we talked about where we wanted to locate ourselves along the route. Once on the ground, we hoofed it to where the rally was taking place. Even at that early hour, the rally point was getting packed, and my 11 year old son could not see very well.
We quickly readjusted our strategy and thought that it was most important to try and get a good viewing spot for the victory parade. Again,as we scouted locations, nothing looked too good for my son, so we crossed the street and lucked into a great location. We were fairly close to the street, and there was a metal barricade that my son could use to elevate himself. We were also very close to the speakers and the confetti cannons – not to mention we were in the shade, a big benefit. As we were waiting, we had some entertainment. Close by, a young woman was verbally scuffling with some other people. Soon enough, it turned physical and the police were there quickly and in force. The offender was quickly removed and peace resumed.
As the parade turned down Michigan Ave. my son was lucky enough to get to the curb and have a frontline view of the activities. The pictures below are from the Blackhawk victory parade. I’ll add videos tomorrow. Overall, despite the crowd, the heat, and the humidity, my son and I had a fun and memorable time.
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