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.
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.


August is the time for air shows, and I was able to get to one that is fairly close to home, the Rockford, IL AirFest. I haven’t been to the Rockford air show since it resumed after a lapse in time, but I wanted to head to this one. The headliner for the event was the F-22 Raptor. Now if you’ve read my site a little bit, you’ll know that In attended the EAA air show in Oshkosh, WI last year. The Raptor was there too and it put on a heck of a show, but the ceiling was low and there were storms in the area, so it didn’t do its full routine. I was hoping for better weather this year.
I usually go to air shows for the rip and tear of the air as jet aircraft scream by and I wasn’t disappointed by this show. I really enjoyed the Navy/Marine heritage flight. The F-18 put on quite an individual show. At the end of the F-18 show, the two aircraft paired up while in flight and did several fly-bys in front of the crowd. In all of the shows I’ve been at, I’ve never seen a WWII Corsair in flight – it was great! After several photo passes, the Corsair came in for a landing. As the craft was slowing down after landing, the F-18 screamed over the top in a high speed fly-by that excited the crowd.
Towards the end of the show, a B1-B did a series of fly-bys before coming in to land at the airport. This aircraft flew from its base in Texas to put on the show in Rockford. The B1-B come in low and slow with the wings extended and then did a couple high speed passes with the wings swept back. It’s always amazing to see how long it takes for an aircraft of this size – traveling at high speed – takes to turn around.
On Monday, I was on my own since my sister and her boyfriend had to work. I had known that before my flight up, so I booked a seat on the
The only way to get to Whittier is by boat or car. Boats arrive via the Prince William Sound. Cars have to come through a one-way tunnel. At the top of the hour, cars can go from Portage to Whittier for a $12 toll. At the half hour, cars can go from Whittier to Portage. Oh, by the way, trains use the same tunnel, so your schedule could be screwed by a train either arriving or leaving. I was able to make the 9:30 AM tunnel with no problem and I was shortly in Whittier, which gave me plenty of time to explore the town since I had never been there. Once I parked, I started my explorations around the town which isn’t really that big. I visited the local museum and took in the exhibits. I investigated the abandoned Buckner building (a former military barracks) and noted some of the graffiti. I walked up the roads on the hillside to find a great view of Prince William Sound. Lastly, I hiked some trails that led to several melt water streams merging together to form a creek. Once I followed the creek to where I parked the car, I saw that it was boarding time for the boat.
outside, I donned my hoodie and set my camera to capture the sights I would see. There was plenty to look at – we saw birds, lots of sea otters and seals. The glaciers themselves were also very interesting. We got to see some of them, specially the suspended and hanging glaciers from a distance, but the tidewater glaciers were the coolest. We visited two different tidewater glaciers and you could tell when you were getting close, even if you couldn’t have seen them. Small icebergs and brash ice were in the water, signaling that a tidewater glacier was near. As we got closer, the boat slowed down and then finally stopped. As the engine sound died away, you could hear the ice groaning. Since a glacier is simply a river of ice, it is in constant motion even though it might not be apparent to us. It became clearly apparent when a section of the glacier fell away, calving off from the main glacier. With a groaning crack and a crash of ice into the water, the glacier became a little smaller. The visit to the tidewater glaciers was the highlight of the cruise. Soon we were heading back to port in Whittier. After the cruise I headed back to my sister’s place and rested for a few minutes before heading out for dinner to one of my favorite Anchorage establishments,