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About 10 years ago I got the opportunity to take a flight in a T-6 Texan, one of the trainers used in WWII. It was a blast! We did aerobatics (loops, rolls, Cuban 8's, dives) so we had to wear parachutes and review how to bail out if something went wrong. I even got to take the stick for a few minutes. It was a great time, one I'll never forget. I'd love a chance to go up in something like a P-51 or a spitfire some day.
 
About 10 years ago I got the opportunity to take a flight in a T-6 Texan, one of the trainers used in WWII. It was a blast! We did aerobatics (loops, rolls, Cuban 8's, dives) so we had to wear parachutes and review how to bail out if something went wrong. I even got to take the stick for a few minutes. It was a great time, one I'll never forget. I'd love a chance to go up in something like a P-51 or a spitfire some day.

WTF, how does one get this opportunity?!
 
Yes! That made me insanely happy. This is the background photo on my phone:

tumblr_nznrxeANek1tfjr3vo1_540.jpg

For mass amounts of WWII plane photos you guys should check out this blog: Beautiful Warbirds
 
I had a friend that built a custom air boat that he cruised around on the Willamette and Clackamas Rivers.
He scraped the motor that it came with, and mounted an engine from a Spitfire on it.
Riding around with him was the most exhilarating and scariest thing you can imagine.
The noise was deafening and one day an old lady midway up the Clackamas River came running out of her riverside house and unloaded a shotgun at us while we ran hell bent back downriver.
That air boat was insane with the power that motor produced.
 
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WTF, how does one get this opportunity?!

At the time, a group was touring the country offering flights. We met them at the Centralia airport. They had 3 T-6's. We went up and got into formation with the others, as their flights were just coming to an end, they headed back to the airport, we broke away from the group doing what the pilot called a "military break" - rolling onto our backs into a dive - just like you see in the old war reels and in the movies - it was so cool! :cool:

There is still a place (probably several, actually) that offer these flights. I'm not sure if this link is the same folks I flew with back then, but it looks like them, and the planes look identical too: Home
 
Yes! That made me insanely happy. This is the background photo on my phone:

View attachment 315068

For mass amounts of WWII plane photos you guys should check out this blog: Beautiful Warbirds

LOVE old warbirds - I have a warbird calendar every year. Just love looking at them! Even more fun watching, and hearing them, at airshows. Nothing like the throaty sound of those big radial engines.
 
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At the time, a group was touring the country offering flights. We met them at the Centralia airport. They had 3 T-6's. We went up and got into formation with the others, as their flights were just coming to an end, they headed back to the airport, we broke away from the group doing what the pilot called a "military break" - rolling onto our backs into a dive - just like you see in the old war reels and in the movies - it was so cool! :cool:

About 6 years ago my wife bought me 1/2 hour with the front seat upgrade in one of these birds. I bumped it up to an hour. It was not cheap, but was some of the best money ever spent. We did everything that plane could do short of any kind of stall. Rolls, flips, loops, combinations of all...
What a ride.

Today a friend took a ride in an old Ford Tri-Motor. Wish I would have been able to go with him.
 
About 6 years ago my wife bought me 1/2 hour with the front seat upgrade in one of these birds. I bumped it up to an hour. It was not cheap, but was some of the best money ever spent. We did everything that plane could do short of any kind of stall. Rolls, flips, loops, combinations of all...
What a ride.

Today a friend took a ride in an old Ford Tri-Motor. Wish I would have been able to go with him.

Well we both know exactly how that flight felt :) My father bought my flight as a gift - I had the front seat as well and got the full hour too. Definitely and unforgettable experience.

I would take any ride offered in any old plane - a Ford Tri-Motor would be amazing too. I'd love to have a ride in a B-17, B-24, P-38, really just about anything! I'd take modern planes too - I can't imagine what a modern fighter would be like.
 

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