The lighting was far from ideal at Cosford when B-17 Sally B did its display, but the display itself was a good one. After a couple of decades in the US, I have seen a variety of B-17s at air shows. Sally B will still be the first one I saw, though. She has been part of the UK display scene for as long as I have known about it and was one of the five that were used for the filming of Memphis Belle. Good to see her again and glad to know that they have continued to keep her active.
I had been able to photograph the B-17, Ye Olde Pub, when it appeared at the show down at Klamath Falls in Oregon. That was a bit of a hike to get to. In 2024 it put in an appearance at a show a lot nearer to our then home – the Olympic Air Show at Olympia. That made for a far shorter trip to see it – its home in Madras OR is also a fair trek. Olympia is only about 1:45 away if the roads are good.
The put on a good flying display for the show. The light was surprisingly good for Olympia! It is held on a weekend in June that has a remarkable track record of delivering substandard weather. The local photographers constantly wish for it to be moved to a different time of year without any success. The plane was operating from the main ramp area which meant it was very close to you when it taxied in and out.
I wasn’t the first to spot this so I can’t claim to be the inspired person, but there is a taxiway marker board at Olympia that says B17. That made it quite easy to get a shot of the plane taxiing out with the B17 board in frame. A bit cutesy but I don’t think anyone was objecting. It seems like a lot of the airworthy B-17s are having major maintenance undertaken at the moment so having Ye Olde Pub active is great. I won’t even get upset about the use of the words “ye olde”!
A jump back to the visit of Sentimental Journey last year. Because she was here for a while, I was able to shoot from a variety of locations to try and get some different shots of her. The weather played ball while she was in Seattle unlike the conditions at Arlington the following week. It was fun to try some different angles on the same plane since I had got the initial shots I wanted.
Glorious weather had greeted the B-17, Sentimental Journey, when it came to Seattle. The following week, it moved up to Arlington but was not so lucky. The skies were pretty overcast and the air was more humid. It didn’t make for great conditions to shoot a bare metal aircraft. However, many times before, I have written here about how poorer conditions can sometimes be worthwhile. This was one of those times.
I started off shooting from further up the field and, as the B-17 started her takeoff roll, it was clear that the props were pulling a fair bit of vapor from the air. Consequently, I headed further down the field for the next flight. This also provided a close look at the plane as it taxied out. The real benefit came when the power was applied. Vortices were streaming from the tips of the props and swirling back across the wings. It is always a tricky call when trying to shoot in these conditions. A good bit of prop blur is good as is a blurry background to emphasize speed but, this will result in the vortices being less defined. A faster shutter speed helps make them stand out. I tried to get a good balance with the speed I chose.
There are a few operators of large warbirds that take their planes on tours around the country providing people with an opportunity to check out the planes or, if they are willing to splash some cash, take a flight in them. Sentimental Journey is a B-17 that undertakes such flights and it came to the Pacific Northwest during the summer. I was at Boeing Field for a week before moving on to Arlington (of which more another time).
Because it does much of its business at the weekends, it is relatively easy to find time to come and see it fly. It did also do some flying later in the day so I was able to see it a few times. It certainly helped that the weather was really nice. I got some shots of it as it came to Boeing Field and then made some trips around the Puget Sound area. Here are some of the shots from that time. I did spend a little more time trying out shots from different places and those will get another post soon.
Erickson took their B-17, Ye Olde Pub, to the show at Klamath Falls. However, we first got to get a look at her when we stopped at Madras where she was out on the ramp being prepared for the trip south to the show. When she did make the transfer, we were ready for her arrival and then got a few chances to shoot her undertaking the display routine from a variety of locations both outside and inside the airfield.
She is a good looking B-17. I like the painted aircraft more than the bare metal versions (although there is not a huge amount in it). That makes her appeal to me a lot. (I do get a little annoyed by cutesy words with an added “e” but will let that go for now.)
Erickson has a B-17 as part of its collection. However, while Ye Olde Pub was sitting outside during my visit, there was a second B-17 on site. This is Thunderbird and it is undergoing some major airframe work. The fuselage was sitting on stands directly in front of you when you entered the hangar. The wings and empennage were in racks around it.
I don’t know what the schedule is for sorting out this aircraft but people seemed to be busy working on it so I assume it will be back in the air before too long. I did enjoy sneaking around trying to find good views of all of the parts that were stored awaiting their return to their rightful place on the airframe. Madras is quite a hike for me but it might be good to go back when they get the plane back in the air. It sounds like the sort of thing that Matt Booty might get down to photograph. Maybe I can be his assistant!
A text message from a relative let me know that the Collings Foundation’s B-17 had crashed in Connecticut. Such a terrible shame for those who died or were injured and those associated with them. The loss of an historic airframe is also very sad. I have seen the Collings Foundation tour on a number of occasions are different locations including earlier this year. I hope they will continue with the other aircraft because it brings so much joy to so many. Here is a selection of my shots of Nine-O-Nine.
The Collings Foundation made its annual visit to the Seattle area recently including flights from Boeing Field. The weather had been rather uninspiring but I figured I would head along and hope for some gaps in the clouds. The Mustang and the P-40 didn’t fly while I was there. The B-24 and the B-17 did though. Sadly, the B-24 only flew once. The discussion was whether Seattle being a Boeing town meant that everyone wanted to fly on the B-17, despite the rarity of the B-24. The clouds had a habit of parting at just the wrong time and place with good light up the approach and down the runway but not where I wanted it to be. Even so, it was still nice to see these vintage planes again.
The Lyon Air Museum has a B-17 as part of its collection. Named Fuddy Duddy, I was told by a docent that it is airworthy. I don’t know whether that means it is still flown or not and a quick search has not brought up any recent photos of it but maybe it is out and about at times. I walked around it in the hangar and got a few shots of it in amongst the rest of the museum collection. It looked to be in great condition but I have no idea what is beneath the skin.
