Many Happy Returns
By ANN Warbird Correspondent Tom Griffith
We continued our flight
down to the east end of Galveston Island, and I remembered how many
times I was "down there" on the island, looking up when any of the
Museum's planes flew over. I know that there had to be folks down
there as we flew over who were telling themselves, "Boy, I'd like
to be in that beauty!"
See Part Three
We overflew the entrance to the ship channel at the far-east end
of the island, turned north and then west to fly back over the
Galveston harbor and back towards the airport.
I hoped and prayed that we would NOT be landing so soon. Prayer
works! We overflew the airport and crossed back over to the surf
side of Galveston Island and flew to the west end of the island. It
was during this leg of the trip that I was up front and had a
better view than when I was in the back. We turned to the
north, then back to the east to head back to Scholes. I looked down
as we banked in our turn over San Luis Pass. As a kid, I had been
down there countless times with my family - it was one of Dad's
favorite fishing spots for most of his life.
We made our way back to Scholes once a mostly easterly heading
was established, and I was once again back in the waist area of the
Fort. Dudley had his headset plugged into the intercom back in the
waist area and he got the message for us to get back into our seats
to get ready to land. The pilots did their radio calls and
checklists to get us ready to land on the same runway from which
we'd departed about 35 or 40 minutes earlier - Runway 13.
Since we made a left pattern and I had a seat just over the left
wing, I could see the VERY black runway on green grass and just
about the time we were turning base to final I heard the pilots
discussing something. They were concerned about a private plane
that had landed in front of us, and that it was still on the runway
and had not turned off. Our pilots did not want to take a chance in
case the little Piper Cherokee didn't clear the runway, so they
executed a go-around.
In doing so, I got to fly a few minutes longer and got to hear
the pilots give a little, shall we say, "message" to the offending
pilot, questioning the composition of his brains or the marital
status of his parents (or something like that!) and announce that
they would be going around. One more pattern around the field and
we made a perfect landing and rolled down most of the length of the
runway before turning off - it saves brakes, I'd bet.
My good friend and ex-USAAF wrench-turner, Tom Drennan, has told
me that a B-17 is a bird that does not want to land - it floats and
floats down the runway, before finally giving up to the laws of
aerodynamics and physics and all that. I found this to be 100% on
the money! The pilots completed another checklist and had a
discussion about the inverter as we taxied off of the active
runway.
Shutting down required yet another checklist and soon, the big
Fortress was still and quiet. The sound of four Cyclones and four
props was gone and the steady vibration that had been felt
throughout the aircraft had stopped, but "T-Bird" still smelled
wonderful! "Thunder Bird" never fails to please me!
I was the first one out of the back of the airplane, and Louise
was waiting for her man. I was all smiles and thumbs up. Yet
another successful bombing mission! Now all that I need to do,
aviation-related, is to get a ride in a WWII fighter and you can
call the undertaker!
I had the pilots pose with me for a couple of photos, sign my
logbook and it was then that I got the "bad" news. Both said that
had they known that I was a pilot, Tim would've surrendered the
right seat to me for a few minutes so that I could pretend to be a
B-17 pilot! ARRRRRRRGH!!! It was the same sound that Cosmo Kramer
made on the episode of "Seinfeld" when he passed a kidney stone.
…maybe next time!
Only a couple of minutes after posing for photos, both pilots
were checking out the Number Two engine (the one outside "my"
window on the flight). The nacelle and underside of the wing were
absolutely COVERED with oil.
It seems that something had "let go" and Tom Owens and helpers
would have to chase it down and get it fixed so that they could fly
again. I noticed smoke exiting Number Two behind the cowling flaps
through take-off and most of the flight (and Louise noticed it as
we took off), so maybe this was the reason.
Radials do tend to blow a little blue smoke upon starting, but
this usually clears away after a few seconds after the engines
start. Regardless, both pilots said that each engine has 35 gallons
of oil in its tank and at least we never were in danger of losing
the engine. What with the short nature of the flight (and
apparently not losing oil pressure as we flew) we apparently had
plenty of oil still in the tank.
The pilots and crew take everything in stride - it takes
patience when you're dealing with an aircraft and engines that were
designed in the 1930s and built in the 1940s - Tim Hahn added a
little comic relief, noting that the tire underneath the leaky
Cyclone was all "nice and shiny" - it was!
They must have gotten it fixed in short order, because "T-Bird"
flew in the airshow the next day. As we stood on the ramp at
Scholes during the airshow, and I watched the Fort taxiing, taking
off, flying by, and landing, it was hard to believe that only the
day before, *I*, the once-little boy who'd wanted to fly in a B-17
forEVER, had been treated to a ride on this very aircraft! This
ride is one thing that I'll never forget.
Once again, I want to thank Ralph Royce and the whole crew at
Lone Star Flight Museum for their service and their great
collection of aircraft. When their warbirds tour the country during
the upcoming airshow season, please go see them - not only the
aircraft, but also the fine people who fly and maintain them.
The support staff persons at LSFM usually attend airshows with
the planes and crew - look them up and buy a cap, tee-shirt, photo,
pin…whatever. You'll wind up doing several things: seeing
beautiful, historic aircraft, meeting fine people, acquiring a
memento of the experience and you'll help support the mission of
the Lone Star Flight Museum and Texas Aviation Hall of Fame at
Galveston, TX.