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Drinking under the big wing

tc1234c

Well Known Member
Yesterday on our way back from a long cross country we stopped by Palatka, Florida for the cheap fuel ($3.15). A B-25 landed a while before us and was being towed to the pump. I expected to wait for a long time behind it. I was surprised to see the crew from the B-24 waved us to move forward. I taxied right under its horizontal stabilizer. After thanking them and with the help of a lineman we pulled my RV a little more forward and fueled it. You just don't take fuel like this everyday.

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Nice!!! But that's not a Lib

B-24 is a high wing with 4 engines. That looks like a Mitchell, or B-25. Still an awesome sight on the ramp.

Did they let you fly fighter escort when they left? I'd have told them my N-number stood for "Little Friend" and that would get me in the slot for sure :D

-Stormy, whose Dad crewed a B-24 until the Luftwaffe brought it down and kept him as a guest of the Third Reich.
 
Panchito used to be in an association with a warbird restoration outfit in Central Florida. You could take a week long hands on class in warbird restoration on whatever they had in the shop, T-6's, Stearmans', whatever. At the end of the week, you got about a 2 hour hop in the jump seat of Panchito. Not a bad deal.
 
B-24 is a high wing with 4 engines. That looks like a Mitchell, or B-25. Still an awesome sight on the ramp.

Did they let you fly fighter escort when they left? I'd have told them my N-number stood for "Little Friend" and that would get me in the slot for sure :D

-Stormy, whose Dad crewed a B-24 until the Luftwaffe brought it down and kept him as a guest of the Third Reich.

Thank you for the correction. I have no idea how long they were staying. By the time I taxied away they have not started fueling yet. It would be cool to fly escort :)
 
There was an article in the Venice paper recently with Dick Cole who was Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot. He is 97 or so, still actively getting out and about. There were 80 crew who took off for the B-25 attack on Tokyo. Only 3 or 4 are still with us.

Certainly a "great generation".
 
Hey...I've got a picture like that taken I'm Dumas TX. We were racing daylight going to Llano or may have waited for them, for fighter duty photos. It was funny, we were taking their pics and the crew was taking ours.
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There was an article in the Venice paper recently with Dick Cole who was Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot. He is 97 or so, still actively getting out and about. There were 80 crew who took off for the B-25 attack on Tokyo. Only 3 or 4 are still with us.

Certainly a "great generation".

Yes, the B-25 was enroute to Sarasota to meet up with Dick Cole
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20150307/COLUMNIST/150309751/2256/NEWS?Title=Lyons-This-one-s-a-bit-less-under-the-radar-
 
Nice

Great opportunity and photos. I'm sure we will see this on the front page tomorrow :D
 
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