It's back (Boeing 307)

[W J Pearce]

I'm all warm and fuzzy.

BP

Boeing 307

[AAFO_WSagar]

Bill,

An amazing story indeed. One of only 10, how lucky to be saved in the first place, then to weather what easily could have been total loss in the "fuel in the ground" incident.

Saw the airplane in 2001 at Oshkosh (seen below as it departed the event) at the time, nobody thought that we'd ever see it fly at Oshkosh again.. Hummn.. almost wish I was there... naa!!!



Wayne

[W J Pearce]

Yeah, I haven't been to OSH since 1994. My dad and Parker are there right now. So it sounds like I will never see a 307 fly. I guess I won't be able to cross that off my list. It goes with the B-36, B-58, XB-70, well I could go on all night. Anyway, I'm glad that the plane is back and the guys at Boeing felt their history was worth preserving.

BP

[AAFO_WSagar]

Bill... did they fly the "PhotoSeneca" out there??

That'd be a hoot!

Wayne

[Curt]

307

i was lucky i was down in seattle a few weeks ago for a Mariners game and they just by chance had just rolled it out at the Musieum Of Flight.

They did a super job fixing her up---AGAIN!

even got a photo or two---no inside shots didnt have time to stand in line for an hour or so!

[AAFO_WSagar]

<rant>It's really sad that this much money is spent on making something flyable, only to take it across the country and never fly it again.

I know, it's the last one, a great risk each time it flies of losing it forever but what joy seeing this thing in the air.</rant>

It's great to see airplanes in museums but it's really sad when I think of it, this one will never fly again once it's in the Udvar Hazy/Smithsonian.

Bill's post above made me think of this. There are so many of us who will never get to see some airplanes in the sky. Where they should be seen.

Just my Opinion and I don't mean to hijack Bill Larkins section, which was intended for his photos.... So I guess I've sort of drifted off topic a bit...

Bill.. you're the moderator for this section, so you slam me if I'm going away from what you'd like to see here OK!?! This is YOUR section!!



Wayne

[W J Pearce]

I posted the thread here because it's historic nature. Feel free to move it where ever.

No Photo Seneca to OSH, 58P.

Wayne, I'm with you on the "planes in the air" thing. I feel that it is very important to preserve aircraft and I never want to see the 307 being pulled from the water again. But I also would really like to see it in the air. Most museums aren’t built to see aircraft very well. Go to Dayton and you will see a whole lot of underside of the XB-70. There is a point at which the a/c is so rare and parts so scarce that a museum should be it's final destination.

For me it is about living history. When you hear a P-51, it's the same sound, exactly, that those kids heard overhead at Normandy. C-47 makes the same sound whether you are jumping out in 1944 or watching it from the ground in 2004. A Zero sounds the same whether it is coming into Pearl or crusin' around Chino with Steve at the controls. On 8/6/45 one of the last sounds 80,000 people heard, is the same sound made by Fifi (and soon Doc).

To me, that is a powerful tool for all who were not there, to imagine what it was like to be there. It has been 60 years since WWII and those guys and gals (on all sides) did something that is truly incredible, and everyone must realize what we in the US owe to that generation. I think seeing a warbird helps make that realization.

Bill Pearce