Page2
I created this second page to prevent loading problems with a large single page.
This is a Huey Helicopter. Not sure if it's a Cobra on an Apache. Used in Vietname (I think)
This is the cockpit of a trainer they had set up. Lots of dials and knobs.
And here's a nob trying to fly it
One of the neatest planes they have is this totally restored B-17 Bomber. These, of course, we're used in the 2nd World War and bombed the sh#t out of Germany to help end the war.
There would be 10 people in ths plane when it flew a mission. There were sometimes 1,000 of these planes sent at once. You had to fly 25 missions and your chances of getting killed by the 25th mission were very high.
The B-17 cockpit.
One of the 50 caliber cannons
The ball turret gunner fired his gun from this little compartment under the plane. The door is open but apparently that was a later change that allowed the gunner to parachute out if the plane was going down. Prior to the change he had to crawl back up into the body of the plane and take his chances up there. If the landing gear was damaged during the mission it was not good news for the ball turret gunner.
Below is a shot of the diagram shown on the door in above photo. It was very cramped in the ball turret. Plus it was minus 30 to minus 60 degrees below zero. Plus the planes flew at 25,000 feet.
What this meant was that all the flyers had to wear heated suits and have oxygen masks during their missions.
Musta been fun eh?
Another shot of the ball turret.
I mentioned before about the fantastic boat models. They're mad by a gguy called Ed who prefers to be called Skeeter.
Here's some videos that show these boats.
And here are some shots that show the detail that the builder went to
