A Visit With The Ghost Squadron

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Today I visited the last flyable B-29 Superfortress "Fifi" which stopped this weekend at the airport about 2 miles from my house. The tour of the airplane was certainly a moving experience, this being the first year of retirement I just couldn't get myself to use the CC to ride "coach" though that is something I consider for my bucket list.

The B-29 is somewhat special as it is the plane my uncle was a crewman while serving in the AF in the mid-50's. I can't recall the unit but he was stationed in Japan and flew research missions in which he lowered testing equipment to collect airborne samples of Soviet nuclear tests. One fateful day he volunteered to take another crewman's place on a flight, that flight crashed upon return in dense fog and only my uncle and another crewman survived, both received severe burns that have made their lives a challenge to say the least.

I had dinner with him 2 weeks ago, and at age 77 he is remarkable considering what he has endured these past 57 years. I'll have to write down the unit and exact dates of his service events, I just don't recall things as I once did.

Well here are a few pictures of the Ghost Squadron: That's $1,900 the guy spent to go in the P-51, I was going to go in the C-45 with my grand-daughter but she won't be 12 till 9/1, so that's for next year.

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Thanks for the Pic's Sarge!:thup:
So what did they want $ for a ride in that Bad Boy?

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Originally Posted by AZPhil

Thanks for the Pic's Sarge!:thup:
So what did they want $ for a ride in that Bad Boy?

For the B-29 the cost was $595 for "coach", that's 6 seats in the rear fuselage, $995 for the navigator, flight observer and radio operator, and $1495 for the bombardier. In the rear you can get up and go to the tail gunner position during flight. The C-45 is $59, my grand-daughter would have been upset if I went and she couldn't. You get a $20 discount registering on-line.

Here's the link: Home

You did right. Think of all the neat stuff you already did that she'll never get to...(and you may wish you hadn't).