Lincs aviation museum

[bigyetiman]

Had a fantastic day there yesterday. I bought the OH a fast taxy run in the Lancaster NX611 "Just Jane" She was on the afternoon run and just to stand close to this aircraft as those Merlin engines rev up for the morning run wow. As her guest I had a guided tour of the inside and got to sit in all the seats, how the bomb aimers crouched on their knees for hours on end in temps up to -30 defies belief and the rear gunner sitting squashed at the back. Interesting museum as well
As BYM other half to sit in a Lancaster was a thrill and to actually be in one as the engines fire up and the smell of aviation fumes was indescribable and as they revved up to do the fast run has to be experienced, as we shot down the runway for one minute you really wanted the pilot to forget to throttle back and to actually take off, and I loathe flying ! My dad was a mechanic on Lancs during the war and loved the planes and I wanted to just get a feel of the plane and I have undying gratitude for those brave young men and my admiration for them has increased no end after hearing about what it was actually like inside. In 21 months 848 men flew out of that airfield never to return.
They laid on a lovely meal, afternoon tea as well. If you have an aviation enthusiast in the family well worth it for a special occasion.

 

[dinosaw]

It does sound like a lovely day out. I knew a nice old fellow who was a tail gunner in Lancasters, luckily for him he only finished his training in May 1945, it was almost a 50/50 chance that you would be killed flying ops for Bomber Command. Probably just as well you didn't take off if you don't like flying, my dad took me on a Douglas Dakota flight when I was 10 and the engines cut out!!, being a kid it didn't scare me at the time as I thought it was all part of the fun but it didn't do anything for his nerves apparently.

 

[bigyetiman]

Yes, exciting when you are a kid, but puts the fear of good into you as an adult.
That old boy was very lucky, the mortality rate for tail gunners was dreadful. Also found out that they had an axe in the door to smash their way out through the glass in case of crash/fire and they couldn't get to the main door but quite often they used it to hack a finger off as when they crashed fingers would get jammed in the controls of the firing mechanism. Then if they did get to the main door they had to remember to lay down and roll under the plane otherwise they jumped and the propellers got them.
If I had a spare couple of grand would love to go up in the 2 seater Spitfire, if your nerves are up to it for another grand they will do victory rolls etc