OT: Has anybody taken a ride on Gunfighter II?

[SolarEagle]

I've got an opportunity for a ride on Gunfighter II next week, though for $1600 I'm wondering if anybody can report on the experience? I'm mostly interested in feeling the Merlins power, though I imagine he doesn't push that old plane too hard, so I'm curious to know what one gets out of such a ride..... Not sure where else to ask. lol

http://sio.midco.net/FTP4/Eagles-Dare.jpg

[kilo delta]

You lucky,lucky bas.....:icon_lol: Where's the "green with envy" smilie?

Bring a camcorder and post the vid here :ernae:

[harleyman]

I would imagine the airframs has been refurbised completely and she's ready to tackle the skys' ..

That said...YEA...Camcorders are a must....


have fun...

[Wittpilot]

You might want to ask Gary ....(GT182) I think he might have ridden in the Collings Foundation's dual control Mustang.... If so, he can give you a full report...

[GT182]

SE, I was up in "Betty Jane", the Collings Foundation's TCP-51C, last year. All I can say is it will be the best $1600 you could ever throw away. Well worth every penny.

Best with my flight tho, I got to fly her. It's one hell of a hotrod. There's only two other things in life that can compare to it.... and I can't say what they are on this family oriented forum. ;)

[SolarEagle]

All I can say is it will be the best $1600 you could ever throw away.

That's what I'm afraid of. :icon_lol: I just might end up talking my self into it though. I'm all about the "peak experience" lol

[stansdds]

I've not flown in a WW II fighter, but I have flown in a B-17G and a B-25J. Great experiences and my advice to everyone is that if there is any way that you can afford it, go!

[calypsos]

I have flown in a lot of historic miltary stuff (much of it, when it was not yet 'historic') and I can only say that you must sieze the chance!

If you pass up the chance, every time you see a Mustang in the future you will think 'what if'! If you fly her, you will always remember and say 'ah, I know what that is like'.

You never know when some new law will come in and ban passengers flying or even historic aircraft themselves from flying.

[Flork]

I have not flown either, but have stood longingly and watched both the Collings plane and Gunfighter II give rides. It seems like when I've seen Gunfighter go up it is a pretty tame ride- around the airport a few times no aerobatics. However, the published price was less, so maybe you'll get more for $1600- I'd ask. The Collings 51 goes to the practice area, where I understand the pilot gives the controls over for "training"...

[Odie]

I've got an opportunity for a ride on Gunfighter II next week, though for $1600 I'm wondering if anybody can report on the experience? I'm mostly interested in feeling the Merlins power, though I imagine he doesn't push that old plane too hard, so I'm curious to know what one gets out of such a ride..... Not sure where else to ask. lol

http://sio.midco.net/FTP4/Eagles-Dare.jpg

SolarEagle,

Playing turn-about here.....what do you want to get out of the ride? Is it an aviation-only interest? Is the chance to partly experience what made the Mustang the legend it is today? Is it to partly step back into time and experience what hundreds of pilots did on a routine basis (under different circumstances, of course!).

Looking at it from a different perspective may enhance it and bring it into an entirely new light. I think for most of us, taken as a whole, it would be something that we would take with us for the rest of our lives....once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing.

Anyhow, it'll give you bragging rights anyway you look at it ! :icon_lol:

[falcon409]

SE,
I spent 26 years in the Air Force and all of that working on Fighters from the F-100 to the F-16 and many in between and I always wondered what it would be like to fly in something that fast and the chance never seemed to present itself. Five years before I had to retire, on Friday afternoon June 17, 2002 at Otis AFB, Major Brian Chamness, callsign "Shamu" showed me what it was like. For an hour we flew faster than I had ever flown before, did things I could have only imagined I would. . .pulled straight vertical to 10,000 from takeoff, flew faster than the speed of sound, pulled 8 times my normal weight and was never more proud of the airplane I worked on, the pilot in front of me or the fact that I had finally done it. I can still get emotional just remembering. . . .don't miss your chance, even at your age. . .it may only present itself once.

[SolarEagle]

Next weekend.... Solar Eagle's flying HIGH on Gunfighter II.

[falcon409]

Next weekend.... Solar Eagle's flying HIGH on Gunfighter II.
You're going to be bombarded with sensations you've never experienced before. . .try to remember as many as you can, but mostly, as you're taxiing out to the rwy, when you feel the gears retract and you're on your way, be very proud of the fact that you're flying with history and doing something that will stay with you forever. You'll be flying in a P-51 Mustang. . .how cool is that? VERY COOL!!!!:applause::ernae::applause:

[HundertzehnGustav]

on that day, rise early and clear your mind.
Open up your eyes and ears, open up your soul...
and take it all in.

You will be in my thoughts...
:)

I wish you soime fluffy clouds that both of you can loop around between...

Bob