Doolittle Raiders Reunion 2012

[Code Red]

I find it ironic that the Ohio representative in whose district Dayton lies appears to be trying to prevent flying warbird displays.

http://www.eaa.org/news/2012/2012-04-18_title10.asp

Well he won't be getting my vote

[Jerry O'Neill]

Is it just me, or did I see an almost complete lack of spectators on the field when the B-25's were departing Dayton? I saw a handful of people, but it looked like most were along the roads OUTSIDE the museum grounds.
It doesn't even appear that spectators were allowed even within 500 feet of the take-off runs.
I wasn't there, so can anybody tell me if my observation is accurate?
Jerry

[WIXerGreg]

I got there early and parked in the back lot and then came back out to watch the takeoffs at about 11:30. They had cones set up on the taxiway so you couldn't drive down any further, and then there was an official on a golf cart there to make sure nobody walked down any further either. The red line in my picture is where they were originally stopping everyone. I attempted to walk down further (I wanted to be down as close as I could to the runway, in the area of the buildings down there by the fence) but got yelled at to get back. As time went on though that area had plenty of people in it so I assume whoever was standing guard left. I stayed right by the line near the corner of the fence. There were quite a few people down by me and a bunch in the parking lot, but I really don't know what to compare it to since I wasn't there last time and don't know how many people were outside the museum grounds either.





This was as far as I could zoom in with a 300 lens.




This shows the step back in the fence which was supposed to be the cutoff, I was actually a little farther down than originally allowed.




And here's a little bit of an idea of how many people were in that area.

[Misterg97]

Greg,

Thanks for stopping by the Museum on Friday. Great meeting you .. were you able to get any autograhs?

Regarding the crowd, keep in mind that in 2010, the flyover was on Sunday and a non working day ... this year it was Wednesday.

The parking area were not only filled but most all the grassy areas from what I could see as we ended up leaving the grounds by the back entrance and then drove by the musuem front.

As to getting close up, it was the same as in 2010 from what my memory recalls.

[Jerry O'Neill]

It seems to be about 2000 feet to the crowd. That's a shame when every event in the U.S. allows the crowd closer to the take-off area and still behind the FAA safe lines.
Jerry

[mustangdriver]

A shame would be not having been there.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Actually, it was a shame I wasn't there, but work takes priority!
I was just amazed that the public was kept so far away from such a unique event. I know they were allowed to walk out when the static display happened, but to be a little closer to the action, when all that effort had been expended to put this on, seemed like a no brainer to me. Somebody made that decision and though I'm thankful the event came off well, it would've been a nice thing to do. 500 feet is the FAA standard crowd set-back for aircraft take-offs like the B-25.
Not complaining so much as wondering.
Jerry

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks so much to everyone who has posted these superb selections of photos. They are the perfect compliment to the excellent Warbird Radio coverage I have been listening to (catching up on). Thanks Matt and the Warbird Radio crew for that, it was almost as good as being on site.

What an amazing event, well done to everyone involved in the organisation and execution of such a major mission as this reunion. And total respect to the veterans!

It is nice to see the array of B-25 models and colour schemes, including early and late US schemes, RAF and even Russian. Wonderful stuff.

[mustangdriver]

Hey Jerry, that wasn't meant to sound short. There just seemed to be this special feeling around Wright Pat and Urbana. Not sure about the crows line deal. Maybe because it was on at Wright Pat?

[WIXerGreg]

Greg,

Thanks for stopping by the Museum on Friday. Great meeting you .. were you able to get any autograhs?

Regarding the crowd, keep in mind that in 2010, the flyover was on Sunday and a non working day ... this year it was Wednesday.

The parking area were not only filled but most all the grassy areas from what I could see as we ended up leaving the grounds by the back entrance and then drove by the musuem front.

As to getting close up, it was the same as in 2010 from what my memory recalls.

It was great meeting you too, Jerry. I did get autographs but didn't stand in the line. I stood in line for a little bit weighing my options and decided not to spend 4-5 hours of the last day of my trip standing in a line. I wasn't going to get anything too special or sentimental autographed, just some pictures of the crews on the carrier deck. I ended up buying a print from the Doolittle Raiders association that was already signed. A couple people didn't show up for their spots on the Behind the Scenes tour that afternoon so I got to do that during the time I would have been standing in the line.

[mustangdriver]

Here is just a little thing I put together to thank everyone who worked so hard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGKtt2VB ... e=youtu.be

[Dave Homewood]

That's a wonderful little tribute Chris.

[Misterg97]

Greg,

Thanks for stopping by the Museum on Friday. Great meeting you .. were you able to get any autograhs?

Regarding the crowd, keep in mind that in 2010, the flyover was on Sunday and a non working day ... this year it was Wednesday.

The parking area were not only filled but most all the grassy areas from what I could see as we ended up leaving the grounds by the back entrance and then drove by the musuem front.

As to getting close up, it was the same as in 2010 from what my memory recalls.

It was great meeting you too, Jerry. I did get autographs but didn't stand in the line. I stood in line for a little bit weighing my options and decided not to spend 4-5 hours of the last day of my trip standing in a line. I wasn't going to get anything too special or sentimental autographed, just some pictures of the crews on the carrier deck. I ended up buying a print from the Doolittle Raiders association that was already signed. A couple people didn't show up for their spots on the Behind the Scenes tour that afternoon so I got to do that during the time I would have been standing in the line.

Greg,

Thanks for the reply ... I think you did the smart thing ... you might have got shutout with no autograph if waiting in line ... I hope you enjoyed the restoration tour as opposed to hours in line.

[turret nate]

Here is a video of the second fly over, from the nose of Miss Mitchell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu-KB88hD-o

[spookythecat]

Here is a great video put together by members of Historic Flight Foundation featuring Grumpy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0oliMAy ... ature=plcp