Bomber Camp 2013 was a success

[JohnCFord]

Looks like money well spent!

~J~

[Taigh Ramey]

Looks like money well spent!

~J~

Our Bomber Camp students seem to agree with you. 5 that signed up were returning campers. One guy has been to every one but he couldn't attend this year so he paid to send a friend; Brink the P2V veteran who placed his bomb the closest to the target.

The photos only show a small part of the whole experience. It really is something special. I know it sounds like I am patting ourselves on the back but just ask anyone who has attended and let them tell you what it was like.

Here are a few recent comments:

Taigh

Words can not adequately express our gratitude & appreciation for all you have done to make Bomber Camp a reality!! After learning of the Camp from a veteran friend Ann & I thought, what a perfect way to give our son & grandson a "feel" of what the Greatest Generation did, and we certainly weren't disappointed. The detail to which you and the Arizona Ground Crew went to make it a true WWII experience exceeded our expectations. Those two days will live in our hearts and minds forever and we thank you for that.


Hi Taigh ....
Just a quick note to express my gratitude for the great job you did in hosting the most recent bomber camp. I could tell that it was a huge undertaking, and I appreciate the effort immensely.
As I reflect on the two days we experienced, this was one of the best adventures I have ever had.
Thanks again ....

[DH82EH]

Thanks for sharing this amazing experience with us.
I have to wonder how long this chance in a lifetime experience can happen. Thanks to dedicated enthusiasts and volunteers, hopefully a long time.
Some really great images. Bombs, bombers and bombshells! All magnificent.
I chuckled at the serial number thing. I wonder if "ED owning" still checks in here from time to time?

Andy Scott

[RobC]

A long-time wixer appreciates the Skyraider carb serial number joke. Thanks, Taigh.

[JimH]

Mac had fun...the look on his face was priceless when the 50 lit off. We were slow, 27" at about 130mph at 2,200... a lot slower than an actual bomb run.





it always amazes me how 4 photographers can get comepletely different images from the same angle...great stuff, and again, GREAT job Taigh!!

jim

[Taigh Ramey]

Great shot of Mac, Jim.

The low speed was an issue for bombing for a few reasons.

The bombing tables for the Norden do not go down that slow so I did some interpolation to get the settings needed for the sight. The sight is better suited for higher altitude, higher speed work so things happen real quick and with our short run in, there isn't much time to synchronize.

The slow speed and resultant high angle of attack meant that I had to adjust the bombsight far forward on the B-7 mount as can be seen in the photos. The sight needs to be levelled and stay level for accuracy and the aircraft needs to be as steady as possible with a constant speed and altitude. We were essentially doing fixed angle bombing instead of synchronous which is pretty much standard for low level work like what we were doing. I would love to take the Norden up to altitude and really put it to work but we will have to wait for another documentary or similar project and then we will head back to one of the Navy or Air Forces actual bombing ranges for that. Those kinds of projects are a lot of fun!

Thanks Mac for letting us use YOUR B-17. Some of you may not know this but 909 doesn't really belong to the Collings Foundation. Mac just lets them think it's theirs!

[cco23i]

As usual it was a BLAST!! Can't wait til next year!!

Scott

[cco23i]

Great seeing the pics and video Taigh, thanks for posting this very interesting thread, very cool to see this from where I sit. Must have been a lot of work, well done to everyone!

I have to wonder how long its been since a B-17 used its Norden to drop bombs, albeit inert ones. The bomb hit looks like a very good one.
Next: Fixing the oxygen system and turbochargers so you can drop the bombs from 24,000 feet!

The pics look like 909 is flying nose high, compared with the horizon. Is this me or was it trimmed nose up for weight balance or another reason?

Hell I can get the oxygen system up and running I DID do that in the AF.

[cco23i]

As long as the rubber diaphrams on the oxygen regulators were replaced getting an oxygen system wouldn't be all that bad to do, parts would be the issue more than likely.

[Roger Cain]

it always amazes me how 4 photographers can get comepletely different images from the same angle...great stuff, and again, GREAT job Taigh!!

jim

Yes we do, don't we Jim, here's my overhead and a few others. All shot with a lot of lens.











The end


And of course, without Taigh's Beech, Mac's steady flying of the Collings B-17, and Jerry Anderson as our excellent photo pilot, we couldn't get the pictures that we do.
Thanks everyone.

[cco23i]

This is why I love living history!!!

As usual we had a blast, I laughed when I heard something about "filming" us when we get the students for the first day, all I know is there would be a LOT of BLEEPING out words on that first day. (Just like the real deal) We as instructors and flightliners want the experience as close as possible to a 1944 training camp.

Scott