Warbird Information Exchange

This year had some very interesting aircraft.

Post more from 2003 if you have them. Thanks

Nice pics! Thanks for sharing. I really miss seeing "Naked Fanny" at airshows. Dr. Schloss used to do an excellent routine in that aircraft, including aerobatics. I also really miss the MATS Connie. Another great year at Thunder.

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Matt

Great pics. That was before I started going to shows. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting. I am confused on something though with the Collings B-24. Am I learning something new? Was the Dragon and His Tail only painted on one side of the plane and All American on the other or were these shots from 2 different years? I had always thought it was painted All American then later repainted The Dragon and His Tail. When I saw it flying over Panama City Beach in 1998 while I was on spring break it was painted All American on both sides - or at least didn't have the dragon on it yet.

It was painted differently on both sides. She only carried the "Dragon" art on the right side of the aircraft.

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Matt

Nice. How much do we miss seeing the MATS Connie here in the US?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

But she didn't for very long right? I never saw her at a show when it had the dragon art, but I remember seeing it at Selfridge in 1992 and then in Panama City in 2006 and 2008 and I don't recall it having the dragon.

Is that the one that went to Korea for a static display? Is this also the one that used to belong to Travolta?

Are there any Connies still flying in the U.S.? The TWA "Save a Connie" is still flyable but hasn't due to high insurance rates. The MATs one and the Save A Connie are the only 2 I have seen flying.

I don't remember exactly when they switched over to "Witchcraft" but I want to say it was 2005. I think the first big B-17 gathering at Thunder was the first time I saw her painted as "Witchcraft."




So, so much. The MATS Connie was a star everywhere it went. I remember seeing it fly at Willow Run twice, seeing it at South Bend a couple times, Kalamazoo and maybe Muskegon once. Nothing like seeing and hearing all four of those R-3350s come to life. It's a shame it ended up in Korea.

Really wish the AIrline History Museum would get the TWA Connie back in the air. Last I heard they had done engine runs a few years ago, but I never heard anything about any flights.

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Matt

The B-24 was "All American" from 1989-1998 and "Dragon and His Tail/ All American" 1999-2004. Kalamazookid is right, 2005 was the first year for "Witchcraft."

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"Keep 'em Flying!"

Ok thanks for the answer. I had last seen her in 1998 like I said while on Spring Break it was doing low photo passes along the beach one afternoon in Panama City with a Beechcraft flying along side it. The next day Nine Oh Nine was doing passes with a Beech. The plane had to only be a couple hundred feet off the water. I was on the 10th Floor balcony of the Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort and I swear I was level with it. Does anyone have any old warbird magazines of them doing photo shoots in Panama City??

I never saw her between 1998 and late 2004 so I missed out on the dragon colors, which I would have to say was the coolest paintjob and I never got a picture of it.

I didn't see it again until late 2004 at New Smyrna Beach Florida, where I later found out Collings Foundation gets their winter maintenance done on their B-17, B-25, B-24 and Corsair. I was driving by and I saw a B-24 parked in dark green with no props on it. I thought that it was a restoration project because I didn't know of any B-24s in the dark green color. I thought I had heard only 2 were flying back then and I knew Diamond Lil was that pinkish color and All American was Silver. I didn't go by New Smyrna Beach Airport again for a while after that, even though I was only living 10 miles north in Daytona Beach. Then I saw her at the 2005 Thunder show. I went by New Smyrna Beach again in December 2005 and there she was again with her props off getting maintenance along with the B-17 with tarps over the props. The guys at American Aero (or I thought was Baker Aviation then) were cool and let me in to walk around and take some pictures.

at the time we thought 4 B-17s was a big deal...

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www.spiritof44.com

Yes, the MATS Connie went to Korea where it is a ground pounder and there are no Connies flying in the USA.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!