I just got back from a roadtrip from Orange County up to my home base here in Oregon and we managed to see four different B-17s in three days!
The first B-17 was spotted outside of my 737's window at Orange County Airport (John Wayne). Across the runway sat 44-83563, aka Fuddy Duddy, glowing in the beautiful SoCal sunset. I have seen this aircraft many times, so other than giving her a quick scan through the aircraft window, we moved on to our next target.
44-85738, Preston's Pride in Tulare, CA.
I have read about this aircraft many times over the years and have never been able to visit it. This time we were able to work it out, and modified our trip to see as many B-17s as possible.
The best word to describe Preston's Pride is "tired"...
The heavy steel fence is new, and I have not seen it in photos before. While it will protect the B-17 from trucks failing to make the exit off of HWY 99, it does make it difficult to photograph the B-17.
A perfect example:
Poking my lense through the fence gave me these views:
You can really see the damage to the engine cowling in this photo:
The fabric areas of the vertical stabilizer have been covered in aluminum:
Apparently this was a good shelf for this:
Overall, Preston's Pride looks kinda sad sitting on the side of the road. However, while the fence makes overall photography difficult, I will say that at least it should protect the aircraft a little more. I will also say that Tulare's dry and dusty climate has been keeping this plane alive, I saw more sun damage than anything else....
Over the next few nights, I will upload my photos of the B-17 at Castle AFB, as well as Lacy Lady in Portland...
Michael
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