Weird Costume Archive Volume 1

While attempting to convert some old 35mm slides to digital, I came across this:

It's an AWACS costume!

You know; it's the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft!

I took this picture on Halloween eve 1981 of Jeanne trying her best to look flighty. She's got a foam pillow on her head and the coat is one of those shiny fire protective suits that one might wear in a foundry. Compare the foam pillow to the radar dome in the picture below:

An AWACS in the air.

It was a big deal back in October of '81 when the Reagan Administration announced its plans to sell five of the U.S.-made AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Most people never heard of the AWACS before then, but I remember seeing these strange planes near Seattle years before.

Vererans Day Treck!

On the night of October 18, 1943 a B-17 "Flying Fortress" and a crew of eight went down in a fiery crash into the mountainside of Stormy Peaks near Pingree Park, Colorado.
The men that died that night: Richard M. Creamer of Ohio; Joseph R. Arnold of California; Warren M. Dean of Seattle, Andrew H. Christensen of Wisconsin; William N. Cook of Texas; Robert J. Hopkins of New York, Carl E. Hamre of Iowa; and Philip Doddridge of Colorado.

I joined a group of five others and hiked out to the crash site to review the 65 year old remains. From Fort Collins, it's about an hour and forty-five minute drive to Pingree Park. From the park, you can hike to the site (if you know where to go!)

We started out by the park at an altitude of around 8,880 feet.

There was three inches of new snow; It would be difficult to find the crash site in the snow!

We climbed up another 1,400 feet and with the help of our GPS, we found what we were looking for! Here's one of the 1,200-hp Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone turbocharged radial piston engines.

We found pieces like this scattered all over the mountainside. Although most of the aluminum was carted off by local residents, there were still some recognizable items left after all these years.

Here is part of the wing section. We ate lunch on top of the wing.

Here is one of the B-17's electrically retractable landing gears.

Here is another engine. We searched around and found all four engines in the snow. We didn't see any other hikers out today, probably because of the snow. On the way back, a blizzard started coming in from the south so we got the heck out of there ASAP!

P-51

War planes!

We saw some special aero-planes flying in the sky this weekend. They landed at the Fort Collins-Loveland airport, so I rode my bike out to the airport to see if I could get a good look at them. I found out that it is not easy going to this airport on a bike, but I made it there all the same!

I got to take a look under a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

I am not sure if I could have fit into the turret even if they let me try!

Front view of the B17

The Consolidated B-24J Liberator

The North American B-25J Mitchel

You could get a ride in either the B24 or B25 for about $425. The B17 was a bit higher: $4000.00 !!!

88 02 08 W 42 06 28 N

Just four more days… Getting anxious to get on the road. What will I forget to bring? Will I forget to turn the gas off on the stove? Will the cat be OK by herself? (OK, we have someone coming in to look after her!)


The plane! The Plane!

remote test

I found a small cafe to hook up. I wanted to load in some pictures, but I forgot to bring the USB loader! A bummer, but that's how I learn!
So anyway, I'm now editing this post on the 16th of February, and I have downloaded the following picture that I took on the roadside.

I was driving along the road, and there it was!