Flying in a B-24

Minot Air Force Base opens its doors to you tomorrow. It's the annual Northern Neighbors Day - a...  More »

Minot Air Force Base opens its doors to you tomorrow. It's the annual Northern Neighbors Day - a chance for you to see the people and equipment that make the base go. You'll also see many vintage aircraft, including one of the two B-24 bombers still flying. Photojournalist Gaylen Ness got to ride along on board the B-24 this week... We turn the propellers before we fly to check for hydraulic locks. The oil has a tendency to gravitate to the bottom cylinder and we want to make sure there's no oil there. Two on board, 2,180 gallons, aircraft weight 44,000, pre-flight complete, crew briefing. They built 18,000 of these and there only two still flying. Tower, ready to depart. Magic City tower, cleared for takeoff. Roger, 1-3 cleared for takeoff. It flies like the other World War Two aircraft, there's no powered controls, it takes a lot of inputs to move the controls, a little heavy if you have to move the airplane. However, it's a fairly stable airplane once you get it up into the air. These engines don't have the power modern jets have so it's limited as to how much we could carry and would decide how much bombs we could carry. It's a joy just to hear these engines and think about the way these aircraft operated and what the crews had to go through back in World War Two. Here's a schedule of events for tomorrow's Northern Neighbors Day at Minot Air Force Base, beginning with the gates opening at 8:30 and a breakfast from 9 to 11. Aerial shows begin at noon and conclude with the performance of the Air Force Thunderbirds at 3pm. Admission and parking for the day are free.  « Less