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Once in a Lifetime Flight Over Bellingham

by Theresa Carpine8/15/2009 7:58:14 AM

Visitors explore outside Sentimental Journey.

Along with several other members of local, Bellingham media, I had the opportunity to take a flight on Sentimental Journey during its 2009 visit to the Heritage Flight Museum. You can read more about the aircraft itself in B-17 Lands in Bellingham August 14th.

The aircraft was scheduled to arrive at noon on Friday, August 14, but the unpredictable Northwest weather prompted the crew to arrive a day early from Tillamook, Oregon. Although visitors were a bit disappointed that they didn’t get to welcome the B-17 upon arrival, the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force crew members who maintain the aircraft reminded us that they had to cancel their visit to Portland earlier due to weather.

Families of all ages take a look at the aircraft.

As we waited for the clouds to break, visitors mingled with Heritage Flight Museum staff and volunteers, as well as AZCAF volunteers, learning a little bit more about this aircraft and its history.

Sentimental Journey itself rolled off the Boeing assembly line in 1944, so it was used as a reconnaissance plane in the Pacific. It was also an air-sea rescue craft, and became a civilian aircraft for corporate use by the Aero Union Corporation in 1959 to fight forest fires.

Before the flight, I spent a few minutes talking with Heritage Flight Museum Executive Director Greg Anders, who shared some information about other upcoming events at the Museum, like Warbird Weekend in September, and plans for the addition of a non-flying aircraft display in the hanger.

AZCAF Volunteer Bob Morrill and HFM Director of Programs & Administration Kate Simmons.

He also shared an interesting bit of information that had never really occurred to me. During World War II, the 10-man crews of bomber aircrafts like the B-17 were often no more than 20 years old. At 25 years old, he told me that I would have been the senior officer on this kind of aircraft.

CAF volunteers Harry Border and Bob Morrill also helped put the experience of flying a B-17 during combat in perspective.

“There was no AC, no heat, no bathroom,” Harry explained. “They were loaded up with heavy clothes and parachutes. And half the world was trying to kill them. It was not a good environment.”

Once the weather cleared and the flight took off, we had a bird’s eye view of Whatcom County, from Sandy Point in Ferndale to Fairhaven to Lummi Island and back.

What made the flight so memorable, for me, was the chance to be a part of the living history of World War II. The fight was noisy, bumpy, and chilly, and everything smelled like diesel fuel. It was also a once in a lifetime opportunity that made me feel closer to my grandparents and helped me to understand what their generation experienced when they were my age (and younger).

View of Whatcom County in Sentimental Journey.

Sentimental Journey is on display at the Heritage Flight Museum all day Saturday, August 15, and Sunday, August 16. Tours are $5 for ages 13 to adults, $3 for children ages 5 to 12, and free for kids under 5. Tax-deductible flights are also available for $425. Fans can get a souvenir for as low as $5 at the traveling CAF aviation gift shop.

For more information about Sentimental Journey and historical aircraft, visit Heritage Flight Museum and Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, and keep checking Neighborhood-Kids.com Activities for future HFM events and other activities for Bellingham kids.

To give you a taste of what I experienced, here’s a short YouTube video: Heritage Flight Museum. You can also see more photos on Flickr: Heritage Flight Museum - Sentimental Journey.

A Note About the Author: Theresa Carpine

Theresa Carpine graduated from WWU in 2006 with a BA in English Literature. She enjoys yoga, listening to music, riding her bike in downtown Bellingham, and babysitting really cute kids.