I attended an Air-to-Air photography class that was offered in conjunction with the Vintage Aircraft Weekend air show at Paine Field. The culmination of the class was a ride in a restored B-25D Mitchell medium bomber to photograph a World War II era fighter. The Vintage Aircraft Weekend is organized by the Historic Flight Foundation.
Here's a side view of the B-25 that shows the 2 window openings we were to shoot from. This North American B-25D Mitchell named "Grumpy" was originally built in 1943 and has been fully restored. It is now one of the beautiful vintage planes in the Historic Flight Foundation collection. More information about "Grumpy" can be found here.
Along with the photo mission our ride was the last flight of the Vintage Aircraft Weekend. After a few show passes over Paine Field we headed for Mount Baker.
The snows of Mount Baker in the background.
The Cascade mountain range in the background
Over the forests of Snohomish County
Banking over Puget Sound
There were four of us situated in the aft part of the plane. This compartment would have been the positions for the waist gunners and the top turret gunner. To allow for these types of flights the actual top turret mechanism has been removed. Although the plane is impressive on the ground it is surprising how little room there is. This photo is taken with a 17mm lens from the back of the compartment.
A view out the top turret
The pilot and co-pilot pose with another lucky passenger.
The F8F Bearcat was actually a last-minute substitute. The original subject plane was to be a P-51 Mustang.
A special plane that was at the show was a Boeing Model 40C that was originally built in 1925. It is the only one of it's kind.
Another beautifully restored vintage warbird.
One of the many formation fly-bys.
