I'd earlier posted a set of images of A2A's Albatros D.III. Since, I'd not looked into my A2A aircraft, in a very long while, I decided to do so to find another interesting (A2A) plane to fly, and the WoP2 B-17G Flying Fortress, caught my attention, not having flown it in nearly a year. And, it's always fun to look for what our (esteemed) repainters have come up with since one last flew a plane....and, for this B-17G, I picked up a new (fantasy) livery, "Inter Island Air".

The creator of the repaint, has stated the following, in the README:

"In the early 50's Inter Island Air was having trouble with air pirates forcing their cargo C-47 planes down using surplus fighter planes from Russia. They would fly along side and force the cargo plane to land at a remote island airstrip and then remove the cargo. To counteract this piracy Inter Island Air bought two surplus B-17's and re-outfitted them with armament and hired veteran B-17 crews to fly them. After that they had very little trouble with air pirates. Of course this is all fantasy and Inter Island Air never flew B-17's but it gives a valid reason for having a civil B-17 with guns and belongs in the "could have happened" category."

So, your truly, got assigned to flying the B-17G, on a noble mission, for protecting the little (helpless) airline, from the plundering pirates...🙂...!! However, being a novice pilot, before embarking on such a perilous mission, on the high seas, for a bit of practice, regarding locale, I happened to be snooping around my Orbx (Wales) this past week, a region, I've explored very little...so, for this post, I picked a short (test) flight from Cardiff (EGFF) on the east coast of Wales, tracking the edge of Severn river north for a bit, and then across the Severn estuary, south to Bristol (EGGD) in England...

My origin Cardiff is the capital city of Wales. I've included, below, several sights, in and around the Cardiff airport, at the beginning of the set of images. Then, in the light of dusk, I've taken off Cardiff Airport in the B-17G, on a meandering sightseeing trip (the direct distance between Cardiff and Bristol is hardly 25nm) to finally reach Bristol Airport, after dark.

En-route, please, especially, note a couple of screenshots, I captured, of the famous landmark, the Second Severn Crossing - officially renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge, which is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996. [Side Note: There is also the "first" Severn road bridge, further north, across the same River, carrying the M48 motorway traffic. 17 December 2018, Monday, had marked the end of a centuries-old (actually nearly 800 years, since the Roman times...!) custom of paying a tax to cross the River between south Wales and south-west England i.e. the Toll charges on the M4 and M48 Severn bridges were removed that day...!"]

Hope, you enjoy this collection of images, depicting one of history's most significant aircraft, crossing an equally significant River, steeped in deep myth and a history of its own...!

Thanks for your interest...!

[A2A(B-17G)/Orbx(Wales/England)/REX]

Fantastic!!

Patrick: Thank you...!!

It's quite an oddity for this large and lumbering (military) giant to have a tail-wheel undercarriage..., so is a unique experience in the SIM...(And, admit, I did dip down a bit close over the Severn Bridge...for a better look...(those pictures excluded here, though,...🙂...), as, I must have startled the (Orbx's) M4 motorists, but, seriously, this plane does fly well and lands well...a nice SIM, indeed...!!

Nice flight and great story!

Perhaps you might expand this B-17's trips to include Base Air Depot 2 AKA BAe Warton. During WWII they specialised in Liberators and Mustangs, but I feel sure the odd Flying Fortress might have paid a visit 

https://bad2.co.uk/2016/01/21/bad-2/

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by HighBypass
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