Rode in a B-25 today

Thanks to a friend of mine, I got a 30-minute ride in Panchito, a beautifully maintained B-25J Mitchell. For takeoff and landing I was in the radio operator / top turret gunner's seat, but for the rest of the ride I was bomardier.

Panchito:

Before the flight, I went up the aft ladder to check out the rear compartment:

The two jump seats forward are original crew positions. These two seats in the waist have been added for passengers.

Looking aft toward the tail gunner position:

I didn't try to go all the way back; this is as far as I got:

My takeoff position was forward of the bomb bay:

After takeoff, I was able to unbuckle, lie on my back, and pull myself headfirst through that little tunnel:

At which point, I was rewarded with this view:

Back in position for landing:

Mitchell the cat (a girl) greeted us on our return to the hangar.

Put away nice and snugly:

Absolutely wonderful. Thanks for sharing this!

Totally awesome. 

In reply to BoulderG :

Thank you! I've got more pics I will post later. If I can figure out how to post them, I have some video too.

Okay, wrong Mitchell. But damn, that's the rewards of righteous living. Good for you, man. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Super cool; must have been an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing!

In reply to Duke :

Great post! It must have been an amazing rush.

That's a nice one!  I have a PBJ (Navy version of B25) local to me.

You should probably go watch Catch 22 now.