By Paul Tannahill

Emitting a belch of white smoke, the number three engine of Sentimental Journey slowly comes to life. With a cost of over $2000 an hour (and climbing) to operate, continued public support and donations are imperative to keeping this important piece of history alive. (Paul Tannahill) Smoke wafts through the fuselage catching in the light that streams through the windows as one by one each of the Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone engines belches to life before settling down to a smooth rumble. Crewmember Robert Morril watches intently as each one turns over, looking for any signs of an issue. There are none. Slowly taxiing to the runway, the breaks emit a low groan as they work. Run up on an aircraft of this type takes a bit of time, but eventually we creep out to the runway centerline. With a steady surge of power and a roar like thunder the aircraft trundles down the runway.

As we lift from the ground I glance towards Robert and though he has done this countless times before, a wide grin stretches from ear to ear. I’m sure I look about the same. Undoubtedly, our reaction to the experience is quite the opposite of the feelings of the thousands of Flying Fortress crews as they took off to fly into the deadly unknown of the skies above Europe so many years ago. They are the brave individuals who truly made this glorious aircraft the icon it is today.