I've seen several B-17s and other WWII aircraft over the years at local airshows. I even paid $20 to crawl through a B-17. It is not easy to do. Rides were being offered for $450. More than I can afford. One time I talked to a member of the crew (I believe this one was owned by the Confederate Air Force). He stated that before they started that thing up, they would pump 55 gallons of oil into it which wouldn't even fill the oil tanks. It would use that much oil on EVERY flight, mostly due to leakage. The engines were designed to leak.

 

Super cool pix man and love the bike.

 

Super cool. I love the paint job on your bike too. Very nice.

 

Took me a couple days to locate the photos I had of this plane. Here is a closeup of the nose art, and one of the access to the ball turret.

 

Great shots! Love the B-17 and the bike. I've always been a fan of the tiger teeth on a bike. Maybe one day they'll grace whatever I'm riding at the time.