Bruton Smith puts on a big show over the Memorial Day weekend at the local track known as Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also likes to honor the armed forces that weekend, and brought a few planes to town. The photo at left is the Memphis Belle, though not the original plane (that is currently at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC) but the plane that was in the movie of the same name. Still an impressive B-17 from World War II. Those were remarkable aircraft flown by remarkable men in a very amazing time in our history. The crew of the Memphis Belle was famous for being the first crew to fly the missions needed to get to go home. Before that none had accomplished that feat, being shot down before meeting the number needed. The Skyraider seen here, was a Vietnam era plane. Noted for its rugged construction, it was used for ground attack over the jungles. I believe it could actually carry a larger bomb load than the B-17 could, and the Skyraider was flown both by the Air Force and the Navy. The plane in flight is a C-47, which was developed from the DC-3 airliner. It flew in war from WWII to Vietnam. It was said to be one of (if not the) most important aircraft of WWII flying in supplies, weapons, and men. Seeing these flying examples of these historic aircraft was a real thrill. To hear the old engines, see the smoke and to see what the planes actually look like in the air was a real thrill.
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