MILES AND THE B-17
By Miles Kenneth Vining
with a preface by Tony Caruso

photo courtesy Ed Nelson

As the Seattle Organizer (volunteer) with the Collings Foundation for several years, people often ask me how we volunteers get involved and what we get out of being part of such a program.  First, they need to understand that The Collings Foundation is a non-profit (501-C3) organization dedicated to "Living History Events".  The foundation with headquarters in Stow, Massachusetts, owns a number of vintage aircraft, the most popular being a B-17 "909" and a B-24 "Dragon and His Tail".  These two W.W.II bombers tour the United States each year and are on the move for about nine months.  To learn more about The Collings Foundation please see www.collingsfoundation.org.

Now back to the question.  What do we as volunteers get from this program?  We have a genuine interest in the history of our country, we love airplanes, and we want to salute our veterans who earned the freedom we enjoy.  We get tired, dirty, educated about world history, lots of new friends and last, but not least, some big smiles.  When the aircraft are in our area we spend three or four fourteen hour days providing security, maintenance (lot's of what we call rag wrenching) cleaning airplanes and we arrange for visitors to tour the aircraft or fly in them.  Our main thrust is to honor and visit with the veterans who flew and maintained these incredible birds many years ago. Once in a while, we get a big surprise that makes us all smile from ear to ear.  Now let me tell you about an interesting young man who visited us in Seattle during June of 2001.

Some time in April/2001 we received an e-mail from a woman telling us her son has a great interest in B-17s and he would like to fly in the "909".  That in itself may not be unique, but she later explained that her son "Miles" is nine years old and she and his dad are working and living in Thailand.  We told her more about our program, she later e-mailed to say they would be in Seattle and asked that we save a spot on the B-17 for her son.  We did save a spot for Miles Vining, when they arrived in Seattle all the way from Chang Mai, Thailand his mother Kit Young announced that she wanted to join Miles on his flight.  Later, they called to tell us the friends they were staying with (the Wilson family) would also like to fly with us.  Warren and Alison Wilson, along with their children Danny and Callie, joined Miles and his mother for a B-17 flight, what an afternoon it was. And now for the rest of the story, Miles has been a B-17 fan for some time, he has produced many drawings and wrote the following report after making his flight.  Thank you Miles, you are an inspiration to all of us. Miles knows how to produce smiles.
Tony Caruso

photo courtesy of Miles' mom Kit

    One of my favorite positions of the Nine-O-Nine is in the Bombers’ and Navigators’ area. Because it’s like a little cabin with loads of windows around it, and I really like the gun near the Navigators’ table, because I thought the gun only faced in front of the B-17. But to my surprise the gun could move almost everywhere, and it’s the only gun that can move on the Nine-O-Nine. All the other guns are kind of locked. The other thing I liked was the design of the B-17. It’s just right. There’s enough room for you to walk around. The other thing I like about the B-17 is the three doors. The bomb bay doors and the two escape doors. Because if you put 140 pounds on it, they will just open. I think that’s pretty cool.

    I’ll bet you are thinking just now, “How in the world did this boy get so interested in a World War II
bomber?” Well, the truth is a secret that I’ve been hiding. Anyway, I’ll just tell you. One summer holiday I woke up and said to my mom “Mom I feel like being interested in the B-17”and so I learned to draw them. After that I made my first book called The Memphis Belle and about the B-17 Then I wrote a map book with maps of missions and I.D.s only 5 I.D.s and one is a General’s I.D.

    Then one time my mom and I went on the internet and found the Collings Foundation and found the
Nine-O-Nine, and then we went to America (we live in Chang Mai Thailand) so we flew in the Nine-O-Nine.

    Really, my thanks go to Tony who we met on the internet. He was really fascinated when he found out I loved the B-17. Then I came and he was so nice he gave me a pair of wings which I adore.