Sweet! That's the first B-17 I got a ride in as a kid back in the early '80s; was based Gainesville, TX at the time, had yellow tail and wingtips, named "Chuckie". Funny, even with the new "Madras Maiden" nose art, I still think of it as Chuckie...
As far as joyrides go, I hope you brought a bucket of cash! That thing costs roughly $3000 per hour to fly; 200 gph on fuel, plus oil, tires, brakes, etc. Ouch. I currently fly as copilot on the CAF B-17 Texas Raiders; what an awesome beast it is to fly! Noisy, shaky, smoky, but freakin cool. Flies like a ginormous Cub with that fat wing; we even do 3 point landings... just wipe the power and hold it off with both hands. Sometimes you get a squeaker, sometimes she'll bounce. It's heavy on the ailerons and rudder but strangely light on pitch. No power boost on the controls either, you really have to herd that thing around. Considering the history and heroics associated with this airplane... I'm a lucky bastard to be able to fly it.
