47 yrs ago - On a raffle, I won a ride in back of a P51H (N313H) . Yes, the only flying H in the world at that time. Impressions: In a 2G turn (60º bank), the nose barely creeps around the horizon. And when inverted in a hesitation roll, your shirt pocket empties to the canopy.
Since then, a very noisy ride in a B-25H "Barbie III" (N5548N). Yes, the only flying H in the world. An airplane with a fairly wide speed range to its credit, but bring your earplugs!
And - on a hot July 2008 day - a mercifully-drafty old airplane ride: B-17G "Liberty Belle" (N390TH) fresh out of rebuild. This ship was once an engine testbed for P&W (N5111N). Badly damaged in 1979 in Windsor Locks CT when a tornado picked up a parked Albatross and dropped it on the B-17. Beautiful workmanship evident in stringer splices in the aft fuselage!
Sadly,
three years later this beautiful bird suffered a broken fuel line, inflight fire, & successful forced landing, but lack of firefighting access in a muddy field led to its total loss.