What'd ya sell to find the 600 bucks? Actually, wasn't it more for the cockpit ride?
Either way, you've experienced a piece of history that most will never know!
I put off roof repair, injector on truck that is down, not going to get a winter jacket, no buying lunch at work, that 2,000 rounds of 5.56 and 3,000 rd of 9MM I was saving for, driving 45-50 when I can, etc. My oldest son sat in the radio man's seat and I was in the navigator seat....I was supposed to sit in back in a gun seat but...someone backed out and that put me in the navigator seat....that and my 83 year old mom was so thrilled about us flying that she sent $400 she had saved for vacation she can't take because of her back. $400 was exactly what was needed to advance to the cockpit.
One thing that struck me is that you have to fly that plane...it's work, it is a job. The flight engineer is the busiest guy in the plane and never has a break. You can make out Dutch Van Kirk's signature in the pic below:


