World War II Bomber to Visit Northwest Arkansas
- When: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, time TBA
- Where: Arkansas Air Museum in Fayetteville, AR
- Cost: $10 - $400
- Age limit: Not available
- Categories: Community
The B-17 “Aluminum Overcast,” an American heavy bomber aircraft, will be available for tours and rides on Oct. 27 and 28 at the Arkansas Air Museum in Fayetteville.
“There’s only four left in the world, and it’s a real piece of history,” said Warren Jones, executive director of the air museum. “It was the most mass produced bomber in World War II. It actually changed the course of the war in Europe.”
The plane will fly in to Drake Field on Monday, Oct. 26, and will provide media rides that afternoon. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, public rides will be offered starting about 8:30 a.m. Each flight experience lasts approximately 35 minutes with 20 to 22 of those minutes in the air.
Once the aircraft takes flight, riders will be allowed to move about the aircraft freely to visit various compartments like the nose, bomb bay, navigation/radio, cockpit and waist sections. For safety reasons it is not possible to enter the ball turret or the tail turret. Cameras for still photos and video are encouraged. The cost to fly in the historic plane is $400, payable by cash, check or credit card. Charles Bigbee of Fayetteville, a former B-17 pilot that flew 35 missions from Italy to Germany during WWII, plans to take a flight, Jones added.
In the afternoon, the public can tour the plane on the ground for $10 per person. Ground tours are free for veterans. The same schedule will apply to Wednesday, Oct. 28. The bomber will leave on Thursday, Oct. 29 for the remainder of its fall tour. The aircraft is owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and is being brought to Fayetteville by the northwest Arkansas chapter, explained Jones.
The plan carries the colors of the 398th Bomb Group of World War II, which flew hundreds of missions over Nazi-held territory during the war. It commemorates B-17G #42-102515, which was shot down on its 34th combat mission over Le Manior, France, on August 13, 1944. Veterans of the 398th helped finance the bomber's restoration.
The EAA's B-17G-VE serial number 44-85740, nicknamed Aluminum Overcast, was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps on May 18, 1945. Although delivered too late to see action in World War II, the airplane has an interesting history. More information about this aircraft can be found at www.B17.org.
For a mere $750, the airplane was purchased in 1946 as surplus from the military inventory. It has flown more than one million miles, has served as a cargo hauler, an aerial mapping platform, and in pest control and forest dusting applications.
In 1978 it was purchased by a group of investors who wished to return the B-17 to its original state. However, the economic reality of the cost to restore and maintain a vintage bomber prompted the group to donate the B-17 to the EAA in 1983. An extensive restoration and preservation program by the EAA insures the Aluminum Overcast will be a living reminder of World War II aviation for years to come. The restoration took more than 10 years and thousands of hours by dedicated staff and volunteers.
In addition to viewing the B-17, the public can visit the Arkansas Air Museum located in a historic hangar at Drake Field on Scenic U.S. 71. The museum contains world-famous racing planes of the 1920s, and a 1930s early airliner. Other displays range from the golden age of aviation to the jet age, including Vietnam-era Army helicopters and a Navy carrier fighter. Many of the historic aircraft still fly.
The vast, all-wood white hangar that houses the museum was the former headquarters for one of the United States' many aviator training posts during World War II. It is one of the few remaining 1940s-era aircraft hangars. For more information, visit www.arkairmuseum.org or phone 479-521-4947.
