If you spent a little time outside this past Sunday enjoying a beautiful afternoon in Columbus, you may have witnessed an unusual aircraft cavorting through the puffy white clouds. It was a authentic B17G Bomber that lives in Tulsa Oklahoma, but travels throughout the United States giving a few aircraft fans the opportunity to experience the gut wrenching thrill of flying onboard one of our nation’s historic Flying Fortresses.
The B-17G “Liberty Belle” provides passengers an opportunity to take a step back-in-time and gain respect for the men and women who gave so much to protect our freedoms. The B-17 was stationed at Bolton Field for the weekend giving those willing to fork over $430 for participants. Each flight lasting about 25 minutes gave 10 passengers the opportunity to view the Columbus from a different perspective. Besides the flight, they also received a historical briefing about the significance of the B-17 before taking off from Bolton field.
While Saturday was pretty much a wash-out, Sunday was a perfect day for taking a bombing run over the city. For those not willing to give up the $430, they could watch for free as the big bomber loaded and unloaded other passengers and then take off effortlessly. Compared with today’s aircraft, the B-17 seemed to lumber through the sky reflecting a time when things were a bit slower. Today, of the 12,732 B-17s built by Boeing, there are only about 12 of these aircraft still in flying condition.
Want to know more about the “Liberty Bell”? Visit the aircraft’s web site >>
AWESOME! The flying fortress is one of my favorite planes of ww2. We owe a debt to the men and women who flew, and worked on the ground, in the face of death to defend the world against a tyrant bent on world conquest.
Great pics, I can almost HEAR them!