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B-17 gives passengers flight back in time

WICHITA, Kan. — Flying in a B-17 is not for the faint of heart.

Tumultuous winds whip while engines roar and stomachs flop.

An 8-inch wide, 8-foot long catwalk stretches across the bomb bay into the navigator and pilot seats. A rope is the only thing separating passengers from a bird’s-eye view of Wichita.

Strings of cables, obstacle courses of steel, are constantly moving as gun turrets reveal handkerchief-sized green fields and cotton-ball clouds.

From here, 10-man bombing crews took command of the war over Europe during World War II, earning the plane the nickname “Flying Fortress.”

Now, more than six decades later, only 14 of the 12,732 planes produced are still flying.

The latest one to be restored, the “Liberty Belle,” recently flew over Wichita.

The plane is painted in the colors and nose art of a B-17 that flew at the end of World War II with the 390th bomb group of the 8th Air Force.

Recently, individuals were able to fly in the plane for around $400 per person. These “flight missions” provided people with a living history experience and the chance to view the flight from different combat positions.

Those who didn’t want to pay could go out to James Jabara Airport on North Webb Road for a close-up view of the plane.

Proceeds benefited the Liberty Foundation, a volunteer-run nonprofit group based in Tulsa that restored the plane.

“It’s a military plane,” said Ray Fowler, the foundation’s chief pilot. “It’s not comfortable. But it allows you to see what the veterans saw.”

The plane’s restoration took more than $3 million. It costs $1 million a year to keep on tour. And each flight hour costs nearly $3,400 — $1,000 in fuel alone, Fowler said.

During World War II, Boeing built wing panels and control surfaces for the B-17. As many as 30,000 workers there were building planes and parts for the war effort.

The plane was used in daylight strategic bombing campaigns against German industrial, civilian and military targets, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II.

The best part of flying the plane, Fowler said, is watching the people come see it, especially those veterans of World War II.

“When the veterans come out, it’s like they are 19 all over again,” he said. “They run through the plane just like it was yesterday. When you think they went to war and lost friends in these planes... This plane is dedicated to the freedom we have today.”