Veterans of World War II are approaching their late 70s and 80s in age and we of the younger generations need to remember and understand what the men and women of the Allied Forces did in preserving freedom and restoring hope to the world, for all of us, during World War II!

The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) has worked at restoring a B-17G-VE and has for the last few years been touring the United States and Canada, raising money for maintanence and providing education to the younger generations on the efforts of those lost in World War II, by offering 30-45 minute flights in this truly historic aircraft! The EAA operates the B-17..."Aluminum Overcast"...as a flying memorial to the 45,000 American Bomber Crewmembers that lost their lives defending Democracy during World War II.

During the war years, 12,726 examples of the Boeing B-17 were built, both here in the United States and in Canada, and of those 12,000+ aircraft only about a dozen or less are still flying today! Because the EAA's B-17 was delivered to the United States Army Air Corps at too late a date (May of 1945), the "Aluminum Overcast" never saw any war time action. Then in November of 1945, this particular aircraft was stripped of it's armaments and declared surplus. Destined for the scrape heap, this B-17G-VE was saved and purchased by a private citizen, Pat Brandenburg of Amarillo (Texas) for the unbelievable price of $750! In 1947, Pat sold the B-17 to a gentleman that converted it over for cargo duty in the Carribean, which she did for 2 years, before being sold back to the US Government to be used as high altitude survey aircraft. The "Aluminum Overcast" served this duty for the next 12 years and in that time logged over 1 million miles flying over Saudi Arabia, Libya, Lebanon, Iran, Laos, and Vietnam. In 1961 she was sold back to a civilian who converted her back as (believe it or not) a crop duster and then finally as a aerial fire-fighting bomber!

EAA member Dr. Bill Harrison purchased this B-17 in 1978 and he, with his warbird enthusiasts, formed the "B-17s Around The World" Corporation and began actively restoring this aircraft back to its original war time condition. In 1981, Dr. Harrison and his group donated her to the EAA Aviation Foundation, with the provision that the restoration continue and with the hopes that she could be used in some way to educate America's youth about the history and sacrifices of so many that flew these aircraft in battle to protect America's freedom!

Today the EAA Aviation Foundation is able to maintain and keep this aircraft in pristine condition by the monies gained from the offering the opportunity for all to enjoy a ride in living history. Each ride will last about 30 to 45 minutes and cost $375 ($325 to EAA members) and I'm one to tell you it is way more than worth it.

Early today (Saturday May 19th, 2001) I had the opportunity to ride along with the EAA B-17G "Aluminum Overcast" and it truly is one of those life experiences that I will never forget! It was during the EAA "Open House" at the Carson City, Nevada municipal airport, that I took advantage of flying with the EAA members' B-17 and it couldn't have been a better day, with clear skies and 80º temperatures. Our flight crew (3) were pilots; Larry Mullay (left seat) and Linc Dexter (right seat) with Mike Ryan as our onboard tour guide and speaker (yeller would be a more appropriate term, considering just how loud those 4 Curtis Wright Cyclone 1,200 hp radial engines are).

After checking in (45 minutes prior to your mission time), we (6 people, including myself) were escorted out to the starboard side of the aircraft, as Captain Larry Mullay was keeping the #1 & #2 (port) engines running between flights. We entered the aircraft through the starboard side mid-section escape hatch, located mid-way between the tailgunner and the waistgunner's positons—and with the B-17 being a taildragger, this is probably the easiest entry point. Your first impressions, once aboard, are just how tight the quarters are, in what at one time was considered a large aircraft, but then again this aircraft was an implement of war and was not built for creature comforts. On a B-17, the waistgunner positions are mid-fuselage with large openings (both port and starboard) and a single .50 Caliber machine gun mounted in each (the B-17Gs, like this one, were equipped with 13 .50 Cal machine guns). With EAA's B-17, those openings are now filled with clear plexiglass, but it takes little imagination to realize the discomfort those war-time crews must have suffered, having these large openings at 30,000 feet with a -60º 300 mph wind, blasting you for hours on end! In addition, though your overhead clearance is fine (I'm 6'1" tall and I had no problem standing up), the side to side clearance at the waistgunner's stations is quite close together, so some cordinated teamwork must have been applied during those moments when they were being attacked by enemy fighters.

Even though the waistgunners operated in crapped quarters, the tailgunner and the crew member that was assigned the mid-fuselage "Ball Turret" had it even worse.

Mike Ryan, our flight & onboard tour guide, assigned me to the seat directly behind Captain Mullay, so I got a first hand course in cockpit management for this extraordinary aircraft. Engine starting was very straight forward: set fuel selectors for the engine to be started, switch on the boost pumps, set prop levers to 0º pitch, push the ignition switches to "on", yell "clear" through the open side window and wait for the all-clear signal from the ground crew. Then, while one pilot operates the hand prime pump, the other pilot engages the starter, and our engines each fired immediately, on the first try! Nothing to it!

Going through the check list, prior to take-off, was again short and sweet: fuel selectors set, boost pumps "on", props set to "high rpm", flaps 20º, pitch trim 0 + 5 marks, alieron & rudder trims at 0, tighten your seat belt, make sure your earplugs are in place, point the aircraft straight down the runway, and then push those big red levers on the center console all the way forward and hang-on!

This aircraft does accelerate quite briskly, due to its low weight (we're not carrying a full bomb load on today's mission...hehehehe), and within 2,000 feet of runway we've hit 120 kts so Captain Mullay pulls back on the yoke and pitch trim simultanously and we're airborne! From this point on I noticed that Captain Mullay basically flew with the trim, as the flight controls on these aircraft are all mechanically linked and are unbelievably heavy, so the trim is manditory for a successful flight.

As soon as the wheels left the runway, I undid my seat belt and climbed up into the topside turret to get some photos of ourselves leaving the runway, then I went downstairs and forward to climb into the bombardier's position for the first few minutes of our flight. The "Aluminum Overcast" has had an original "Norden" bombsight installed and I did have the opportunity to feel what it must have been like for those young flight crews so many years ago. In addition, because the bombardier's bombsight is actually out in the nose canopy bubble and you are so far forward of the aircraft's center of gravity, it is a very bumpy and somewhat difficult to hang on. Particularly over Nevada today, because of the heat rising over the high desert, the air was quite turbulent and in fact, one of the older gentleman on board stated that the effect was very similar to the experience of getting hit with flack!

It was during this time that I had a few minutes, completely alone, while sitting in the bombardier's seat to think about those young bomber crews that so bravely flew these great aircraft into battle during the war. With the pungent odor of aviation gasoline and burnt oil, the heavy drone of those 4 radial engines, the cold air that was now blasting my chest from a open vent in the nose canopy, the creaks and groans coming from everything around me, and the constant banging and slamming I was getting from the turbulent air (enough so that I had to steady myself by hanging onto the barrel of the .50 Cal nose gun), I thought to myself..."could I have of had the courage to have done this?" Could I have ridden in one of these aircraft at 30,000 feet and freezing temperatures for hours on end, day after day! This was no computer simulation or game where you could simply reset it, this was for real for thousand of young men from all nations, and it was a fight to the death! The greatest air battles in human history were waged during World War II and the results of those air battles were simple, winners lived and losers died!

I would like to thank the EAA for having made this experience possible and I would also say that the experience has greatly deepened my appreciation and my gratitude to those that gave their lives in the name of freedom.