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Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

I've been a fan of the B-17 ever since I saw WWII footage of B-17s coming back home after sustaining massive damage. Some planes returned with with half their tail blown off, some with huge holes in the fuselage, and others with an entire stabilizer missing.

When I read that the Liberty Belle was in town and was going to be offering rides to the public, I jumped at the opportunity. It was $420 for half an hour in the air, and you got to move around in the aircraft during the flight, as you'll see in the pictures here.

One friend asked me if I thought it was safe flying around in such an old airplane. Well if a B-17 can make it home with an entire stabilizer blown off and an engine on fire, I feel pretty comfortable flying over Seattle on a warm spring afternoon!

To see some amazing photos of battle-damaged B-17s making it home, check out Dave's War Birds


Related

B-17 Flying Fortress - inside
B-17 Flying Fortress - scenic views

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Comments

Anonymous on Apr 28, 2011 said:

My mother was a rosie the riviter during ww2, She installed the first radar unit in a B-17 at Douglas aircraft in California. Her name was Bernice Buela Wallace. She had to crawl way out into the wing tip to put it in. I also worked the wingline for Boeing in Everett on the 747 many years afterwards.

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nickmon4321 on Apr 1, 2013 said:

Gotta love those World War 11 planes....Espescially the B-17's and on top of that the "liberty Belle".....Thanks for sharing....You made my day.......Nick

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Conestoga on Mar 13, 2014 said:

Some had Studebaker engines

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jak0889 on Nov 4, 2014 said:

Sirs, I would also like to see if you can obtain some photos of the B-52 which was designed in the forties and is expected to fly until 2041.

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Mario on Feb 26, 2021 said:

I was fortunate to visit Florida in 2016 and see a B17 on display along with WWII ace John Katsaros. His book Code Burgundy is about his crash and surviving during the war. Excellent read. John passed away Jan 2021 at age 97. Mario

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