Touring B-17 provides historic flights in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - With a belch of white smoke, the four 1,200-horsepower propeller engines of the Boeing B-17 rumbled to life.

Moments before the more than 70-year-old World War II bomber, named Aluminum Overcast, lifted off the ground Thursday at The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, Marvin Ford, 94, hearkened back to his experience as a top turret gunner in a similar aircraft - Tomahawk Warrior - back in the early 1940s.

'It brought us back before, it'll bring us back again,” said Ford, whose last flight in a B-17 was a combat mission over Europe during the height of World War II.

With 35 combat missions under his belt, including more than a few close calls, Ford, of Tipton, is quite familiar with the Boeing B-17

Ford, along with fellow U.S. veterans Jim Tenley and Bob Coppes, both 90 and both originally from Stanwood, enjoyed a complimentary fight in Aluminum Overcast - a touring historic aircraft with the Experimental Aircraft Association.

From Friday through Sunday - from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Eastern Iowa Airport - members of the public can see the B-17 - one of the most storied and praised military aircrafts in U.S. history. Ground tours and opportunities to take a flight in the plane are being offered.

Flying Fortress

After less than one year of research, design and development, the first Boeing B-17 took flight July 28, 1935.

Created as a long-range, high-altitude bomber for European missions, the first version of the B-17 could carry a 4,000-pound bomb load and was adorned in nine machine guns mounted on all sides of the aircraft.

Upon sight of the behemoth aircraft, Seattle Times reporter Richard Smith dubbed the plane the Flying Fortress, and the name stuck.

Later versions of the B-17 included improved armor, a larger payload capacity and increased armament up to 13 .50-caliber machine guns.

In addition to an impressive armament, the B-17 was incredibly advanced, said George Daubner, EAA's B-17 operations manager.

'It was absolutely off the scale from a technology standpoint,” he said. 'I would say in many respects this airplane is as good as any airplane that was manufactured in the '30s and '40s and it flies comparably to anything that was built in the '50s and '60s.”

The Flying Fortress became notorious for its resiliency, with crews praising the aircraft for its ability to withstand heavy combat damage and return home safely.

For the military, 25 combat missions was considered a completed tour of duty for heavy bombers like the B-17.

'On any one of those missions there was a 33 percent chance they weren't coming home ... yet these kids climbed into that damn airplane every day and flew those missions,” Daubner said.

Aluminum Overcast

Between 1935 and 1945, 12,732 B-17s were produced. Of those, 4,735 were lost during combat. Today, Aluminum Overcast is one of only 13 Flying Fortresses still capable of taking to the air.

Aluminum Overcast was delivered to the military on May 18, 1945. While delivered too late to see action in World War II, the aircraft went on to see many flights as it was used to haul cargo, carry an aerial mapping platform and even perform pest control and forest dusting.

In 1978, the aircraft was purchased by a group of investors interested in preserving the plane's history. However, when it became apparent such an effort would prove immensely expensive, the group in 1983 donated the B-17 to EAA's Vintage Aircraft Association.

In the roughly 10 years that followed, the aircraft was meticulously restored to original conditions at EAA's headquarters in Oshkosh, Wis. It has been touring the country since 1994.

'The smells, the sights, the sounds, the vibrations, the engines, everything about it. You're there, flying in a B-17 just like your grandfather or your friends or your family did during the war. The only difference is nobody is shooting at you,” Daubner said.

Mixed Feelings

Back at Eastern Iowa Airport on Thursday afternoon, Aluminum Overcast touched back down with a squeal of its tires and the three veterans aboard said they couldn't be happier about the chance to fly again.

Coppes and Tenley never saw World War II combat - both ended up serving in the B-17's successor, the B-29 Superfortress.

For Ford, the memories provide mixed feelings.

'Some of those flights went well, some went very bad. This one was a good one,” he said, recalling losing engines in combat and sometimes worse - fellow crew members.

Daubner said EAA's Aluminum Overcast is meant to not only share the aircraft's history, but recognize the people who flew in them.

'We want to salute them, we want to salute the Greatest Generation,” he said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com

Take a Tour

Interested in seeing or taking a flight in a 70-year-old World War II B-17 bomber? An aircraft dubbed 'Aluminum Overcast” is at The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids Friday through Sunday and offers flights and ground tours at the following times:

Flights

When: Starting at 10 a.m.

Where: Signature Flight Support, 9430 Shepard Ct. SW

Price: $435 for Experimental Aircraft Association members, $475 for others.

Ground Tours

When: 2-5 p.m.

Price: $10 per person; $20 for families with children up to age 17; free for children younger than 8 with a paying adult and all veterans and active members of the military.