B-17 bomber makes brief stop at Calgary's Springbank Airport
CBC News | Posted: June 22, 2016 11:27 PM | Last Updated: June 25, 2016
Ground and flight tours from Thursday to Sunday
Originally published June 22.
A piece of World War II history has touched down in Calgary.
One of the last remaining B-17 bombers — dubbed the Aluminum Overcast — has flown into Springbank Airport and will be on display from Thursday to Sunday.
It's part of a North American tour organized by the U.S.-based Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and includes only four stops in Canada.
- VIDEO ARCHIVE | WW II bomber mechanic takes first B-17 flight
The B-17 bomber, known as the Flying Fortress, was first introduced in 1938 and targeted German industrial and military targets towards the end of the war.
After the war, most were cut up for scrap, used for Air Force research, or sold on the surplus market. It's thought that fewer than 15 B-17s are still airworthy.
The plane weighs about 16,000 kilograms empty, has a wingspan of 31 metres and is about 23 metres long.
Ground tours run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday at Springbank Airport. They cost $10 per person or $20 per family, but are free for children under 8 and military personnel.
A 24-minute flight on board the restored bomber costs $450 to $475 US.
Emotional for some veterans
Lorraine Morris is a pilot with the tour.
She says for veterans seeing the plane, it can be emotional.
"It is amazing. The veterans will come out to the airplane, some of them won't come near it because it just evokes too many memories, some of them will just stay at the fence and say, 'This is close enough,'" Morris said.
"Some of them, the closer they get to the airplane, the more spring they have in their step, the younger they feel, the younger they become. By the time they get to the airplane, they are hopping in front of us, [saying] get out of my way, here I go."
Bittersweet memories
Doug Curtis is one of those veterans. He says it stirs up the memories.
"Some of them are not too great," Curtis said.
"All of my crew are gone now, I am the only one still around. My flight engineer was killed along with one of our bomb handlers at the end of the war."