Public flights and tours to be offered Aug. 19-20
The World War II-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Madras Maiden” will take to the skies over Syracuse this weekend, and the public is invited for flights in the morning with ground tours in the afternoon.
The public flight and display at Hancock International Airport, Signature Flight Support FBO, is being offered by The Liberty Foundation, a non-profit flying museum whose mission is to preserve aviation history, educate current and future generations and honor the nation’s veterans.
“We show the public what these veterans were flying and what plane helped win the war,” said John Hess, one of two volunteer pilots in Syracuse for the Liberty Foundation event. “We couldn’t have won the war without this airplane.”
And not only the airplane, but the air crews who flew inside. “Every time these guys went out, they knew there was an 80 percent chance they would not be coming back,” said volunteer pilot Jim Lawrence, himself a 39-year military pilot.
The B-17, dubbed the “Flying Fortress” as a result of its defensive firepower, saw action in every theater of operation during WWII. The majority of all WWII B-17’s were operated by the 8th Airforce in Europe and participated in countless missions from bases in England deep into enemy territory.
The B-17 bomber was once the major aerial weapon in the U.S. arsenal, carrying typically 6,000 pounds of bombs per flight. Flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet, the 10-man crew — pilots, navigator, bombardier, engineer, radio operator and gunners — would typically endure eight hours of flight time in the cramped cabin, in temperatures of 60 degrees below zero. The men would wear heated suits of leather and wool, and each carry their own oxygen bottle so they could breathe in the thin air.
There were 12,732 B-17’s produced between 1935 and 1945, of these 4,735 were lost in combat, Lawrence said.
“This is such an honor and a privilege to be able to fly this airplane,” Lawrence said. “It is a real experience for us.”
“Madras Maiden” was built toward the end of the war by Lockheed-Vega in Burbank, California, and never saw any combat. It is painted in the colors of the 381st Bomb Group, which flew 297 operational missions during the war, dropping 22,000 tons of bombs. During this time, the 381st lost 131 B-17s and downed over 223 enemy aircraft.
The “Madras Maiden” spent its entire military career 1944-59 as a research and development aircraft, also being modified to be a “Pathfinder” B-17 equipped with the H2X “Mickey” radar system and is the only Pathfinder aircraft left in existence.
The plane was sold as surplus in 1959 to American Compressed Steel of Ohio for the sum of $5,025, then sold to Albany Building of Florida and used as a cargo transport hauling fresh produce between Florida and the Caribbean. In 1963, she was sold again and converted to a Fire Ant sprayer under contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
From 1979 through 2014, The bomber was purchased by three different aviation museums and continued to be slowly restored back to her original combat configuration. In 2016, The Liberty Foundation began to operate the Madras Maiden.
When this plane is opened to the public this weekend, it can be observed and toured on the ground at no charge, but actual 30-minute flights on the historic craft will also be offered at a cost of $450 per flight.
During a flight experience, participants receive a pre-flight safety briefing containing the historical significance of the aircraft and a scenic air tour around the city. During the flight, passengers may move about the aircraft to the different combat crew positions to see the viewpoint that thousands of airmen saw in combat over 70 years ago.
“Passengers this weekend will get to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a B-17 in flight,” Hess said. “This is pretty representative of what they’d see in the war.”
While the cost to take a flight sounds expensive, it must be put into perspective when compared to the B-17’s operating cost, according to the Liberty Foundation. A Flying Fortress cost is over $5,000 per flight hour. The Liberty Foundation spends over $1.5 million annually to keep the B-17 airworthy and on tour.
The B-17 tour and flight experience are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20, at Hancock International Airport, Signature Flight Support FBO, 248 Tuskegee Road.
For more information about visiting the Madras Maiden in Syracuse this weekend, call 918-340-0243 or visit libertyfoundation.org.
