Memphis Belle: Historic World War II era B-17 to offer rides to public (video)

IF YOU GO• What: A 30-minute ride in a B-17• Cost: $450• When: Sunday, Oct. 26• Where: Collegedale Municipal Airport, 5100 Bess Moore Road, Apison, Tenn.• Call to reserve a spot: 918-340-0243Source: The Liberty Foundation

photo A World War II era B-17 takes off from the Collegedale Municipal Airport on Tuesday. The airplane, which was featured in the movie "Memphis Belle," will be offering flights to the public on Sunday morning for $450 and will be available to tour on the ground in the afternoon.

When 93-year-old Jack Rolfson looks at a B-17 these days, he can't help but shake his head.

The technology seems so rudimentary now.

But back in 1942 when he piloted the plane into enemy territory during World War II, the bomber was state of the art, at the cutting edge of aviation.

"It's a real fabulous airplane," he said on the runway at Collegedale Municipal Airport. The Chattanooga veteran took one more ride in a B-17 Tuesday with a little help from The Liberty Foundation, a nonprofit group that flies a restored B-17 across the country and offers flights to the public.

The foundation is in Chattanooga this week and will take to the skies on Sunday. For $450, anyone can book a 30-minute flight in the plane, which is outfitted to look like the Memphis Belle, a bomber that was one of the first to survive a full tour of duty -- 25 missions -- during the war.

Rolfson did not fly the original Memphis Belle, but he did complete 25 missions in his own B-17.

"It was nothing heroic ... or anything," he said. "It was a matter of God. Or, if you are an atheist, a matter of luck. And I was one of the lucky ones."

Sunday's flights will start about 10 a.m. Once all the paid flights are finished, anyone can take a free tour of the plane while it's parked on the ground. The tours will wrap up at 5 p.m., according to The Liberty Foundation.

The flights in the B-17 are meant to both celebrate veterans and help people understand more about World War II, said Keith Youngblood, a volunteer crew member.

photo Journalists and personnel move about during a media flight on a World War II era B-17 while at the Collegedale Municipal Airport on Tuesday. The airplane, which was featured in the movie "Memphis Belle," will be offering flights to the public on Sunday morning for $450 and will be available to tour on the ground in the afternoon.

A flight in the plane is loud and windy, and passengers are able to move throughout the plane, from the bomb bay to the cockpit to the bombardier's seat in the nose of the plane. Passengers can even grab hold of the plane's .50-caliber machine guns.

"It's a flying museum," Youngblood said. "It's meant to be an assault on all your senses, and it is."

The plane will stop in about 40 cities this year, he added. And while the price tag for a short flight is hefty, Youngblood said it's necessary -- the foundation's B-17 costs about $4,500 per hour of flight.

More than 12,000 B-17s were manufactured between 1935 and 1945, but fewer than 100 of those planes still exist and only 15 are fit to fly.

For Rolfson, the flight reminded him of the days when all that mattered was getting through the next mission.

"It was kind of a game," he said. "Fly one mission and come home, and you won another game."

Contact staff reporter Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.

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