Steve Marsh said he and his 14-year-old son made the drive from Athens, Tenn., to the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport on Monday to tour a vintage B-17 bomber in remembrance of his grandfather.
“My grandfather was a radio operator and pilot during World War II,” said Marsh, noting it had been some 70 years since a Marsh family member last stepped aboard one of the planes known as the Flying Fortress.
Only nine of the 12,731 B-17s built still fly in the United States, said Vicki Thomas of the Commemorative Air Force, which operates the plane visiting Chattanooga along with more than 160 other historic aircraft.
Nicknamed the Texas Raiders, the four-engine B-17 is in the city through Thursday morning. Tours are available for $10 for adults, as are flights starting at $450 for 30 minutes. Eleven of the 12 flight slots available early Monday afternoon were filled, Thomas said.
Pilot Ben Doggett, a 26-year-old Houston resident, said the B-17s help teach people about World War II. It’s history that he doesn’t think students are getting in the classroom, he said.