80 AUGUST 2018 ÇPlane&Pilot
“he shrapnel exploded through the thick
aluminum fuselage and whizzed through the air
at full speed, lodging itself into the airman’s boot
with such an impact that it immediately and
forcefully threw him o his feet.”hat’s how the pilot of the B-17, Madras Maiden, described
the horrors that the Flying Fortress’ crewmembers faced
lying missions into Nazi Germany during World War
II as we climbed into the nearly 80-year old Boeing
heavy bomber.
My interest in the 10-man-crewed bomber began long
before when I became acquainted with the most famous
B-17 of them all, Memphis Belle, and later became even
more fascinated by the Flying Fortress when I had a chance
to tour the National Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson
Air Force Base, in 2006.
Maybe it was the sleek lines of the 65,500-pound four-
engined plane, the intimidating pictures of hundreds
dotting the sky in formation, or the stories of crewmen
who grew up much too quickly; whatever it was, I have
been in love with the plane ever since I was a kid, and I
have dreamt of getting to ride in one. hat inally came
true recently.
On its 50-city nationwide tour, he Liberty Foundation’s
B-17G Madras Maiden stopped in Wichita, Kansas, where
I was fortunate enough to ride on it. Every part of the
experience, the prelight brief, the “mission” and the post
-light disbelief, was far better than any movie, book or
museum could portray the aircraft.
here I was in it. he engines roared to life and emit-
ted a cloud and an oily scent into the cabin, through the
open bomb bay, supplementing the already hyper-realistic
mission scenario replication. After a quick taxi and turn
onto the active, the pilots put the engines to work and the
bomber quickly took light (aided by being thousands of
pounds lighter than it would have been during the war,
laden with bombs).
After passing through 2,000 feet AGL, a volunteer
gave us riders the thumbs up to roam about the aircraft
and experience history. After unbuckling my WWII-eraseatbelt, I stood and then made my way past the ball
gunner position (I still cannot fathom how unbearably
uncomfortable an eight-hour sortie must have been in that
far-too-cramped war seat). After climbing into the next
section, I was hit with the 165-mph cruise wind that came
through the open roof of the radio room. his provided
an excellent view on the otherwise-dreary Kansas day,
but it was far from the best seat in the house.
After taking in all that the communications bay had
to ofer, I “walked the plank” (while holding rope railings)
across the closed bomb bay and found myself at the split-
level platform topped by the light deck with the nose
gunner position on the level under it. After spending some
time studying the pilots lying the plane and retracting
my gaze from the mesmerizingly simple and beautiful
cockpit, I took a few steps down the stairs, where I found
myself in what the pilot lovingly referred to as the “vista
compartment,” otherwise known as the nose of the aircraft.
Enclosed by 180 degrees of plexiglass, the nose pro-
vides unrivaled views of the landscape below and is an
easy location for riders to daydream in. Had this been 75
years earlier and had it been Nazi Germany instead of
modern Kansas, a twenty-one-year-old Grant Boyd would
have been far less fond of the view, hoping that I would
not become one of the tens of thousands of crewmembers
of the nearly 5,000 Boeing B-17s that were shot down
during the war.
he phrase “freedom is not free” is one I’ve always appre-
ciated before this light, but it was while I was scanning the
countryside below me that I was reminded that there are
hundreds of thousands of men and women who I’ve never
met who fought for our freedom. I am eternally indebted
to each and every one of them for their sacriices. And I’m
grateful beyond words that he Liberty Foundation takes
such great pains to ensure that these heroes are remem-
bered, by preserving and lying the incredible machines
in which they went to war and from which war so many
never returned. PPMy Trip Back in
Time In A B-17
After nearly 80 years, the Flying
Fortress still has tales to tell.BUCKET LIST
By Grant Boyd