World War II ‘flying fortress’ visits the Manassas airport

MANASSAS — Four 1,200-horsepower radial engines slowly revved up, spewing clouds of gray smoke when the propellers began to rotate, as the massive B-17 bomber prepared for takeoff Thursday at the Manassas Regional Airport.

The whooshing of those nearly 12-foot propellers grew into the unmistakable roar of a World War II airplane. That sound meant the Aluminum Overcast was ready to soar.

One of only about a dozen B-17s still flying, the Aluminum Overcast will be at the Manassas airport through Sunday, Oct. 21, offering the chance to fly or tour one of the iconic “flying fortresses” that symbolized the U.S. and Allied war effort, helping to turn the tide of battle in World War II.

“When we talk about the greatest generation,” said Jeremy Kinney, an aeronautics division curator for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, “this is what they flew.”

Although he’s devoted his career to aeronautics, Kinney had never flown in a B-17 — until Thursday. Going up in the restored aircraft, strapping in with a military-style buckle and peering out the windows equipped with machine guns was a bit like time-traveling back in history.

“People can see it,” he said. “They can hear it. They can get an idea of what it was like at the time for the men who flew on these planes.”

The B-17 heavy bombers represented both an engineering and a military achievement, Kinney said. “It was one of the greatest moments in American history.”

The B-17s were used primarily in Europe, participating in long-range, strategic bombing missions from bases in England. That was the experience of Kraig Butrum’s father, Clarence. A B-17 pilot stationed in England, he regularly flew bombing runs into Germany — until he was shot down on his 23^rd mission.

As he prepared for his first flight on a B-17, Butrum said he could “feel the spirit of my Dad,” whom he’d accompanied to reunions as well as visits to the World War II memorial.

Each of the B-17s carried a 10-person crew. Ernest “Merle” Hancock of Manassas served as a gunner on B-17s, until his plane was shot down over Germany in July 1944. On Thursday, he took to the skies again, this time as a passenger aboard the Aluminum Overcast.

Between 1935 and May 1945, there were 12,732 B-17 airplanes produced. Of those, 4,735 were lost during combat missions. Currently, fewer than 100 of the original B-17 airframes exist, including the Aluminum Overcast.

The Experimental Aircraft Association sponsors tours of the Aluminum Overcast. The vintage airplane will be at the Manassas Regional Airport, 10600 Harry J. Parrish Boulevard in Manassas, from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 19-21.

Weather permitting, the plane will fly each morning and open for ground tours when flight operations cease. The first flight of the day is usually at 10 a.m., and ground tours typically begin by 2 p.m.

Once the aircraft is in the air for the 24-minute flight, passengers can move around to visit various areas of the plane, including the cockpit, the nose, the bomb bay, and the navigation section.

Tickets can be booked online for EAA members for $409 or non-members for $449

Tickets also can be purchased at the airport for EAA members for $435 or non-members for $475. For information, contact the tour coordinator at (920) 371-2244.

For those who want to tour the plane without flying, tickets cost $10 for an individual or $20 for an entire immediate family. Ground tours are free for veterans and active duty military, and for kids under 8 with a paid adult or a vet.

The Manassas EAA Chapter will be serving food and drinks. And the Freedom Museum in the airport terminal will be open with free admission.

The tours not only help educate the public, they fund the actual restoration efforts for the Aluminum Overcast and other historic planes, said Crew Chief Tim Bourgoine.

“The only way it keeps flying is to have people come out and fly during these tours,” he said. “Otherwise, it would be sitting in a museum.”

The purpose, Bourgoine said, is to focus on an era of selflessness in the nation’s history.

“We hope people will experience what Americans did in that time so we could live in the country we do,” he said. “If that hadn’t happened, our lives would be very different.”