Restored B-17 Bomber

To Visit Area This Month

OXFORD — Aluminum Overcast, a restored B-17 bomber owned by Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), has begun a summer tour with 23 stops in 12 states, including an upcoming visit to Waterbury-Oxford Airport. A national tour, which recently included a seven-day return to EAA’s headquarters in Oshkosh, Wis., for the annual AirVenture fly-in, will continue until September 12.

Members of the EAA Warbirds of America who are experienced in World War II airplane operations will fly the airplane, which is painted in the colors of the 398th Bomb Group.

Aluminum Overcast will be at Oxford Airport for public visits, ground tours and even flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 19 and 20.

Cameras and camcorders are welcome.

The public may take ground tours of the plane each day from 2 to 5 pm. Ground tours are $5 per person, $15 per family (adults/children up to age 17 – immediate family members), $3 per person for high school groups (ten or more), and $1 per person for grade school groups (ten or more). Admission is free for children age 8 and under when accompanied by paying adult, and free to all active military or veterans.

At each stop, flight “missions” are available in the airplane, which allow people to take flights and ground tours in this spectacular aircraft. Public tours for the Oxford stop will be are available August 19 and 20. Flights take place every 45 minutes, and will run from 9:30 am until 12:30 pm.

A minimum of six people is required per flight. If fewer than six people are booked for a flight, EAA will try to reschedule the flight that day or another day during the tour.

Flights are $359 for EAA members and $399 (which includes a one-year EAA membership) for nonmembers who prebook their flights online at B17.org or call toll-free 800-359-6217.

Once the B-17 arrives at each location, advance ticket sale prices are no longer available for that stop. The cost for EAA members is $385, and $425 (including a one year EAA membership) for nonmembers. The phone number for on-site bookings is 920-371-2246. The airplane’s crew is available at each tour stop to answer questions.

The national B-17 tours have taken place each spring and fall since 1994. Since EAA began the tours of the aircraft known as “The Flying Fortress,” tens of thousands of people have experienced this unique airplane through its visits and aircraft ground tours.

Thousands of aviation enthusiasts have actually flown in the renowned bomber, which is considered one of the greatest military airplanes ever built and one of the best-known aircraft types of the World War II era.

“The national tour EAA undertakes each year has become the nation’s most popular way to learn about this unique aircraft in an up-close way,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA president. “EAA is dedicated to preserving the spirit of aviation through these B-17 tours. This year, we also take great pride in saluting all our nation’s veterans as the airplane makes its way throughout our country.

EAA’s Aluminum Overcast was built in 1945, but was delivered to the Army Air Corps too late to see active service in World War II. It was purchased as war surplus for $750 by a private individual, and served in mapping and spraying operations in many countries until a preservation group purchased it in 1978.

The B-17 was donated to the EAA Aviation Foundation in 1981 with the provision of the aircraft being maintained in airworthy condition.