Primed to fly again

Published 12:01 am Friday, July 15, 2011

The Flying Heritage Collection will debut its B-25J bomber Saturday at its Fly Days event at Paine Field.

The aviation-themed tourist attraction recently brought the World War II aircraft to its Everett location, 3407 109th St. SW. The B-25 has undergone a 12-year restoration to return the ai

rcraft’s exterior and interior to their original condition.

“Everything has been restored to perfection, just as it was when it was built in 1944,” said Adrian Hunt, director of the Flying Heritage Collection. “It’s accurate right down to its cup holders and working bomb bay mechanisms.”

The B-25J will fly from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday during one of the Flying Heritage Collection’s free aerial exhibitions. It’s the bomber’s first appearance at Fly Day event. A P-51 Mustang fighter also will fly on Saturday. A B-25 also flew during the Arlington Fly-In last week.

The B-25J is a twin-engine medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. Bombers like it were used in a range of roles by allied air forces during World War II. Every aspect of this aircraft has been fully restored to its original World War II condition, from the engines down to the gun and bomb sights and the paint job.

This particular aircraft served for a time in the U.S. Army Air Forces, Air Transport Command, Air Material Command, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. At one point, it was outfitted to serve as a fire-fighting tanker used to quell forest fires in Canada.

However, the B-25J has been painted in the wartime colors of the 490th Squadron “Burma Bridge Busters” to honor Arnold Spielberg, father of film director Steven Spielberg and all other veterans of the China and Burma operations during World War II. Flying Heritage Collection’s owner Paul Allen is friends with the younger Spielberg, Hunt said. “We hope to have Arnold up here at some point to see the plane,” he said.

Freelance writer John Wolcott contributed to this story.