ARLINGTON – War birds are nothing new at Arlington’s World War II-era airport, but veterans and aviation fans alike can get a crew’s-eye view of a special plane today.
The Collings Foundation has returned to Arlington Airport with its B-17G bomber, the workhorse of World War II. The foundation tours the country with the B-17G and a B-24 bomber, keeping them afloat financially with public donations via tours and flights.
The B-17 landed at Arlington on Wednesday as part of multiple stops in the Puget Sound area. It will be open for tours or flights 9 a.m. to1 p.m. today. The B-24 blew an engine in Olympia and did not make it to Arlington. It will rejoin the tour later. Both planes have been to Arlington more than once in past years.
Art Unruh was there Thursday to lend visitors his first-hand experience with the B-17, a plane often called the “Flying Fortress.” The 82-year-old Arlington man flew 50 bombing missions over Europe in World War II as a waist-gunner in B-17s. He barely survived some of those missions, which included harrowing flak attacks and close encounters with Nazi fighter planes.
|
The B-17 Flying Fortress
Tours: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today at The Air Station Museum at Arlington Airport, 18008 59th Drive NE. Cost: $4 for adults, $2 for children younger than 12
Flights: $400 per person for 30 minutes. Call 978-562-9182 for reservations.
More information: www.collingsfoundation.org
|
Unruh said he flew on the B-17 Wednesday in the plane’s nose-gunner position. He had flown in the same plane last year, his first trip in a B-17 since the war.
“I told the crew then, ‘Thanks for my 51st mission, 59 years later,’ ” he said. “I told the crew this time, ‘Thanks for my 52nd mission, 60 years later.’ “
The flight brought back good and bad memories.
“Nobody shooting at you is fine,” Unruh said. “But you think of your buddies, people that you lose.”
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
