It flew through some scary times in World War II but now a legendary B-17 Bomber is safely on the runways of the Salina airport.
It’s all part the “Wings of Freedom” tour that takes historic military planes all over the nation offering rides to anyone who wants to travel back in time
“We were just one family…we had to depend on each other”, says World War II veteran and B-17 pilot Ralph Fraser.
Fraser who attended Kansas State University in that the 1940’s first hopped aboard a B17 when he was 20 yrs. old. It was a time when World War II was in full swing. The veteran will be 88 on Friday and he says he still loves to fly for the experience and for the memories it brings up.
“The original bomber never lost a crew member to combat, it never had a mechanical abort and it never missed a target”, says B-17 pilot Mac McCauley.
“It was considered the luckiest and the best airplane in the force”, adds McCauley.
The bomber will be offering rides for a small fee in Salina for the next couple of days. The “Wings of Freedom” tour will then make its next stop in Wichita.
