B-17 VISITS FOX AIRFIELD NEXT WEEK RIDES OFFERED AT NEARLY $400 EACH TOURS AVAILABLE.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Aviation enthusiasts can ride next week in a World War II-era B-17 bomber or get an up-close look at the vintage plane on the ground.

The restored bomber is making a stop at Fox Airfield as part of the Experimental Aircraft Association's "Keep It Flying" tour in the western United States.

"The B-17 played a significant role in World War II," said Scott Weathers, an Edwards Air Force Base flight test engineer and member of a local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter.

"Part of the EAA's purpose is keeping aviation alive and keeping some of the old planes flying. Once a year they take it around the country to let people touch and smell that bit of history," he said.

Plane rides will be offered Tuesday and Wednesday at Fox Airfield. Flights will take place every 45 minutes beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the last flight of the day at 12:30 p.m.

Flights are $359 for EAA members and $399 for non-members who pre-book their flights on the EAA Web site at www.b17.org or call toll-free 1 [phone] before the plane arrives.

Once the plane is at Fox Airfield, the cost for EAA members is $385, and $425 for non-members. To book a flight, call [phone].

Tours of the plane on the ground will run from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and are $10 for a family, $6 for adults, $5 for students. Ground tours are free for children under age 8 and for World War II veterans.

The plane is due to arrive in Lancaster about noon on Monday, but there will be no tours or public flights that day.

The plane will be at Van Nuys Airport April 20-22.

The national B-17 tours have taken place each spring and fall since 1994. About a dozen B-17s are still flying.

The B-17 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 B-17 visiting Fox Airfield 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 until a preservation group purchased it in 1978.

The B-17 was donated to the EAA Aviation Foundation in 1981 with the provision of being maintained in air-worthy condition. After being displayed at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis., for a decade, the airplane made its national tour debut in the spring of 1994.

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