STILL FLYING HIGH WW II B-17 BOMBER GOES ON DISPLAY.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer LANCASTER -- Even in its own time, the B-17 bomber wasn't the sleekest, fastest or greatest capacity plane in the Army Air Forces' fleet. But what the four-engine aircraft lacked in those areas, it more than made up for in efficiency and durability. The B-17, dubbed the "Flying Fortress," was instrumental in the bombing campaign against Germany in World War II that accelerated the war's end War's End is a journalistic comic about the Bosnian War written by Joe Sacco. It contains two stories; the first, Christmas with Karadzic, about tracking down and meeting the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, and the second, Soba . The Experimental Aircraft Association honors the plane's legacy at William J. Fox Airfield, where the restored plane is available to be flown and toured by the public today and Wednesday. "The one thing about the B-17 is you could blow half the plane away and it could still bring you home," said Adolf Fix, an 84-year-old former World War II gunner who survived being shot down from the plane over Germany three times. Fix, a longtime Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley resident, joined the media on a B-17 flight Monday. The throaty throat·y adj. throat·i·er, throat·i·est Uttered or sounding as if uttered deep in the throat; guttural, hoarse, or husky. throat aircraft flew over the outskirts of developed Lancaster and then along the ridgeline ridge·line n. See ridge. Noun 1. ridgeline - a long narrow range of hills ridge arete - a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains of Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los . "It's a heavy plane," pilot Rick Fernalld said. "It doesn't have the stability controls that today's aircraft has, but that's part of the fun; stepping back into history and flying a basic airplane." gideon.rubin@dailynews.com (661) 267-7802 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: B-17 pilots Rick Fernalld, left, and Dan Bowlin will be flying the Aluminum Overcast as it makes its annual tour at Fox Field in Lancaster. Flights will take place today and Wednesday at Fox Field with prices ranging from $385 for EAA EAA Experimental Aircraft Association EAA European Aluminium Association (Brussels, Belgium) EAA European Acoustics Association EAA Export Administration Act EAA Everglades Agricultural Area EAA European Association of Archaeologists members to $425 for nonmembers. People also can take a ground tour inside the B-17 for $6. For further information, call (920) 371-2246. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion