Published: October 25, 2009 10:40 pm         

Restored B-17 bomber comes to Enid airport

Aircraft fans are in for a treat Nov. 3 and 4 when a restored B-17 bomber makes an appearance at Enid Woodring Regional Airport.

The B-17, owned by Experimen-tal Aircraft Association, is a restored B-17 bomber that tours throughout the southwest and midwestern United States. Enid is one of nearly 60 planned stops on the 2009 “Original Salute to Veterans” tour.

Enid Woodring Re-gional Airport Super-visor Dan Ohnesorge said the plane goes anywhere it is invited to go, and Enid Experimental Aircraft Association is orchestrating the visit. The plane will arrive on Nov. 2 and leave Nov. 5. Rides and tours are available for a fee. Flights are $399 per person for non-EAA members, and walkup prices at $425 for non-EAA members. It is one of more than 12,000 aircraft made and was delivered in 1945.

The plane is a model of the so-called “Flying Fortress” and is powered by four 1,200 horsepower Wright Cyclone engines. The engines are nine cylinder, radial and air-cooled. The propellers have three blades that are 11 feet 7 inches in diameter.

Empty the plane weighs 34,000 pounds and wartime gross weight is 65,500 pounds. Fuel capacity is 1,700 pounds. It was designed by Boeing of Seattle, and built by Vega Aircraft Co. (now Lockheed).

A crew of 10 is required: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, flight engineer (top turret gunner), radio operator, two waist gunners, tail gunner and a bail turret gunner. It has a range of 1,850 miles. The wing span is 103 feet, nine inches and service ceiling is 35,600 feet. Maximum speed is 300 mph at 30,000 feet, and maximum continuous is 263 mph at 25,000 ft. Cruising speed is 170 mph, landing a 74 mph and rate of climb is 37 minutes to 20,000 feet.

Ray Gill, president of Enid Experimental Aircraft Association, said the plane is stopping in Enid “as kind of a fuel stop.”

“The plane travels around the country to promote aviation or aviation history and the legacy of veterans. It comes here from Tulsa and goes to Dallas,” Gill said.

The aircraft has not been in Enid for a long time, and Gill said with Vance Air Force Base and Enid’s legacy of people with aviation backgrounds it, many people would be interested.

“It is owned by Experimental Aviation Association national and there are a whole fleet of pilots who fly it around,” Gill said.

Enid EAA dates back to the 1960s. The organization today helps home aircraft builders build experimental planes and get them information to connect with Federal Aviation Administration.

“We provide a venue of education and FAA instruction to safely build their own airplanes,” Gill said. Experimental is a term meaning not built in a factory.

The Enid chapter has about 20 members, he said.

Rides in the B-17 will be in the morning and tours in the afternoon.