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Memphis Belle flies to restore other B-17s
092214 MEMPHIS BELLE 01
Rod Schneider, left, readies for another flight of the Memphis Belle B-17 bomber at Augusta Regional Airport. The Liberty Foundation offered local news media and VIPs a complimentary flight on World War II aircraft for a sneak preview of flights which will be available to the public Saturday.
AUGUSTA — When the 70-year-old Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" that starred as the Memphis Belle in the movie takes off Saturday from Augusta Regional Airport, things will be different than when new B-17s flew bombing missions against Nazi-ruled Germany. Aside from the obvious points of not dropping bombs and getting shot at, Saturday's guests, who will pay $450 each for the privilege of flying, won't need heated suits and oxygen masks. The plane, under the control of a pilot and co-pilot who volunteer with the Liberty Foundation, will rise to a mere fraction of the icy and oxygen-deficient 30,000-foot heights these planes cruised at during World War II. But flying aboard the "movie" Memphis Belle does give one a different glimpse into the conditions bomber crews worked in than just seeing a plane on the ground.
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