news-record.com

The last time Clay Wilson was in a B-17, he jumped from the back of the burning warplane. That was during a World War II mission that left seven of the 10-man crew dead.

When Wilson laid eyes on a restored version of the legendary four-engine warplane -- a star on its sides, dimpled with thousands of rivets and equipped with 13 50-caliber machine guns -- he cried for 20 minutes as the memories from 66 years ago washed over him.

Seeing that plane was like visiting an old friend, he said.

On Monday, Wilson was the guest of honor for a nonprofit group taking its B-17 Flying Fortress around the country including Winston-Salem next week as a museum with wings. Monday's flights were limited to Wilson and news reporters as a way to gain publicity for the flights offered at a price this weekend at the Sanford-Lee County Airport.

The 91-year-old former flight engineer climbed inside, shimmied over the bomb bay and took a familiar seat behind the pilot.

He pointed up to the pilot's seat, explaining that his last flight started to go wrong when the pilot was shot square in the head. The plane lost altitude after the pilot slumped over the controls, dropping from 30,000 feet to about 6,000 before Wilson jumped from the back. It was another 1,000 feet or so before his parachute opened. On his journey home, Wilson avoided the Germans, at one point pretending to be a deaf mute.

That flight was Wilson's 13th mission.

Despite that last unlucky mission, Wilson said he was thrilled to get back into the B-17.

''It brings back good memories," he said.

This weekend, the restored bomber will be open for tours and public flights. The Liberty Belle, owned by the nonprofit Liberty Foundation, is believed to be one of only 14 of the bombers that can still fly.

For $430, people can go for a 30-minute ride on the bomber. The price may sound steep, but the foundation recoups less than half of what it costs to keep the plane in the air, said Scott Maher, the director of operations. The Liberty Belle burns 200 gallons of fuel and 160 gallons of oil every hour it flies.

While in the air, riders can crawl through the space beneath the pilot's feet for a view from the tip of the plane. Or they can stick their heads out the opening near the plane's middle for a feeling of standing in an airborne convertible.

''We want to honor our vets and use it as a teaching tool to show the price of freedom," Maher said. "We're losing 1,500 World War II vets a day. With every death goes another story of courage and valor."

The Liberty Belle can help keep the legacy of those heroes alive, he said.

Between 1935 and 1945, 12,732 B-17s were built. More than 4,700 were lost in combat.

During World War II, the planes typically flew at 30,000 feet, where the temperature was sometimes 30 below zero.

The Liberty Belle, built in 1945, never flew in combat. It was sold for scrap in 1947 for $2,700. In the past 60 years, the plane had been used to test engines before being donated to a museum, where it was heavily damaged during a tornado.

Restoring the plane to its original condition cost more than $4.5 million. Don Brooks, founder of the Liberty Foundation, gave the plane its name in honor of his father, who was a tail gunner on several combat missions on a B-17 also called Liberty Belle.

The plane has toured the nation since 2004. The stop in Sanford is its first in the Cape Fear region.

A percentage of the money raised this weekend will go to the Cary-based nonprofit group Children's Flight of Hope, which provides free air transportation to and from medical facilities for sick or injured children.

Another World War II veteran showed up Monday just to see the B-17. Richard Watson was so impressed he said he might come back this weekend for a second viewing.

Watson was a radio communications operator during the invasion of Okinawa. He dealt mainly with B-24 and B-25 bombers, so he wanted to see the B-17 up close for once.

''That's some kind of plane," said Watson, 86. "It's got an awe about it."