EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 Reprise: B-17G Yankee Lady

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 was a tremendous year for catching warbirds, and in this aircraft category, bigger is better (and rarer).  Touring or riding in a B-17 is always a special occasion, and here we feature B-17G "Yankee Lady," owned and operated by the Yankee Air Museum.  According to the Yankee Air Museum published history, the aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps as s/n 44-85829 (1944 fiscal year of production) and was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard as b/n 77255 PB-1G where it served until 1959.  It was then sold to several companies before it became an aerial fire fighting tanker (No. 34) with Aircraft Specialties out of Mesa AZ.  In 1969, it was flown to Hawaii and used in the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!"   The Yankee Air Museum acquired the B-17 in 1986 and has since built a fleet of touring aircraft that include C-47 "Yankee Doodle Dandy," B-25 "Yankee Warrior," and several others on static display.  Here are some views of the B-17G "Yankee Lady" at Oshkosh:

By Fred Harl