As Charlie Wiebenga climbed out of a B-17 bomber that’s nearly nine times as old as he is, the eight-year-old lad couldn’t wipe a massive smile off his face.
“It was awesome!”
The shy lad got to ride in the nose of the plane, in the bombardier’s seat, and had the best view of anyone during take off.
“Can I go again,” he asked his mother.
Considering the remaining flights for the day were heavily booked, plus the $600 ticket price, Wiebenga didn’t get his wish.
But what he did receive was a memory that will last a lifetime.
So did many others attending Wednesday’s CK Flight Fest at the Chatham-Kent Airport. Hundreds showed up to see the Second World War bomber up close and check out the other aircraft on hand for the event.
Ken McGrath travelled from Toronto to catch a glimpse of history.
“I came all this way to see the famous Yankee Lady,” he said. “My dad was in the air force and flew in a (B-24) Liberator squadron in Iceland.”
Mark Dickerson had a day he won’t forget. He happens to be Wiebenga’s stepfather, and he too was airborne inside the venerable bomber.
“Charlie and I both love history,” Dickerson said. “Charlie could probably teach World War 2 history.”
Dickerson said takeoff was so loud that he was shouting at Wiebenga from mere feet away, but the boy couldn’t hear him.
The entire experience was a thrill from start to finish, he added.
To get to the front of the plane, Dickerson said they had to walk through the bomb bay. There is only a narrow walkway at that point, as the area was designed to hold bombs, not people.
Bruce Davidson, chair of the committee responsible for bringing The Yankee Lady to Chatham-Kent, was amazed at the turnout.
“This is a wonderful moment for me,” he said, while looking out over the hundreds of people on hand. “When you look and see how animated the people are, it’s hard not to do it again. But it will be hard to top a B-17 bomber.”
In other words, the member 294 Chatham Kinsmen Squadron Air Cadets sees Flight Fest as potentially becoming an annual fundraiser for the Air Cadets, given the large public turnout in the middle of the week.
In the future, Davidson would like to see the show take place on the weekend, but that wasn’t possible this year if organizers wanted the B-17 on hand, as it’s booked for events most weekends from May to September.
Wednesday also happened to be a birthday of sorts for The Yankee Lady, as on July 16, 1945, exactly 69 years earlier, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of the bomber, according to Grant Schwartz, one of the B-17 pilots on the day.
It was produced too late to take part in the daring daylight bombing raids over Nazi Germany, so was instead used in coastal patrolling.
From there it went into private service as a crop sprayer and water bomber, before finally being purchased in 1986 by The Yankee Air Force Inc., which has its museum in Belleville, Mich. The group spent nine years restoring the bomber.
In Chatham-Kent, the B-17 was a well-respected piece of flying history. Schwartz said conditions for the 30-minute flights were excellent.
“It is nice and smooth, with excellent visibility,” he said.
The clouds were a bit low, at 3,000 feet, Schwartz added, but not an issue, as the aircraft circled the Chatham area at 2,000 feet.
“We had to stay within 25 miles of the airport.”
Throughout the day, Flight Fest received nothing but praise from all angles.
“This is an incredible turnout. The organizers have done an incredible job bringing the community out,” Schwartz said. “We are happy to be here.”
McGrath said the municipality should puff out its chest over hosting Flight Fest.
“I’m proud of Chatham-Kent to bring this in. It’s amazing.”
Denis Schryer, of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association from Windsor, flew to the Chatham-Kent Airport that morning to be part of the festivities. He described luring The Yankee Lady to Chatham-Kent as “excellent.”
