COSTA MESA : Plane Show Gives Lift to Young, Old

By WILLSON CUMMER

May 7, 1994 12 AM PT

Before the cloud bursts Friday, vintage airplane enthusiasts gathered to view a World War II B-17 bomber and other restored airplanes on view this weekend at John Wayne Airport.

A nonprofit group based in Massachusetts restores the planes and flies them around the country to display them and to teach people about the aircraft used to defeat the Axis powers.

A fully restored B-17 Flying Fortress flew Friday from San Diego and landed about 4 p.m. before a small audience. A B-24 Liberator bomber was scheduled to accompany the B-17 but had engine trouble.

It was expected to land late Friday to be on display along with a P-38 fighter.

During the World War II era, more than 12,000 B-17s were produced and 4,750 were lost in combat. Now, less than a dozen are flyable.

The B-24 dropped more bombs and flew more combat missions than any other aircraft during WWII.

The P-38 was the first long-range fighter and was used primarily as fighter escort for bomber squadrons.

Dick Furlong, 70, a Marine Corps airplane mechanic during WWII, brought his grandson to see the planes.

Though Furlong said it was interesting to see the B-17, 13-year-old Aaron Davis, his grandson, eagerly inspected the plane and waited to tour the inside.

Aaron has built 58 models of aircraft. He put his first one together when he was 7.

“I liked the way they looked,” Aaron explained. “I had heard stories from my grandpa and movies.”

Aaron, of Tustin, said it sometimes takes a month to paint and assemble a complex model. He’s now working on a 200-piece model of a B-17, the very plane he came to see.

“They look majestic compared to the models,” Aaron said, as he stood under the wing of the vintage plane. “You see all the detail.”

R.E. “Bud” Kingsbury is all too familiar with the details of the B-17. He was shot down while piloting one over Italy in 1943, and was the only survivor out of a crew of 10.

Kingsbury was one of the two pilots who brought the plane to rest in front of the Martin Aviation terminal at the airport.

“It brought back a lot of memories,” said Kingsbury. The noise, the smell and the vibrations all brought to mind his bombing flights with crew members. “We lived together,” Kingsbury said. “It was like a family.”

The planes are on display at the Martin Aviation terminal, 19301 Campus Drive, in Irvine.

Interior tours of the planes cost $7 for adults and $3 for children. People can view the outside of the planes for free.

Viewing hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today and from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m Sunday.