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Tulsans Can Tour or Fly in the Memphis Belle This Weekend

A B-17 Flying Fortress, the workhorse bomber of WWII, can be seen in the skies over Tulsa this weekend. The Liberty Foundations Salute to Veterans tour is making a stop at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.

Members of the media got a preview tour and short flight in the replica of the famous Memphis Belle. One of those aboard is Jack Babbitt, a pilot who flew 30 missions over Germany during the war. He says it wasn’t really like the recent Memphis Belle movie, which used this replica in the film. He says you got in trouble for any unnecessary chatter over the radio like that depicted in the film. It could only be used for warnings like ‘fighter coming in’ or ‘I see parachutes coming from a damaged plane.’

The B-17 in Tulsa this week is one of only 13 still flying. You can tour and ride in the Memphis Belle this weekend. There is a charge for a ride.