Bird Can't Hold Down B-17 Tour

March 25, 2021 – EAA's Kermit Weeks Hangar aircraft technicians, B-17 Aluminum Overcast tour team, and EAA Chapter 690 members showed EAA's can-do spirit over the past few days in getting our B-17 back in the air after a bird strike last Saturday cut short the 2021 tour's very successful inaugural stop at Lawrenceville, Georgia.

When the flight crew discovered the apparent bird strike after landing the aircraft following an uneventful flight experience, everyone got to work to fully inspect the aircraft's right wing between the engines, where the strike took place.

"It was really a team effort," said Dennis Dunbar, EAA's director of flight operations. "Chapter 690 offered tremendous assistance to both the tour personnel and the EAA headquarters staff who immediately traveled to Georgia to work on the aircraft. We also got great support from everyone on the airport, which allowed us to fully repair the minor damage to the wing and put the airplane back on tour."

Dunbar added that the B-17 was known was one of the most rugged aircraft of the World War II era and that one of the tour volunteers noted, "Aluminum Overcast lived up to the B-17's reputation."

Current plans, weather permitting, are to complete maintenance flights in Georgia on Friday morning, then proceed to Lake City, Florida, for the next tour stop this weekend. Flight experiences are still available at that location and future Florida tour stops by going to B17.org. In addition, Aluminum Overcast will return to Lawrenceville on June 11-13 to fulfill the remaining flight experiences along with any new passengers booked prior to those dates.