Tulsa Air & Space Museum Offering Rides In Rare Piece Of History: A WWII B-17 Bomber

Friday, a rare piece of history is in Tulsa this weekend at Tulsa's Air and Space Museum. You get a chance to not only see the World War II B-17 bomber - you can also ride in it. 

There is so much history inside the Yankee Lady B-17. Liam Parson is seven years old and got a chance to walk through the plane with his family. 

"It's so important to show him some history. Of course, they learn about history in school, but it's not every day that they have an experience like this to come in and you know really get their hands dirty and do the hands-on piece of things too," said Heather Brewster.

Getting to see a B-17 bomber up close is a rare experience. A crew of 11 flew Yankee Lady to Tulsa from Michigan. 

"To keep these airplanes alive 70 years later so that the public has a sense of what their grandfathers and great grandfathers experienced during World War II," said pilot Grant Schwartz.

Schwartz, one of the pilots, has worked for Yankee Air Museum for more than 30 years, which has allowed him to meet World War II veterans and their families. He said keeping history alive is rewarding. 

"We've gotten letters from families thanking us for bringing the airplane to the venue because dad never talked about that. Never talked about his experiences until now. So that's a very rewarding thing to see," said Schwartz.

Schwartz said there were 12,731 B-17's made during the war, but there are only five planes that are actively flying around the country today for people to see.