BURBANK, Calif. -- World War II pilot Ben Robertson on Tuesday boarded a B-17 bomber for the first time since the war.
As a captain in the U.S. Army Corps, Robertson trained aboard the B-17 and flew 35 bombing runs aboard the B-29 during the war. The 89-year-old pilot, who lives in Woodland Hills, said he "became smitten with planes when he was a kid."
Robertson said he now relishes any opportunity to get in the air.
The newly restored bomber, the Liberty Belle, will remain at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank for a few days.
The public is invited to go for a flight aboard the B-17 this weekend. The half-hour flight isn't cheap. The price is $430, but that's because it costs an estimated $4,500 an hour to put the aircraft in the air.
The Liberty Belle is one of only 14 B-17's that still fly today. The Liberty Foundation, a non-profit flying museum, says it spends more than $1,000,000 a year to keep the Liberty Belle out on tour.
