Vintage WWII bomber flies into Madras

It’s a tour that’s making a big splash in a small town.

“The Commemorative Air Force has what’s called a flying museum, and we take these planes, the B-17 and the B-25 out on tour every summer,” pilot John Magoffin said Monday. “We like to go to smaller towns, 8,000 to 12,000 people, so that we’ll be the biggest thing in town for that week.”

The main attraction is the more than 70-year-old beauty, called Maid in the Shade.

“Restoration took 28 years, and most of that time we didn’t have a hangar or any air conditioning, the guys worked outside,” Magoffin said. “So when it was finally done, they decided to name it Maid in the Shade, in honor of working outside under the shade porch,”

The twin-engine bomber flew 15 combat missions over Italy between November and December of 1944, carrying up to 4,000 pounds of bombs.

The most famous mission flown by B25s was the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942 — just four months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

If you look up-close on the plane, patched-p bullet holes show a scarred piece of history.

But in the air, sitting next to one of a dozen 50-caliber machine guns, it’s hard not to think about the young men who sat there seven decades ago.

“I’ll tell you, when we pull into a town and all the vets come out, it brings tears to their eyes, and that’s really gratifying,” Magoffin said.

The Maid in the Shade will be at the Madras Airport all week long and during the Airshow of the Cascades next weekend.

If you want to climb up inside and take a tour, a $5 donation is suggested. If you want to actually fly, prices range from $395 to $650.

For more on the Airshow of the Cascades, visit: http://www.cascadeairshow.com/