Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress – The LSFM’s B-17 rolled off Lockheed’s Vega assembly line in Burbank, CA on 8 May 1945, the day the European war ended. It was declared surplus by the Army in 1947 and sold to a French company with whom she flew as a high altitude mapping platform until 1984. The LSFM purchased the bomber in June 1987 and flew her across the Atlantic Ocean to Houston. A 4 year in-house restoration followed culminating in top honors at the EAA Airshow in Oshkosh, WI in 1992 and 1993. The aircraft is in the colors of Thunderbird, a B-17 that flew 112 missions with the 303rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. Thunderbird appears at over 20 aviation events across the country each year and serves as a tribute to the thousands of airmen who served in WWII, many of whom never returned.

The Lone Star Flight Museum has earned a national and international reputation as one of the world’s top flying museums and is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of historically significant aircraft. The LSFM is also home to the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, honoring the aviation pioneers and heroes of Texas. The LSFM is located at the Galveston International Airport, next to Moody Gardens and the new Schlitterbahn Waterpark. For more information, call 409-740-7722 or visit on the web at www.lonestarflight.org.