The lure of history brought a large crowd to Lewisburg on Sunday.

“It went way beyond our expectations,” said Ellington Airport Manager Kent Stewmon of the visit of the “Yankee Lady,” a World War II B-17 bomber.

He said that the airport saw a steady flow of traffic though the day with many people from outside of the county making the trip.

Stewmon said that one woman had flown from New Jersey expressly for a ride on the “Yankee Lady.”

Fewer than 10 B-17s still fly today and dozens of folks wanted the chance to fly on one, despite the $450 price tag,

The World War II bomber had originally planned to take two flights with passengers but ended up taking four full flights and could have taken a fifth if it didn’t have to make it back home to Michigan before nightfall.

“I’m extremely happy about it,” said Stewmon. “It was absolutely wonderful.”

He added that the airport planned to do similar events in the future.

Editor’s note

The B-17 which crashed on Wednesday morning in Connecticut is not the “Yankee Lady.”

photo by Patty Blackburn