HILLSBORO, Ore. - One of the last remaining airworthy B-17 bombers was in skies over the Portland area recently. I had the pleasure of taking a short flight aboard the historic aircraft, named the Liberty Belle, and got a good sense of what air crews went through almost 70 years ago as they flew these heavy bombers into enemy airspace.

All photos by Bill Roberson exclusively for KATU.com.

Above:  The Liberty Belle taxis in after landing.

 

 
 Above: The pilot spins up the four Wright 9-cylinder Cyclone engines. A LOUD mechanical symphony!

 

 

 
 Above: Tail gunner position. Slots for the gun barrels are open to the weather. Tail gunner seat is very small. There was no inside access to this part of the plane.

 

 

 

 

 
 Above: Lots of aluminum.

 
 Above: Pilot Robert Hill monitors the engines as they warm up.

 

 
 Above: Plexiglass nose cone with four machine guns. Enemy fighters usually avoided frontal attacks. Usually.

 
 Above: Pilot Robert Hill flies the B-17 over Hillsboro. Instrumentation was a mix of vintage indicators and modern electronics.

 
 Above: Waist gunner position with ammunition box. Once it was empty, not much left to do but hope for a safe return.

 
 Above: View out of the waist gunner's window as the plane flew over the Hillsboro area.

 
 Above: The big Cyclones power us through the air with no problem.

 
 Above: Flaps deploy as we head in for a landing.

 
 Above: KATU's Joe English and other journalists in their "seats." Yellow bottle is the oxygen tank. Below that, the belly turret.

 
 Above: Looking towards the back of the plane, note the cramped quarters. Cable lines along ceiling work the rear control surfaces - no hydraulics here. Wooden guides keep them in check. Amazingly primitive, yet robust and quickly serviceable.

 
 Above: Pilot Robert Hill's work station. Probably beats flying a desk.

 
 Above: Passage up to the nose cone. Watch your head.

 
 Above: Joe English in the nose cone. The view is incredible.

 
 Above: bomb sight in the center, flanked by machine guns left and right. Probably a noisy area during the war.

 
Above: Best seat in the plane as we bank in for a landing.

 
 Above: Tail gunner's seat. Not accessible and I probably wouldn't fit anyway.

 
 Above: Bomb bay area. You traverse this area by walking across this narrow metal plank. Hold the ropes - safety first!

 
 Above: Ace pilot Clayton Kelly Gross on his first ride aboard a B-17. Kelly downed six planes in his P-51 Mustang, which was called "Live Bait." He also shot down a ME-262 jet fighter plane, which was much faster than his Mustang. He got the drop on him. Read his book.

 
 Above: Taxiing back into the Aero Air terminal at Hillsboro Airport.

 
 Above: Entry door to the B-17. Yes, it is quite small.

 
 Above: Liberty Belle nose art. Tamer than what was painted on some other aircraft.

 
 Above: Business end of the tail gun.

 
 Above: The Veterans' door.

 
  Above: Clayton Gross adds his name to the door.

 
 Above: U.S. Ace Clayton Gross with Lady Liberty.

 
 Above: Ball turret entry. This was often considered the most dangerous and unprotected position on the aircraft, despite the guns. Tall guys need not apply.

 
 Above: Ball turret. No way I could squeeze in there. It was off-limits to passengers. But what a view it must have been.

 
 Above: Nine-cylinder Wright Cyclone engine. 1,200 horsepower each. Burns lots of gas and a gallon of 60-weight oil per hour. Very, very noisy - times four.

 
 Above: A Cyclone cylinder. Note the fine finning for cooling. Lack of water cooling kept the engine as light as possible. It was the end of an era for military aircraft propulsion. Jet power was just around the corner.

 
 Above: ID plaque for an engine. Low compression ratio meant it could run on not-so-great fuel.

 
 Above: Clayton Gross shows Joe English how he crept up on a Messershmitt 262 jet fighter.

 

 Be sure to get a ride if you can. It costs about $5,000 an hour to fly the Liberty Belle, so your $430 for a 45-minute flight is money well spent to preserve and keep this iconic plane flying.