As many of you know the B-29 bomber nicknamed "FiFi" was in Springfield the past couple of days. It's a World War II vintage bomber and the last of its kind that still flies. We thought you might like to see some of our home video of the old warbird. While the plane certainly looks good, be sure to listen to the old beast. Hard to imagine that a machine of war can sound almost like an old farm tractor... And how about those squeaky brakes?!

Squat and bulky....there's no getting around it—this plane looks like a box kite with wings. The men who've maintained it sometimes call her Old Betsy.

A piece of aviation history burned up last week in an Illinois cornfield. The Liberty Belle was a restored World War II bomber that visited our airport in August of last year. Below are some photographs of the plane during its Springfield visit. Read about the emergency landing and fire from the Chicago Tribune.
 

For the past few days the airport has hosted one of history's most famous airplanes: a B17 Flying Fortress. The Liberty Bell is one of only a handful of B17s that still fly. This Saturday, August 28, the Liberty Bell is open for tours at the airport's General Aviation Complex. More information is available from the Liberty Foundation.

This wonderful image appeared in the Springfield News & Leader on November 15, 1953. The plane is the venerable DC-3. The colonial style building is the first terminal.

The story accompanying the photo is a detailed account of the airport’s first eight years of existence. Here’s how the story described the airport’s financial situation: