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Volunteers plan to restore Stratofreighter at airport Photo by Bob Pennell Decorated World War II veteran Bud Glickman is organizing volunteers to restore a KC-97 Stratofreighter that has sat unused at the Medford airport for years. By PAUL FATTIG - Standing inside the belly of the Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter squatting at the edge of the Medford airport, Bud Glickman marveled at the mission ahead. "I thought I was flying one of the biggest planes ever when I flew in a Liberator during the war," said the World War II bombardier. "But this is much, much bigger. They used to put tanks and everything else in here. "We got a lot of work to do," he added. "It's been around 47 years." He is the chairman of the KC-97 Restoration Committee, a 16-member nonprofit group of mostly WWII-era veterans volunteering to work on the big bird on weekends and afternoons. Their mission is to restore it for display a quarter-mile across the tarmac at the edge of the airport overlooking Biddle Road. The unique aircraft will be used for tours and is large enough to serve for public meetings. Parked for years at the airport where it was used for airport fire drills, the plane was donated in the fall of 1998 to Jackson County by Jack Erickson, founder of Erickson Air Crane. "The plane itself is sound," said committee member Ben Gonzalez, 71, of Central Point. "But we got a lot of cleaning and painting to make this into a sharp airplane." Restoration is expected to take about a year. Most of the work will be cosmetic, since there are no plans to fly the craft. The volunteers were given a lift Monday when two engines donated by Erickson arrived from Tillamook. The engines, each weighing 8,000 pounds, will replace two missing engines to provide balance when it is towed across the airport. Coming off the assembly line in the fall of 1953, it was one of more than 800 Boeing Stratofreighters built to provide the muscle for the Air Force's military transport service. Powered by four 3,500-horsepower Pratt & Whitney prop-driven engines, the aircraft with its wingspan of more than 141 feet cruised at 260 mph. Stuffed inside its 117-foot-long fuselage could be everything from 96 fully-quipped combat troops, or 69 litter patients, their medical attendants and supplies. It could also haul two half-ton trucks, or a range of artillery pieces up to 155 mm howitzers. It was also used for refueling other aircraft in midair. The aircraft at the airport was in military service from 1953 through 1978, when it was declared military surplus after more than 8,800 hours in the air. Erickson originally bought it for parts. "Basically, this is a B-50 (bomber) that has been upgraded into a cargo-tanker aircraft," said Gonzalez, a retired airplane mechanic who served in the Army Air Corps at the tail end of WWII. "There haven't been too many changes," he said. For Gonzalez, who once restored a Navy T-38 trainer out of scraps, it's a labor of love. "I like working on old airplanes," he said. "Some people like to restore tractors or cars. I like to mess with old airplanes." The project is also an effort to do something for the community. "Those of us from World War II and from Korea, we're a dying breed -- we're dinosaurs," said Glickman, 78, of Medford. "If we don't show people coming after us what was accomplished and how it was done and why it was done, it will have been a lost cause." Glickman was a bombardier in a B-24 Liberator bomber when it was hit by anti-aircraft flak over France the morning of June 5, 1944, the day before D-Day. The aircraft's four engines were out, the pilot dead, the co-pilot grievously wounded. Glickman, hit by shrapnel, was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Yet he deployed the bombs and gave the co-pilot the bearings to aim the gliding plane back toward England. Glickman parachuted over the English Channel. He was blown onto land, alighting on the lawn of a Royal Marine Hospital. For his effort, he was awarded a Silver Star for heroism. He later flew 19 more missions for a total 30 missions. Now, Glickman figures helping to restore the old aircraft is one way to show respect for those who weren't as fortunate. "This is also a nice community -- this is a good way to repay all of what we get from the community," Glickman said. "We're looking for more volunteers -- as many as we can get." For information on helping the KC-97 Restoration Committee, call the airport administration office at 776-7222. To learn more about the KC-97 Stratofreighter, see the March Field (Calif.) Web site: www.marchfield.org/kc97l Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA