Grissom Air Museum will be saying farewell to one of their famous aircrafts, the B-17 bomber, which has been at Grissom since 1960.
In the late 1930s, approximately 13,000 B-17s were constructed and used in World War II, according to GAM Director Jim Price, who said the Grissom B17 bomber first came to the base as part of the 305th Bomb Wing in the 1960s.
Price said the B-17 will be sent to Museum of Aviation in Robins Air Force Base in Macon, Georgia.
"The 305th was one of the groups that flew B-17s in Europe," Price said. "After the war their unit was shut down and when they began again, when they came here to Grissom, they did not want to forget their history."
Price said the B-17 was 'like a mascot' when it first came to Grissom in 1960.
"It kind of became an icon," Price said. "I'm sure some people will be disappointed that it will be gone, but it is not our aircraft, all these planes out here either belong to the Air Force or the Navy."
According to Price, GAM has a lease agreement with the Air Force and the Navy that states an aircraft can be relocated at any time.
"The goal is always to preserve the aircrafts," Price said. "It's like renting something, once the B-17 is restored it will be placed indoors, so the possibility of corrosion is reduced."
Price said he feels that the B-17 Bomber will be in a "better place" because the aircraft will continue to be well-maintained and protected from the outside elements.
"If you really care about the aircraft, you care about its condition," Price said. "Nothing can be outdoors forever."
Retired US Navy Commander Chuck Mosely, owner of All Coast Aircraft Recovery, in supervising the deconstruction, and said since the aircraft is going to be fully restored, it could take between three to eight years to put all the pieces back together.
"If you just want to do the outside, it does not take that long, but if you want to do the inside and the outside, its takes much longer," Mosely said. "You have to put the electric back in it, flight controls, vacuum line, hydraulic lines, heat ducts, fuel tanks, it's a pretty lengthily process."
Bob Denson, B-17 Project Manager and Restoration Volunteer Coordinator, said B-17 should be on the road by Friday, Aug. 21.
"The first truck left here this morning and we had all four engines and props, the outboard wings, the vertical fin and the rudder on it," Denson said. "The next truck we load will be the inboard wings, the fuselage, and some of the flaps."
Mosely said one of the difficult parts of the process has been taking the taper pins off, which requires a welder because the taper pins have been attached for several years.
"This airplane is held together with taper pins and they are really hard to get apart after 50 or 60 years," Mosely said. "Right now they are using a 10,000 psi press, which will take the taper pins out that hold the horizontal stabilizer on, or the aft wing."
Price said a celebration was held at the museum on Sunday to honor the B-17's departure.