AIM Atlanta Georgia

“Off we go…into the wild blue yonder…”

Daryle Harris, Career Services Director

There’s something magical about the south. Spring comes months earlier than it does in the north. Flowers, trees and shrubs erupt into a maze of color while most folks in the country remain buried in snow. The summers are long and sensual and the fall gently cools down into the short winter. Yes, the south is definitely a place of renewal and longevity.

It’s only fitting that the rebirth and restoration of a North American B-25 bomber took place on Georgia soil. After 42 years of silence, the first air its engines breathed was the pure air of Woodstock, GA, as it prepared for it’s brief maiden flight to Aviation Institute of Maintenance at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville. There, it would receive the loving care and attention of its handpicked maintenance crew and the students at AIM-Atlanta.

You can’t imagine the thrill when the engines fired up for the first time, just out side the big airframe hangar at AIM. The whole building vibrated with the throbbing growl of its powerful 1750 hp Wright Cyclone radial engines. Even though we couldn’t see the plane from our offices, you just knew what was going on. Nothing on this airport has ever sounded that way. We raced back to Reggie Baker’s office, which overlooks the entire airfield, and there it was. Those monstrous propellers were spinning…white smoke occasionally belched from the exhaust ports…it was ALIVE. The engines hiccupped a few times, but gradually smoothed out as they warmed up.

The engines shut down…started up again…shut down…alternately revved up and down and repeated the process as the mechanics and pilots tested the engines. We realized that it would be sometime before the plane would actually fly; so back to work we went. A few hours passed and the building vibrated with more test runs. I was determined to see this beautiful craft take flight, but it seemed to take forever. I thought I heard the engines start up, but they were drowned out by one of the many large freight trains that run, literally, across the street from our school buildings. Moments later, someone ran by my office. “It’s flying!” they said. I raced down the stairs and out the large door of the airframe hangar and out onto the runway.

“You just missed it taking off,” said one of the instructors. I looked up and caught my breath. The plane was airborne and majestically banking to the left. It made a gentle turn and circled around the airfield. Our hearts were pounding with excitement. I cannot recall seeing such a large aircraft flying with such grace in the air. It circled around and flew over the field…the effect was awesome. Students came out of the Powerplant hangar and lined up on the taxiway. Everyone cheered as it flew by. It was ours. It belonged to us.

Switchboards around the airfield buzzed with excited calls. “Was that a B-25?” “Where did it come from?” “Whom does it belong to?” Slowly the word got out that the plane had taken off from Aviation Institute of Maintenance. Then, it was our turn for the switchboard to light up. “Can I come and see it?” Will they take us for a ride?” “ How long will it be here?” “ Can I see it up close?” Call after call testified to the magnetic pull of this graceful giant.

Everyone felt a pang of nostalgia and a huge burst of pride as the B-25 circled several times and then lined up for a decent onto the runway. We held our breaths as the landing gear confidently swung down and locked securely in place. The wheels seemed to spin of their own accord as they gently kissed the concrete. It was an incredibly smooth landing.

The huge, lumbering aircraft was back on the ground. You sensed its’ longing to be back where it belonged…high and free up in the air overhead. It slowed and continued down the runway past our building, turned to the left 180 degrees and headed back to AIM. It was interesting to hear the right engine speed up as he made the turn. That’s how one steers a B-25. The front wheel is free-wheeling…no steering mechanism. The pilot must either use the braking system or the engines to maneuver the aircraft. Slowly, the B-25 taxied back to the airframe hangar and, once again, the pilot revved up the left engine to turn the aircraft and bring it to rest parallel to the hangar. The engines slowed and stopped. The living giant went back to sleep. Everyone burst into applause. We had witnessed a resurrection.

We had a right to feel pride. Gerald Yagen, owner of Technical Services, Inc., had purchased this particular aircraft in 1996. When Mr. Yagen purchased the B-25, it was still in pieces, laying on a field in Woodstock, GA. Mr. Yagen decided to restore the B-25 to its bomber configuration and would eventually fly the craft back to Virginia to become part of an aircraft museum. He hired Jere Rosser, who had retired from the Air Force and Civil Service, to take over the project and finish putting the plane back together. Jere put together a team of experts to lovingly and painstakingly reassemble and recreate a working aircraft from pieces and parts. It was a daunting task.

The B-25 had rolled off the North American assembly line in Kansas in 1944 as a TB-25J trainer aircraft. It stayed as a trainer until 1958, when it was struck from the records and sold to Wild Cargo, a company that flew exotic animals all over the country. Wild Cargo was affiliated with Marlon Perkins of televisions “Wild Kingdom.”

In 1963, while owned by Wild Cargo, the snake-laden craft lost an engine over Cincinnati, Ohio. The pilot had to make an emergency landing at Lunkin Airport. Since the engine had failed, there was no hydraulic pressure to lower the landing gear and they had no choice but to land with the gear up. Amazingly, the plane skidded in and came to a stop. There was no fire, no one was injured and most of the 1500 snakes were saved after they were rounded up.

The plane was pushed off the runway and lifted again to sit on blocks and its landing gear, but the rightful owner never returned to claim the plane and it was eventually auctioned off by the local sheriff’s office. The plane was bought by Walter Spolato who purchased it for “one year of tie-down fees,” had the plane disassembled and moved to his home in Newbury, Ohio. The plane was purchased by Steve Detch and moved to Vintage Aircraft, Inc. of Woodstock, GA. The Fighter Factory officially purchased the aircraft in 1996 and the restoration project began in earnest.

When they started the project, the decision was made to restore the craft to it’s B-25J Mitchell configuration. They removed the modern radar and surveillance equipment that had been installed, and replaced it with a clear glass nose. The underbelly of the B-25 had been damaged by the emergency landing and had to be completely rebuilt. Once the repairs were completed, and the aircraft appeared to be ready for flight, Carl Scholl and Tony Ritzman did the first taxi and eventually flew the plane to Briscoe Field.

Once at AIM, the final testing and repairs were undertaken. Several AIM students and instructors were allowed to work on the B-25, under supervision, to help with some of the final modifications and adjustments…giving them an unprecedented opportunity to improve their mechanical skills and abilities. Jere Rosser and Bill Hopkins, along with Jon Charles and Rick McDaniels, will be in charge of the final stage of repairs. David Posey will pilot the aircraft back to Virginia when the final clearance is given.

In the meantime, students and visitors marvel at the big green giant that sits in the middle of the airframe hangar. With instructor supervision, students have been allowed to enter the aircraft and experience first-hand the cramped quarters of the plane’s interior. Every inch of space is occupied for a purpose. To get into the nose gunner’s seat (which is not there, at present), one has to crawl through a claustrophobic tunnel below the pilot and co-pilot seats. The nose gunner area is in the very nose of the plane, and not particularly convenient to exit quickly, should the need arise.

Entry into the plane is by ladder through two hatches on the underbelly. For those of us who are “waistline challenged,” climbing up can be interesting. Equally interesting is the back end of the plane. The rear gunner area tapers down to a few feet, with no room to stand. This was definitely a craft for the young and slim.

There is something fascinating about being inside a living, breathing mechanism from a previous age. One has to feel a sense of awe at what our airmen had to endure to keep us free. In this day of push-button annihilation, it’s easy to forget the price that many paid so that you and I can live the lives we lead today. When you step inside this time capsule, it brings it home. We are lucky. A lot of the young men who flew these airplanes were not. Kind of puts things into perspective, wouldn’t you say?

No matter how old or how new the technology, it takes qualified mechanics to keep aircraft flying safely. What an exciting career opportunity…to always know that you will be needed in an increasingly vital industry. Aviation mechanics are special. At Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Atlanta, we are proud of the caliber of ladies and gentlemen who walk across the stage at Graduation. And, like the majestic B-25, their careers and lives soaring…”off into the wild blue yonder.”