Photo Caption: Villages resident Gilbert Belair piloted a B-17 Flying Fortress similar to the one on display in the Wings of Freedom Tour at Ocala International Airport. Belair flew 11 missions over Germany during World War II.
Friday afternoon, Gilbert Belair found himself inside a B-17G Flying Fortress for the first time in more than six decades. "You never get tired of looking at a B-17, because it takes you back in time to a place you spent a couple of years of your young life," the now 85 year-old former B-17G pilot said as he gazed up at one of the two vintage aircraft visiting Ocala during the annual Wings of Freedom Tour.
The Village of Santiago resident's love affair with the old warbirds began unexpectedly, as most love affairs do. Standing in as an infantry lieutenant stateside training infantry replacement, Gil Belair glanced up into the sky and saw one of the World War II bombers flying overhead, and decided he was in the wrong place.
"I said, 'I think I'd rather fly than walk'" Belair recalled. And by the middle of 1944 - the weight test passed by eating six pounds of bananas and filling his pockets with stones -- Gil Belair headed for England.
However the trip wasn't an easy one. The crew ran into several severe storms, and since Belair had no navigation equipment and "had to fly using celestial navigation over the ocean." he couldn't alter the route to avoid the storms.
When the plane landed safely in Wales, the mechanic took one look at it and said it would never fly again. But the 21 year old Belair did. He flew the final mission before the end of the war in Europe.
And Friday, through a Christmas gift from his son Scott Belair more than a year ago, Belair and his wife Judy got to go on his 12th mission in a B-17G. "It was the chance of a lifetime," Judy said. "Gil couldn't keep the grin off his face."
"You can't imagine the feeling for us," Belair said after his flight. "It was just a wonderful experience."
By: Katie Tammen, Daily Sun, February 9, 2008
