CAF Celebrating Prototype’s First Flight July 28, 1935

The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona is taking its “Flying Legends of Victory Tour” to Boeing Field/King County International Airport (KBFI) in Seattle, Washington, where its prized B-17G Sentimental Journey will land on July 28, 2025 to coincide exactly with the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17 prototype on July 28, 2035, from that very same airfield.

The landing will be a compelling tribute to the history of aviation marking the maiden flight of Boeing’s experimental Model 299 bomber that featured innovations such as the multiple machine gun turrets that gave the aircraft its well-earned “Flying Fortress” nickname.

Sadly, the first prototype was lost in a crash just a few short months later, the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 13 of the improved YB-17 models and the rest, as they say, is history.

After 90 years, countless personal stories and a rich legacy of books, movies, and commemorative appearances at air shows, Sentimental Journey will return to land on the very runway where its story began.

For few remaining veterans who flew in the aircraft during wartime, pilots who fly them now in air shows, aviation enthusiasts, and the general public, this occasion is more than nostalgic but a rare chance to see living history in flight.

A representative from CAF Airbase Arizona said, “Bringing Sentimental Journey back to Boeing Field is like bringing her back to her birthplace. It’s more than just a tour stop—it's a salute to the pioneers of flight and the heroes who flew these bombers into combat.”

Based out of Mesa, Arizona, Sentimental Journey is one of just a handful of remaining airworthy B-17s in the world. She has been in the are of CAF since 1978 and always draws crowds at air shows for people to see the aircraft up close and take a ride aboard this legendary piece of World War II history.

FMI:  www.azcaf.org/