B-17 fuselage arrival delayed, other parts arrive

WARNER ROBINS -- The arrival of the B-17 fuselage headed for the Museum of Aviation has been delayed until next week.

The fuselage, which is the main part of the historic World War II bomber, was to be paraded through Warner Robins on Friday.

But according to a news release, the arrival has been delayed due to “weather and transportation issues.”

Museum spokeswoman Jenny Cook said one of the issues was that two of the states would not permit it to travel at night due to the size of the load. Those states also would not permit it to travel over the weekend, so the arrival will be next week, possibly Tuesday.

While the fuselage won’t make it this week, other major portions of the aircraft arrived Thursday afternoon. The wings and engines are all at the museum and will be moved into the Century of Flight Hangar on Friday.

The bomber, nicknamed “Miss Liberty Belle,” has been outdoors at Grissom Air Museum in Peru, Indiana since 1961. The plane is being moved to the Museum of Aviation because it has space in a hangar to preserve it from the weather.

To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.

This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "B-17 fuselage arrival delayed, other parts arrive ."