Phantom 550

[Lamplighter]

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/100..._aircraft.html



Serial #: 44-85790
Construction #: 8699 (-VE) (built by Vega Aircraft, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Aircraft Company)
Model: B-17G
Name: Lacey Lady
Status: Restoration
Last info: 2002

History:
Art Lacey, Portland, OR, Mar. 5, 1947-1995
- Last Flight from Altus AFB, OK, Mar. 8-10, 1947
- Displayed at Lacey's Bomber gas station, Milwaukie, OR, Mar. 1947-1990.
- Displayed at Lacey's Bomber Restaurant, Milwaukie, OR, 1990-1995.
- Displayed on pylons as 485790/Lacey Lady, 1947-1995.
- Upper turret donated to CAF's Sentimental Journey

The Bomber Foundation, Milwaukie, OR, 1995-2002.
- Static restoration on site.
- Forward fuselage removed and under restoration, Aurora, OR, 1996-2000.

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/en...rant_catering/

It still stands in Milwaukie, OR, but the former gas station is now a restaurant...

When Art Lacey, a young pilot and gasoline station owner,
envisioned combining his two passions into a business, people questioned his sanity.
The Bomber, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, was once a gas station and is now
a restaurant with a vintage World War II B-17 G bomber—known as the “Flying Fortress”
—prominently exhibited in its parking lot. It is quintessential Americana and an Oregon landmark.

Art Lacey purchased the retired war bird at an Air Force base in Oklahoma
and flew it to Oregon in 1947. His first attempt resulted in a crash,
but that didn't stop him. He finally got it home and hoisted the plane up over
the family-owned forty-pump gas station
—the largest single-volume gas station in the United States in the 1960s—
and it now sits off to the side of the home-style restaurant that serves up
Bomber Burgers, chicken-fried steaks, and thick shakes.
On most mornings, customers can find World War II veterans and their families
dining in the restaurant, a ritual some have followed since the restaurant opened.

The property also has a children's playground and a museum,
which is dedicated to World War II and houses an extensive collection of war memorabilia.
Veterans meet here regularly to share stories.
The Bomber is a one-of-a-kind establishment, a place for classic American food
and a reminder of times past and the men and women who served in World War II.