In Salem, Oregon, a group of talented volunteers are working to save and restore a legendary B-17 bomber. It rolled off the assembly line in the final weeks of World War Two,  one of hundreds of surplus war planes that never saw action. Yet through one man’s efforts, it became one of the most famous and beloved planes — without ever dropping a bomb.

In 1947, Art Lacey was building a gas station in the Portland, Oregon suburb of Milwaukie, and inspectors insisted he put a roof or cover over the gas pumps. So he came up with an outrageous idea — to use a B-17 as a roof — and attract the attention of curious customers.  He traveled to an aircraft boneyard in Oklahoma at what is now Altus Air Force Base — and bought a bomber — planning to fly it home himself.

He had never flown a four engine plane before, according to his daughter “Punky” Scott. “He was just a crazy guy. He wanted to put one over a gas station. He loved to gamble, played poker and whatever. And he was at one of his gatherings with his buddies and he said, you know, I think I’m gonna buy myself a B 17 and put it over a gas station.”

He crashed on the first flight,  but walked away ok — and bought another plane. The story get’s even more interesting, and by all accounts should have been turned into a feature length motion picture. Bottom line, he got the bomber mounted above the pumps, and for decades it was a popular stop for thousands and thousands of families — needing a fill up and a lesson in history. It never flew in the war — coming off the assembly line after the war ended, but it was a wonderful way for young kids to learn about the hero’s who flew the B-17 on daring bombing missions, and may very well had spawned thousands of future pilots.

But after years of those famous Oregon rains, pigeons roosting inside the plane, and just age, the bomber had to come down. A new effort is underway to repair the plane — and get it  flying again. The non-profit group B17 Alliance Foundation was formed and over the years moved the plane — in pieces — to a hanger at McNary Airfield, in Salem, Oregon. Here volunteers — many with aerospace experience are restoring the “Lacey Lady,” piece by piece.  A museum has been formed and guests can actually watch the delicate work of bringing the plane back to life. Some 50 thousand pieces are being repaired, replaced or just built from scratch. The experience really gives you an understand of how much work was needed to build these planes in the middle of the war.The hope is the plane will be ready to fly by 2035.

Terry Scott, Executive Director of the B17 Alliance, is married to Art’s grandson Jayson. Says Terry about the plane: “we started realizing that the warbirds were going away and they were not being made anymore, and somebody needed to do something different. Right? So my husband convinced the family that this was more than a sign. This was a historical treasure, and we needed to save it. It was a gas station icon. My husband convinced the family to restore the plane to flying condition, and the journey begins.”