Pilot's family assumes restoration project

Jerry Shiffer died in a plane crash in Montana on the same day the first B-17 parts arrived in Urbana.
URBANA, Ohio (AP) -- The family of a pilot killed in a plane crash in Montana has assumed the man's efforts to help restore a World War II B-17 bomber in a hangar at this western Ohio city's airport.
The goal is to create a museum to honor a piece of U.S. history and get the plane airborne. Jerry Shiffer's sons, Dave and Eric, are pilots who intend to learn how to fly the B-17.
"This is something Dad wanted, and Dave and Eric and I want to see it completed," said Shiffer's daughter, Andrea Tullis.
Shiffer's help
The first parts of the B-17 project arrived at Grimes Field on Nov. 29, the same day Shiffer was killed when his twin-engine Cessna crashed near a Montana airport. He was the only person on board.
Shiffer, 68, was the founder of Tech II Inc., a company that manufactures food containers, and he had helped Urbana officials make improvements at Grimes Field.
When a pilot who specializes in restoring old planes called last year asking if someone might be interested in helping with the B-17 project, airport assistant manager Carol Hall put Tom Reilly in touch with Shiffer.
The project, which will take five to seven years to complete, gets a boost from the fact that 80 to 90 percent of the parts come from one aircraft and are in good condition, Reilly said.
The plane will outgrow its current home as the restoration progresses. Shiffer's family plans to build a new hangar big enough to house it, Tullis said.
Army of volunteers
Besides Shiffer's family, people from Cleveland, Chicago and Florida are among people volunteering with the restoration. Some are pilots, others are people who have a connection to B-17s.
Paul Good of nearby Springfield, a retired Air Force colonel and fighter pilot in the Vietnam War, piloted B-17s while serving at White Sands, N.M., in the 1950s. He said radio-controlled, unmannedB-17s were used for target practice.
"This was part of the development of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles," said Good, who volunteers on the restoration about three days a week.
David Burdick of Urbana, a project supervisor, said he enjoys talking with veterans who come by to help or just take a peek.
"They come in and tell stories about their times with the B-17 and WWII," he said.
"It's nice to see the enjoyment they get knowing this part of history hasn't been forgotten."
A Web camera gives people a glimpse of the project at www.b17project.com.
Payday
Reilly, also directing a similar restoration at home in Douglas, Ga., is confident the Ohio project will yield a tourist attraction in this city 33 miles northeast of Dayton.
"The payday will be the day it first flies," he said. "And you better have a lot of Kleenex tissues around."