Historic PBJ Takes Flight After 23 Years

Pia Bergqvist

Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 09:39 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The Commemorative Air Force's SoCal Wing successfully flew its restored North American PBJ-1J (Navy B-25) named *Semper Fi* for the first time in 23 years.
The challenging restoration, which faced doubts due to limited resources, resulted in the aircraft being in pristine, "better than production" condition.
*Semper Fi* is a unique aircraft, being the only flying PBJ-1J model produced with a glass nose.
The newly flying PBJ is expected to make appearances at airshows across the western United States.

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Sunday was a big day for the SoCal Wing of the Commemorative Air Force as its North American PBJ-1J — the Navy version of the B-25 — named Semper Fi took flight for the first time since it landed at the Camarillo Airport in California 23 years ago almost to the day. The low-level marine layer that threatened the success of the flight burned off just after noon, leaving brilliant blue skies with patchy clouds that provided a perfect backdrop for the beautifully restored airplane.