GLENVILLE — Ninety-year-old Jim Murphy of Saratoga Springs remembers squeezing into a tiny space on the B-17 as a ball turret gunner during World War II. “I was small enough,” he said.

Murphy, who was a staff sergeant in what was then the Army Air Forces, flew missions over Europe as part of the 94th Bomb Group. He showed off a vintage picture of himself and his squadmates that appeared in a military magazine in 2003.

“We were the first B-17 to survive 30 missions. … They’d all been shot down,” he said.

When asked how his crew successfully managed to avoid being shot down by the Germans, Murphy joked “their bad aim.” He credited it to the pilot, who was skilled at flying, even if he could be a difficult leader. As Murphy put it, the pilot “didn’t know a damn thing about handling men.”

Murphy sat on a bench Sunday admiring the planes that were part of the Wings of Freedom Tour 2008 at the Empire State Aeroscience Museum at the Schenectady County Airport. On display were the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell and P-51C Mustang.

The Collins Foundation has restored the planes and takes them around the country as a living history museum.

“They’re beautiful,” Murphy said.

Bill Sellmeyer, one of the pilots, said he was impressed with the turnout from the community throughout the weekend, although he did not have an exact attendance number.

Some people, like Gordon Matson of Latham, felt a special connection to the planes. “My grandfather’s brother got shot down in a B-24,” he said.

He and his crew bailed out over the North Sea in 1944 and were never seen again. On Sunday, Matson and his sons Mark, 12, and Scott, 7, took a look inside one of the planes.

“It’s just amazing what these things did for the time,” he said. “It took a different kind of person to do that back then.”

Others were aviation buffs like Larry Roth of Ravena, who said the B-17 proved the idea that a heavy bomber could be an effective war-fighting machine.

“I love seeing these old classic war birds because they’re not going to be around forever,” he said.

Other aviation enthusiasts were Dick Gibbons of Scotia and his grandsons Carter, 10, and Brendan, 13. They were waiting to take a ride in a B-25. In previous years, they had flown in both a B-17 and B-24. Brendan is fascinated by World War II and collects helmets, uniforms and other memorabilia. He said the planes are louder than the planes of today.

“It’s a lot bumpier when you’re taxiing,” Carter said.

“They shake, rattle and roll,” interjected his grandfather.

Seeing the planes brings back memories for the elder Gibbons, who said he logged about 2,000 hours in a B-24 during the war. He spent the war on submarine patrol.

Nathan Coelho, 25, of Niskayuna, had wanted a chance to see the planes up close. He said he was impressed with how far aviation has come in the last 100 years. His mother, Brenda Coelho, said she could imagine what it would be like to be in combat and moving around in there. She has mild claustrophobia.

“My other thought on it was most Americans wouldn’t fit,” she said, referring to the current obesity problem in the country.

The planes will be open for tours for a final day today from 10 a.m. to noon. Walk-through tours are $12 for adults and $6 for children age 12 and younger.