World War II bomber and fighter aircraft at Washington County Airport
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
J.D. Shaw, 16, of Warren, dressed in World II military garb, walks through the Boeing B-17G at the World War II aircraft show Monday at Washington County Airport.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
J.D. Shaw, 16, of Warren, dressed in World War II military garb cleans the Boeing B-17G for the World War II aircraft show Monday at Washington County Airport.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
A Boeing B-17G sits on a runway Monday at the World War II aircraft show at Washington County Airport.
J.D. Shaw, 16, of Warren, dressed in World War II military garb, sits inside the Boeing B-17G at the World War II aircraft show at Washington County Airport on Monday.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Mark Nickerson and his son, Phillip, 9, from Warren clean the bottom of a Boeing B-17G at the World War II aircraft show at Washington County Airport on Monday.
SOUTH FRANKLIN – Stepping into a bomber or fighter plane back in World War II was not a task for the faint of heart.
Nor was it a task for the claustrophobic.
That becomes abundantly clear when you step up a ladder and squeeze into one of these planes seven decades after the fact. Along with soaring into danger back when planes like these were in the forefront of defeating fascism in Europe and Japanese aggression in the Pacific, the pilot and crew were also airborne in conditions that make cramped coach sections on today’s commercial aircraft seem like the pinnacle of luxury.
The number of people who actually had the experience of serving onboard planes like these is dwindling by the day, but area residents who want a tangible understanding of what it was like for their grandfathers or great-grandfathers in World War II can see and tour four rare World War II bomber and fighter planes that will be at Washington County Airport through Thursday. The planes touched down Monday morning, and tours will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to noon Thursday.
The restored planes are owned by the Collings Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that assembles living-history events with vintage planes and automobiles. The four planes are at Washington County Airport as part of an ongoing Wings of Freedom Tour that touches down in a little more than 100 municipalities every year. The planes on displayed at the airport are a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress; a Consolidated B-24J Liberator, the only one of its type that continues to fly; a North American B-25 Mitchell; and a North American TP-51C Mustang.
One person who was eager to see the planes was J.D. Shaw, a 16-year-old from Warren, in the northeastern corner of the commonwealth near Erie. He flew into Washington County Airport on the B-17, and enthused it was “very different from a commercial flight.”
“Not many people get to have that experience,” Shaw added, wearing reproduction World War II garb.
Most commercial aircraft are only in service for anywhere from 10 to 25 years, so an obvious question when faced with a World War II-era plane is whether they are safe to fly. After all, not many people are puttering around anymore in vehicles that were on our highways and byways back in the 1940s. But much like the vintage vehicles that turn up at classic car shows, planes that flew in the 1940s were durable, and can still fly with regular maintenance and updates.
Mark Nickerson, a volunteer with the Wings of Freedom Tour who is also from Warren, answers straightforwardly on whether anyone should feel any trepidation before strapping themselves into one of these planes: “Not at all.”
“They have an excellent safety record,” he said. They must meet the same safety standards as a plane that just rolled off the production line, he pointed out, their engines are regularly updated, and a full-time mechanic travels with the tour.
Visitors can pay $450 for a 30-minute flight on the B-17 or the B-24, or get flight training on the P-51, which will cost $2,200 for a half-hour, of $3,200 for an hour. For reservations or information, call 800-568-8924. Other information is available online at www.collingsfoundation.org.