Tour Offers Flights on World War II Planes

The Collings Foundation offers the Wings of Freedom Tour, which allows visitors to fly on vintage war planes.

U.S. veterans and their families are getting quite a treat from the Collings Foundation in Chicago. The Daily Herald reports that the organization has set up the Wings of Freedom Tour, which allows people to fly on vintage war planes.

The Collings Foundation cares for these antiques — the “Nine O Nine,” the B-25 Mitchell “Tondelayo” bomber and the P-51C Mustang “Betty Jane” fighter — and tours with them across the country. The tour will be at Chicago Executive Airport until this Friday, August 5.

Chuck Currie, from Prospect Heights, said that being up in the air in the B-17 was “absolutely amazing.” His father flew one of those planes in World War II.

“We got to experience what those guys went through,” he said. “They never really talked about it much.”

Cliff Atkins, 37, from Birmingham, Alabama, flies the P-51C Mustang. He is a second-generation pilot and has been with the Collings Foundation for five years. “The reaction at the end of the ride is always the same,” Atkins said. “I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of people up, and they all say it was worth it.”

You can visit and explore the vintage war planes for $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12. If you want to fly, a 30-minute flight on the B-17 or B-24 is $450 per person; it’s $400 for the B-25. A training flight on the P-15 is $2,200 for 30 minutes and $3,200 for an hour.

For more information, call (978) 562-9182.

[Photo: Collings Foundation]