They were the planes that helped win WWII and have since been put out of commission. But they haven’t been forgotten.
The Wings of Freedom Tour will help you remember. The tour is bringing a unique display of WWII-era vintage military aircraft to the Santa Maria Public Airport from May 16 to 18.
Touring more than 100 cities throughout the U.S. each year, the Wings of Freedom Tour pays tribute to the flight and ground crews that flew and maintained the aircraft.
The organization behind the tour is the Collings Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit founded in 1979. It’s dedicated to the preservation of aircraft and automobile transportation.
The Collings Foundation maintains a sizeable collection of vintage cars and aircraft from various countries, including Al Capone’s 1940 Cadillac V-16 limousine and some Nazi aircraft, although those won’t be in Santa Maria for the tour.
The tour is an opportunity for anyone interested to see military aircraft up close and personal, including the B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, and the P-51 Mustang.
While the end of WWII was less than 100 years ago, most of the veterans who fought and survived the war are no longer with us.
“What this tour is really all about is keeping history alive,” tour coordinator Michelle Leiphardt said.
The B-24 on the tour is the same type of aircraft flown by U.S. Olympic distance runner and famed bombardier Louis Zamperini during the war. Zamperini’s plane crashed into the ocean during a search-and-rescue mission in 1943. He and two other crewmembers survived the crash and later became Japanese prisoners of war.
A Southern California native, Zamperini died in 2014, but his story lives on. Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie’s 2014 movie, Unbroken, documents Zamperini’s story.
A fee of $12 for adults and $6 for children younger than 12 is requested to see the planes up close. The planes aren’t simply for show. Tourists can also take flights on the planes for a price.
A 30-minute flight on either the B-17 or B-24 are $450 per person; B-25 flights are $400 per person. You can also get some “stick time” learning how to fly the P-51, which costs $2,200 for a half hour and $3,200 for a full hour. A lot of the flights are paid for in advance, Leiphardt said.
Yes, it’s expensive, but Leiphardt said the money helps pay for the fuel and maintenance costs for the airplane, including parts and labor. Two highly trained mechanics who travel with the tour are available on a 24/7 basis if anything goes wrong, according to Leiphardt.
Once, Leiphardt said, a faulty fuel pump prevented the B-24 from traveling with the tour up the coast.
“It’s not always easy to find parts,” Leiphardt said.
The aircraft in the Wings of Freedom Tour are available for viewing from 12 to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 16; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17; and from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 18 at the Santa Maria Public Airport located at 3249 Terminal Drive in Santa Maria. For more information, visit collingsfoundation.org/event/santa-maria-ca or call (978) 562-9182 for flight reservations.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in May 5-12, 2016.