World War II bombers available for tours and flights this week at Penticton Airport

Two very important pieces of World War II aerial memorabilia are currently sitting on the Penticton Regional Airport runway.

They arrived Monday this week, they'll be in Penticton until Sunday. In the interim, they'll be available for touring. This weekend they'll even be available for flights.

And, they're phenomenal.

There's the B-25 Mitchell Bomber "Maid in the Shade," a fully restored example of the planes most famous for their morale-boosting Pearl Harbor payback "Doolittle Raid" over Japan in 1942. Of the 10,000 B-25s produced, Maid in the Shade is one of only 34 in the world that's still flying.

But to many the star of the show will be the larger B-17 Bomber "Sentimental Journey." Also known as the "Flying Fortress," the infamous B-17 saw action throughout Europe and in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, and ultimately dropped more bombs in the war than any other US aircraft.

There were nearly 13,000 B-17s produced. Sentimental Journey is one of just 10 that's still capable of flight.

The two warbirds are here on what's been dubbed the "Flying Legends of Victory Tour" from the Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona. Penticton is one of only two Canadian stops on the tour – the other was Kamloops, last week – and from here they're off to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

PentictonNow had the chance to tour both planes yesterday, and can say with all sincerity that it was a highly impactful experience. Outside, they're shiny and in some ways pretty, but they're ultimately machines of destruction, and that part isn't lost on you.

Inside, they're a claustrophobic's nightmare. The passageway over the B-17 bomb bay is just a few inches wide, and crew members in the unpressurized cabin would have been brutally cold as they walked within inches of a full complement of bombs.

The tailgunner position was worse. All alone at the back end of the aircraft, separated from the other crew members by noise and distance, the tailgunner resided in the tiniest and most vulnerable of compartments.

Gord Johnsen is a volunteer at the Mesa facility, and he accompanied the planes to Penticton. "This isn't Hollywood," he said yesterday. "This is the reality."

"The B-17 had a crew of 10. The average weight was probably 125 lbs, 135 lbs. People of that era were smaller and the ideal flight crew would be 5'6'', young, and fearless."

According to Johnsen, about one third of the B-17s were lost in combat, another third were lost in "accidents," and a third returned.

"We bring these planes on tour to educate, to inspire, and to honour the greatest generation. We pay $250 a year to be a volunteer, but that's repaid back to us numerous times by getting to do what we do."

Johnsen, who's also a "docent" (essentially a guide and educator) at the museum, said the tour often stops at smaller airports such as Penticton's.

"The people here at the Penticton Flying Club, and the Kamloops Flying Club, ask if we can come, and we have a really great response. The locals who come out are thrilled that we bring these aircraft."

"We don't necessarily go to the bigger cities. It's often the smaller centres. Canada isn't filled with warbirds, so people are very happy to see us. They'll literally come up to us to say thank you for bringing these aircraft to our little airport and teaching us."

Both planes will be flying this weekend. The price of entry isn't cheap – ranging from $325 US for a "waist compartment seat" in the B-25 to $850 US for a bombardier/navigator seat in the B-17 – but the ticket-buying public seems to realize that chances like this don't come along every day. Johnsen says availability is already low.

"We spend 25 minutes in the air, wheels up, wheels down," said Johnsen. "We'll typically be doing 145 miles per hour during the flights, which is a little slower then we normally fly between destinations."

One other thing. Johnsen says the B-17 is like a "heavy sedan," while the B-25 is a "sports car." So there's a ride to suit everyone's taste.

"Our flights are commonly known as a living history flight experience. This is the real deal. Safety is our number one priority, so all of us go to ground school. Never yet have we ever had anyone after the flight say, 'I want my money back.' Always, it's, 'Thank you so much.'"

Those who'd rather stay on the ground have a couple of options. Walk-arounds cost a mere $2, while $15 (or $25 for a family of four) gets you a full tour of both the outside and inside of the aircraft.

During our tour yesterday, we noticed scores of signatures on the inside of both aircraft's bomb bay doors. Johnsen told us the signatures have been gathered during their years of touring - and nearly all are from people who have had a deep "association" with either the B-17 or the B-25.

Two of those signatories were crew members from that Doolittle Raid. "Both gentlemen," said Johnsen, "have since passed away."

Ground viewing and tours of both the B-17 and the B-25 run from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. today and tomorrow, and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. For more information, or to schedule a flight, check out the tour's Penticton page here.