The AirPower History Tour features a number of historic aircraft, including the B-29 Superfortress “Fifi,” the B-24 Liberator “ Diamond Lil.” (Commemorative Air Force, AirPower History Tour)
(Tribune News Service) — Historic World War II planes will soon fly in to Porter Regional Airport in Valparaiso, Ind.
The AirPower History Tour will visit the airport July 12-16.
Spectators will be able to see the B-29 Superfortress “Fifi,” the B-24 Liberator “ Diamond Lil,” a T-6 Texan, a PT-13 Stearman, an RC-45J Expeditor and a P-51 Mustang “Gunfighter.”
“The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the largest and most technically advanced aircraft of its time, was first flown in 1942. It began active service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1944 and is best known as the aircraft whose missions over Japan helped bring an end to World War II,” organizers said in a news release.
“The B-29 also was used in the Korean War in the early 1950s and was a staple of the U.S. Air Force until 1960. Fifi, one of only two B-29s in the world still flying, was acquired by the CAF in 1971. She began touring in 1974 and has been entertaining air show audiences across the country ever since.”
The Commemorative Air Force brings the AirPower History Tour to airports across the country every year. Attendees will be able to see the historic planes up close, peek into the B-29 and B-24 cockpits, and purchase rides to soar above the Porter County countryside.
The B-29 will fly at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, while the B-24 will fly at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
“The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was the most produced American warplane of WWII, with over 18,400 aircraft rolling off assembly lines across the country,” organizers said. “Most were manufactured at Ford’s giant Willow Run assembly plant in Detroit. Diamond Lil, one of the first B-24s produced and still one of only two B-24s in the world still flying, provides the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of our fathers and grandfathers in the dangerous air wars over Europe, the Pacific, North Africa and Asia.”
The other aircraft will offer rides each day, except for the P-51, which will offer rides starting Friday.
“The North American P-51D Mustang is one of the most recognizable and loved aircraft in aviation history,” organizers said. “With its speed, range and sleek lines, the P-51 became a favorite of Allied fighter pilots and bomber crews. The long-range fighter aircraft had a range of 1,300 miles that enabled it to accompany the bombers to their targets and back, and it was faster and more maneuverable than its German and Japanese opponents.”
For more information or to book a ride, visit AirPowerTour.org.
(c)2023 The Times (Munster, Ind.)
Visit at www.nwitimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
