Yankee Air Museum extends flying season for historic aircraft

Yankee Air Museum has decided to extend the flying season of its historic aircraft into October.
“We are very thankful for everyone who flew on our historic World War II aircraft during the summer flying season,” said Ray Hunter, B-17 Pilot and chairman of the board of Yankee Air Museum. “Our purpose is reenergized, so let’s keep it going, let’s keep these majestic ‘flying history books’ in the air, where they belong.”
Hunter said the Museum’s Boeing B-17, North American B-25 and Douglas C-47 each had another successful season of barnstorming and air show appearances. Now, before the deep winter maintenance cycle begins, the Museum is having a homecoming celebration by extending its flying season into October and flying riders on Saturdays.
“We are giving people in our community special opportunities to take a Saturday morning or afternoon flight,” said Kevin Walsh, Executive Director of Yankee Air Museum. “We rarely fly from our home base on Saturdays, so it’s perfect. We’re looking forward to the early signs of awesome autumn colors and of course we expect the weather to cooperate.”
Walsh said that a living history flight experience on board the B-17 Yankee Lady costs $450 and on the B-25 Yankee Warrior it is $400. The cost of an air tour on the C-47 is $195 and on the Waco biplane it is $325 for two passengers or $225 for one passenger. Yankee Air Museum members receive significant discounts when purchasing rides.
“Weather permitting, we intend to fly passengers on Saturday Oct. 8, with the B-17 at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. and the B-25 bomber at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Walsh. “The B-17 will also fly on Oct. 15, at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m.”
Walsh said information is available at www.yankeeairmuseum.org by clicking on “Book a Flight.” He added that C-47 and Waco flight schedules are based on customer demand. People can reserve a ride on the C-47 and the Waco by writing to: [email protected] or [email protected] and communicating directly with the scheduler.