World War II era planes flying into Delaware

Veterans of World War II get in for free. They already paid their way.

Anyone else who wants to tour - or fly in - one of the planes from that era can do it next week, when three iconic aircraft arrive at New Castle Airport for a two-day stay.

The planes are among few still-airworthy aircraft from World War II - two heavy bombers, including the B-17 "Flying Fortress" and the B-24 "Liberator," and one fighter, the P-51C Mustang.

They will arrive at about noon Monday and fly away at about noon Wednesday, part of the 110-city "Wings of Freedom" tour sponsored by the Collings Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit educational organization.

Ryan Keough, flight coordinator, is a pilot and one of 12 volunteer crew members who travel with the planes from city to city. The program was supposed to be complete after the 50th anniversary of the war, he said, but was extended indefinitely as part of the foundation's commitment to World War II era veterans, he said.

"We told them we will continue flying as long as we possibly can when you've left this earth, so people will not forget what you did," Keough said Thursday.

Tickets - at $12 for adults, $6 for children under 12 years old - are among the foundation's biggest fundraisers, Keough said. Tickets to fly are much higher - $450 for a seat in a B-17 or B-24, $2,500 to fly in the P-51C Mustang for half an hour.

"It's a bucket list item for a lot of people," Keough said.

Many veterans have come out to see the planes, he said, and it is a moving sight as they touch the aircraft and sit by the turrets or cockpit position they held during the war.

Keough said especially memorable to him was the visit of a World War II veteran in Florida, who had flown in the B-24 and came out to see it with his son, grandson, and 3-year-old great grandson.

"He moved up to the aircraft and was feeling the rivets on the side," Keough said, "and you can see tears coming down his face. All of a sudden the stories came out. Our veterans – to them, it wasn't heroism. They were doing their job. It was not something to be bragged about. Now all of a sudden, he had the context. He remembered and started telling the stories 'My best friend was in this position. I flew 12 missions with him and he was hit by flak and had embedded shrapnel and lost his leg after the 16th mission. I never saw him after that point again.'"

Tours are from noon to 5 Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday. Flights usually happen before or after the touring hours.

Contact Beth Miller at (302) 324-2784 or bmiller@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @BMiller57.

Wings of Freedom Tour

What: Three World War II era planes - the B-17, the B-24, and the P-51C - are open for touring and flights

When: Monday, noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon.

Where: New Castle Airport, 151 N. DuPont Hwy., New Castle

How much: Entrance is $12 per person, $6 for children under 12. Flights are available at an additional cost.

Flight reservations: (800) 568-8924