World War II bomber makes stop at Aurora Municipal Airport
For veteran Ray Moore, 98, of Aurora, coming face to face with a World War II bomber brought back memories of his service.
The B-25 Mitchell, a medium bomber, is available for the public this weekend at Aurora Municipal Airport in Sugar Grove. The Experimental Aircraft Association is giving public flights on the plane through Sunday.
Moore, who came to the airport Thursday to see the B-25 Mitchell, saw firsthand how planes like the B-25 were used in the war. He was a tailgunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress at the age of 19.
"I saw a lot of them in World War II," he said. "It's nice to see them again."
But he admitted his time as a tailgunner was stressful. The job is to defend against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear of the plane.
"It made me want to get home to a normal life," Moore said. "Getting shot at every day is not a normal life."
As volunteer crew chief Tim Bourgoine explained, the B-25 Mitchell was not certificated to fly passengers.
"It wasn't designed for that," he said. "It was designed to go up and drop bombs. As such, it is now registered in the limited category with the Federal Aviation Administration and they've given us special exemption to give these kinds of rides so people can experience a bit of history, a bit of what World War II was like."
Pilot Mike Hastings stressed the importance of the public flights that the Experimental Aircraft Association provides.
"This revenue from these programs is the reason this airplane gets to fly and it's not behind a rope in a museum where you don't get to climb on it, go it or hear it run," Hastings said.
The passenger manifest has been pulled for the B-25 stop at the Aurora Municipal Airport, but walk-up space is available. Call (920) 379-4244 for more information or to book. The cost is $360 to $400.
Flights run at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. and are filled in sequential order based on availability. Passengers are advised to check in on-site one hour before their assigned flight time and can call a membership services representative at (800) 359-6217 with any questions.
The EAA is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It's dedicated to growing participation in aviation and has 200,000 members in more than 100 countries.