Five WWII combat planes touch down at Spokane airport

A small throng of people gathered Monday at the Spokane International Airport to get close-up views of some increasingly rare pieces of aviation history.

On display were five American bombers and fighter planes first introduced during World War II, brought to Spokane as part of a nationwide tour hosted by the Collings Foundation, a nonprofit based in Massachusetts. Visitors could explore the insides of the aircraft and, for a sizable investment, go along for a 30-minute flight.

There was a B-17 Flying Fortress dubbed “Nine O Nine” – one of only nine in the world still in flyable condition. And there was a B-24 Liberator named “Witchcraft” – the only one of its type that still takes to the skies.

They were joined by a B-25 Mitchell bomber, a P-51 Mustang fighter and an A-1 Skyraider, a model best known for its service in Vietnam.

Onlookers snapped pictures and squinted into the afternoon sunlight as they identified each plane approaching runways on the south side of the airport. Once parked, volunteers set about polishing the vintage warbirds and opening the hatches to allow visitors inside.

People of all ages climbed into the cockpits, gun ports and bomb bays to learn about the engineering marvels that dominated the skies during WWII. Later, some went for a ride in one of the bombers.

“You can go to a museum anywhere and look at planes, but it’s not going to leave the same impression,” said Jamie Mitchell, who accompanies the aircraft to some 120 locations across the country each year as part of the Collings Foundation’s “Wings of Freedom” tour.

The planes will be open for viewing at the Spokane airport from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day through Thursday, after which they will be in Lewiston for a weekend air show, Mitchell said. Admission costs $15 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

The planes, Mitchell said, “are national treasures that deserve to be seen. They don’t deserve to be locked up in private collections where nobody is going to see them. They’re made to fly.”

Ride alongs in the B-17 or the B-24 cost $450 per person. The price is $400 for the B-25. Those who want piloting experience must pay significantly more.

Among the visitors on Monday was Paul Paylor, a Bellevue firefighter who happily shelled out $2,200 to take the controls of the newly restored P-51 Mustang, a lightning fast plane that accompanied heavy bombers over Germany.

Before taking off for his 30-minute instructional flight, Paylor said he had been on rides in two of the other planes on Sunday and had plans to ride in the remaining two. The price for a full hour of flight instruction in the P-51 is $3,200.

Flight reservations can be made by calling (978) 562-9182.

“What I always tell people is, you’ll never miss the money,” said Scott Sanderson, a Collings Foundation volunteer whose father, Sandy Sanderson, manned a B-24 bomber during the invasion of Normandy. “You’ll never miss the money because you’ll never forget flying the P-51 Mustang.”

And for the few remaining WWII veterans who have the opportunity to glimpse the old aircraft, Sanderson said, “it really is like a time machine.”

The sight of the planes, and especially the A-1 Skyraider, brought a sense of nostalgia for Jim Bauer, a retired Air Force helicopter medic who served in Da Nang during the Vietnam War.

Gesturing at the B-25, Bauer noted its role in the Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo raid, which was a daring response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I knew guys that were on that raid,” Bauer said. “That was the icon of our youth.”

“These things are our history,” he added. “Just to be able to touch them and feel them and hear them is so special.”