FLYING TRIBUTE WINGS ITS WAY TO BRUNSWICK – The Portland Press Herald

A FLYING TRIBUTE featuring three World War II-era planes will be landing at Brunswick Executive Airport Friday afternoon and will be open all weekend for tours. In the photo above, the B-17 Flying Fortress, top, is one of only 10 left flying in the world. The B-24J Liberator, above, and the P-51C Mustang, below, are the only ones left in the world.

I f weather or mechanical gremlins don’t slow them down, two World War IIvintage bombers and an escort fighter are scheduled to arrive at Brunswick Executive Airport on Friday afternoon.

The planes — a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24J Liberator and North American P- 51C Mustang — have been restored to their production-line glory at a cost of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours of labor by volunteers and specialists. Both the B-24 and P-51C, which is a dual-control cockpit, are the only surviving examples in the world; the B-17 is one of only 10 in flying condition.

Brunswick is just one stop in a series of educational hops along the annual Wings of Freedom Tour. Established in 1989, the six-month summer barnstorming tour shows off the planes and pays ongoing tribute to the men and women who used them in the fight for freedom almost 70 years ago; two WWII veterans will catch a ride to BXM on the in-bound flight.

Each plane is owned, restored and exhibited by the nonprofit Collings Foundation, headquartered in Stow, Mass. Founded in 1979, the organization intended to preserve examples of living transportation history. Currently at Sanford Regional Airport, they are scheduled to arrive between 1 and 2 p.m. Friday. They’ll remain on display from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Each will be open for walkthrough tours and informational discussions.

Cost of admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children under 12; military veterans get in for free. Sightseeing flights and training hops also are available to those willing to trade cash for a gift of wings: A hop in the B-17 or B-24 is $425 per person; a half-hour of flight training in the P-51C is $2,200 and full hour will run $3,200.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

¦ TOURS AND FLIGHTS will be available to the public at Brunswick Executive Airport from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Cost of admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children under 12; military veterans get in for free.

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