Taking a flight back in time

The Island Now

The American Airpower Museum’s C-47 will take passengers on a 75th D-Day Anniversary living history flight experience on Sept. 14.

Onboard each flight, WWII re-enactors will transport you back in time to the day before Normandy.  The Museum’s living history educational program is so popular that it was covered by the New York Times, Daily News, Newsday, Air Classics Magazine and ABC TV to name a few.  The cost is $350 per person. There’s reduced pricing for Museum members and the person flying can bring one guest to visit the museum free of charge.

 Stories of our nation’s “Greatest Generation,” heroes of the Normandy D-Day Invasion, are being retold to a new generation of Americans.  The American Airpower Museum takes the next step and turns these events into living history so one can hear, see, touch and experience how it was on the “Night of Nights” that launched D-Day, or the daytime “Operation Market Garden” airdrop into Holland in September 1944.

To honor the C-47 troop carrier crews and soldiers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, we have created a totally unique experience.  With help from our 101st Airborne volunteer historians, you are transported back in time and issued your M-1942 jump jacket, helmet, and harness.

You take part in an Airborne mission brief and then “form up” with your guides in full WWII 101st Airborne gear.  Next, you board the Museum’s WWII C-47, just like our heroes did 75 years ago, risking all to liberate occupied Europe.

On the C-47, experience sights and sounds as engines fire up and you take off into history.  During the flight, you’ll observe the aircrew operating their C-47 and paratroopers prepping for battle.

Relive the Airborne experience to the point when you hook your parachute to a static line.  Although you might like to, you won’t leave the airplane until you’re safely back on the ground!!  Upon returning from this exciting flight, you learn what our heroes did 75 years ago, how they helped achieve victory for the allies, culminating in the Nazi surrender.

This is a family-friendly experience for all ages.  Minors must be accompanied by an adult.  The program is about 1.5 hours long and the flight part takes 25 minutes.

All flight operations are subject to change and rescheduling due to weather, maintenance or crew availability.  Cost of the C-47 flight is $350.   The museum conducts up to three flights that day.  Your contribution supports our mission to honor Veterans and U.S. aviation history by preserving the aircraft and their legacy for future generations.

 

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