Jun. 16—The Commemorative Air Force Capital Wings is conducting its World War II "Warbird Rides Showcase" at Frederick Municipal Airport this weekend with a special Father's Day offer.
The event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, where residents of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania will be able to purchase a warbird ride in one of three vintage aircrafts. Attendees can choose from the TBM Avenger " Doris Mae," L-5 Sentinel "Gayle Ann" or the open-cockpit Coast Guard N25-4 "Stearman," according to a news release.
"When talking with the airport staff, they mentioned that it's been a few years since any warbirds visited Frederick," CAF Development Officer Cliff Davis said in a prepared statement. "So, we're looking forward to letting the public see and hear the aircraft that helped train pilots, perform forward reconnaissance, and take the fight to the front door of the Axis powers during WWII."
A 20-minute flight experience in the L-5 Sentinel costs $99 and a 30-minute flight costs $119. Rides in the open-cockpit N2S-4 go for $189 for the 20-minute flight and $269 for the longer flight. Both of these aircrafts can only take one rider at a time. The TBM Avenger can take two riders at a time, with the options of sitting either in the "greenhouse" observer seat — located behind the pilot — for $899 or in the gun turret seat for $549.
A special " Potomac River — Point of Rocks" flight was created specially for this event and will fly past the Flying Ace Farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, the county's first farm distillery and brewery.
Providing the rides is part of CAF's mission to honor the men and women who were a part of the process in building, servicing and piloting the vintage planes, CAF Capital Wing Warbird Rides Coordinator Pete Ballard said in the news release.
"Warbird rides are an opportunity for the public to sit in the same seats as did the crew of our aircraft in WWII — riders will smell the same smells they did," Ballard said.
The CAF is a nonprofit organization based in Dallas aimed at honoring American military aviation through flight, education, remembrance and exhibition, according to officials. It has the largest flying military aircraft museum in the world, with 175 vintage military aircrafts and 11,000 across the country.
Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
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