WWII Warbirds Take Flight at Frederick MD

Warbird rides available for Father’s Day weekend include the Boeing PT-17 Stearman (photo credit: John Lackey, Capital Wing member, Flyby Photography)

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Warbird rides will also be available in Culpeper, VA over the Independence Day weekend (July 3 & 4.) Extra WWII aircraft have been added for the Culpeper program on the ground and in the air. To purchase warbird rides in advance visit https://www.capitalwingwarbirdrides.org/.

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Culpeper, VA — The Capital Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), based in Culpeper, VA, is bringing its WWII Warbird Showcase to the Frederick (MD) Municipal Airport on Saturday and Sunday June 19 and 20. Residents in central Maryland, Baltimore, Washington DC and Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to buy a Warbird Ride in one of three vintage aircraft: the TBM ‘Avenger’ “Doris Mae,” L-5 ‘Sentinel’ “Gayle Ann,” or open-cockpit Coast Guard N2S-4 ‘Stearman’.

The Frederick “Warbirds Rides Showcase” is providing a special Father’s Day weekend offer at this event. Buy two rides and get the “Pilot’s Package” of dog tags, flight certificate and aircraft booklet for free. Additionally, a special “Potomac River – Point of Rocks” flight has been created just for this location, which will fly right past the Flying Ace Farm in Loudoun, Virginia, the county’s first farm distillery and brewery.

The event, which entry and parking are free to the public, may purchase their warbird rides in advance at https://www.capitalwingwarbirdrides.org/. Flights not sold out in advance will be available for purchase on-site the day of the event.

“When talking with the airport staff, they mentioned that it’s been a few of years since any warbirds visited Frederick,” said Cliff Davis, CAF Development Officer. “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.”

For those who want to experience what it might have been like to fly a WWII mission in the TBM ‘Avenger,’ the CAF Capital Wing is offering a “Torpedo Mission” experience, which includes a mission profile, aeronautical map of the flight area, a flight suit for the duration of the flight, and an extensive pre-flight briefing by the pilot and crew just as done in WWII. This is probably as close to performing a ‘torpedo run’ as one can get. The ‘Avenger,’ the largest and heaviest single-engine bomber of WWII, is the exact same type aircraft President George H.W. Bush flew as a Naval Aviator off the decks of USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) and (VT-153).

“Warbird rides are an opportunity for the public to sit in the same seats as did the crew of our aircraft in WWII. And feel the same power of the engines at take-off just as they did. And smell the same smells they did,” said Pete Ballard, Warbirds Ride Coordinator for the Capital Wing. “Providing these warbird rides is a part of the CAF mission to honor the thousands of men and women who built, serviced and piloted the vintage WWII aircraft we keep flying,” he said.

CAF Capital Wing aircraft rides sell out quickly, so it is recommended those interested purchase early. For frequently asked questions regarding flight requirements, check-in times, cancellations and changes, please contact the Pete Ballard at capitalwingcaf@gmail.com or (540) 450-5992.

The Frederick Municipal Airport is located at 310 Aviation Way, Frederick, Md. If people would like to see the aircraft flyovers at Flying Ace Far, they are located at 40950 Flying Ace Ln., Lovettsville, Va.

The Capital Wing and the Commemorative Air Force are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations and ticket purchases may be tax deductible.