GREAT FALLS — The B-17 Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey" and the B-25 Mitchell "Maid in the Shade" landed in Great Falls on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
The Commemorative Air Force planes are on display through Sunday at Holman Aviation, and tours of the planes are available - and so are flights.
TOURS - Fri-Sun: 2p – 6p
$15 per person/$30 for a family of 4
Purchase tour tickets at the airplane, no reservation required.
RIDES - Fri-Sun: 9a – 1p
Aircraft | Pricing |
---|---|
B-17 Bomber | $475 USD per waist compartment seat (6 available) $850 USD per Bombardier/Navigator seat (2 available) |
B-25 Bomber | $375 USD per radio room seat (4 available) $590 USD per Jump seat (3 available) |
For more information, visit the CAF website, which includes this overview:
Designed for daylight precision bombing, B-17s flew unescorted bombing missions over Europe for much of the war. B-17s were legendary for their ability to return home after taking brutal poundings. They dropped over 640,000 tons of bombs over Europe. A total of 12,731 B-17s produced by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas. Our Sentimental Journey is one of only five B-17s around the world actively flying today and was built in November, 1944.
Post-War: After World War II, B-17s were used for other military purposes including photo-mapping, atmospheric nuclear weapon testing drone control, fighting forest fires, and other civilian purposes.
There will also be merchandise and souvenirs for visitors to buy; all proceeds go toward keeping this and other CAF planes flying.