The Capital Wing of the Commemorative Air Force will have its WWII warbirds on display and fly rides at the Leesburg Executive Airport on Saturday as part of its Warbird Showcase tour.
Parking and the event are free to the public and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“The Capital Wing has always been a supporter of the Leesburg Airshow for the past several years, and we were most disappointed when this year’s event was cancelled. What to do? The answer was to bring our Warbird Showcase to the Leesburg Airport on the same date,” said said Pete Ballard, Assistant Adjutant of the Capital Wing.
Warbird rides will be available in the Capital Wing WWII aircraft throughout the day. Rides start at just $89.
Advance tickets can be purchased thru the main page of the Capital Wing website at http://www.capitalwing.org/ or by emailing [email protected] and asking for tickets.
Ride tickets will also be sold on site the day of the event for any flight times still available.
In addition to the vintage aircraft on static display and in the air, the Capital Wing will bring its PX trailer where dog tags, models, hats, tee shirts and other items with an aviation theme will be available for sale.
“Since we started flying Warbird Rides in July the public response has just been tremendous,” said Ballard. “It seems like everyone wants to get in the air in a WWII warbird. We encourage people to get their Warbird Ride tickets early so they don’t get a “sold out” message,” he said.
To satisfy public demand the Capital Wing will open its hangar to the public at the Culpeper Regional Airport on Saturday Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Inside the hangar the public can get up close to a Vultee BT-13 Valiant, the same type of plane used by the Tuskegee Airmen, a Fairchild F24 Forwarder flown by the US Coast Guard, and a French Alouette II helicopter.
Outside, the public will be able to take rides in the Stinson L-5, Boeing Stearman or TBM Avenger.
Advance tickets can be purchased thru the main page of the Capital Wing website at http://www.capitalwing.org/ or by emailing [email protected] and asking for tickets.
“Warbird Rides are really an opportunity for people to experience what those young men did during WWII,” said Ballard. “You get to sit in those seats of our nation’s heroes and think about the sights and the sounds and the smells and really take it in.”