Residents may buy a “warbird ride” in what the organization calls the “largest and heaviest single-engine bomber of WWII.”
“This is an opportunity for the public to sit in the same seats as did the crew of our warbird in WWII,” Pete Ballard, warbird rides coordinator for the Capital Wing, said in an announcement Monday. “And feel the same power of the 1,900 (horsepower) radial engine as they did. And smell the same smells they did.”
Credit: John Lackey
Credit: John Lackey
Providing these rides is a part of the Commemorative Air Force’s mission to honor the men and women who built, serviced and piloted the vintage World War II aircraft, Ballard said.
Flights must be purchased in advance at https://www.capitalwingwarbirdrides.org/. There will be no on-site ticket sales.
The Capital Wing TBM Avenger will provide all flights at the Urbana city-owned Grimes Field Airport, a mile north of Urbana on Ohio 68.
The General Motors Avenger’s warfare debut was at the Battle Midway in 1942, according to the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
The Avenger served as the U.S. Navy’s primary torpedo bomber, attacking enemy shipping and delivering ordnance on enemy positions across the Pacific, the museum said.
Based in Culpeper, Va., the Capital Wing and the Commemorative Air Force are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, the organizations say ticket purchases “may be tax deductible.”
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