Wings of Freedom returns to Venice Thursday – Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Three months after the fatal crash of the B-17G Flying Fortress bomber Nine O Nine, patrons can tour one visiting B-24J vintage bomber but flights will not be available.

VENICE The Wings of Freedom Tour returns to Venice Municipal Airport at 2 p.m. Thursday, for what will be the third stop on its 31st annual tour. Organizers are still regrouping in the aftermath of the Oct. 2, 2019, crash of the B-17G Flying Fortress Nine O Nine that cost the life of pilot Ernest "Mac" McCauley, co-pilot Michael Foster and five passengers.

The tour started Jan. 17 in DeLand and moved to Tampa Executive Airport, with two planes the B-24J Liberator Witchcraft and the Mustang fighter plane, Toulouse Nuts available for ground tours.

Flight training is being offered on the Mustang, technically a TF-51D two-seat trainer.

No flights will be offered on Witchcraft, as the Collings Foundation is still in the middle of a "voluntary stand-down" on the Living History Flight Experience during an Federal Aviation Administration investigation.

The B-25 Mitchell bomber Tondelayo is currently being serviced in New Smyrna Beach and may rejoin the tour in two or three weeks.

"With fewer aircraft it draws fewer people but what were surprised is theres still a good turnout thankfully so," Collings Foundation spokesman Hunter Chaney said.

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The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash that occurred at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

"We really were encouraged by people all around the country to get back on the horse and start the tour in Florida," Chaney said. "Were taking things gently as we start to tour."

He added that the continued tours are a tribute to McCauley, co-pilot Michael Foster and the five passengers who died.

"Its not something that we outrightly advertise," Chaney said. "They were friends and family stellar, excellent people, unique its heartbreaking, so they leave a big hole for us."

McCauley, who was 75, had the most hours spent as a pilot and in command of a B-17 in the history of aviation, Chaney noted.

"Its been rough," he added. "Aside from just the encouragement of the general public around the country, Mac would have our hides if we stopped touring hed say you have 10 minutes to get over it.

"Thats another form of our memorial for the crew."

The tour, essentially a traveling aerial museum, has been offering rides since 1989 and visits by World War II veterans have often resulted in cathartic experiences.

"Its a way that these veterans remember their past and heal from it too," Chaney said.

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With members of the Greatest Generation dwindling, their children and grandchildren have been attending to try and connect with the past.

"Were starting to find theres a whole new group of younger people who are genuinely curious to see what these planes are like, to crawl through the inside of it, to talk to the pilots," Chaney said. "A lot of extended family members are starting to come out, because theyre genuinely curious, trying to capture that slice of time, to get an idea what it was like in 1944, how do these machines behave, what do they smell like, feel like thats appealing to a lot of folks."

Venice where the planes will be available for tours through Monday afternoon has always been a highlight of the Wings of Freedom tour.

"Its in the top 10 every year," Chaney said. "The number of friends who come out every year is just neat.

"Venice is one of the true motivating factors for us to get out there and tour and at least get done what we can for people to come and visit Its a special stop.

"We have some great organizers there who work so hard and we felt it necessary to make sure we visited."

The planes will be open for tours from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for children age 12 and under. World War II veterans are admitted free.

Mustang training flights start with a $2,400 donation per student for a 30-minute flight training, with 60-minute sessions available. Links to book the flight are available at collingsfoundation.org.

Even as it works on preserving history, the Collings Foundation which operates one of the worlds largest collections of historic aircraft has an eye on future activities.

Last year, the foundation started refurbishing a second B-17, which will be outfitted to look like "Outhouse Mouse," a plane that flew in the same squadron as Nine O Nine.

A two-stick P-40 Warhawk it acquired last year is being outfitted to fly along with the Mustang.

"Its still in the works, were about a year out with that restoration," Chaney said. "As tragic as it is, its nice that well have another B-17 representing the veterans that flew them."

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There is no timetable for the FAA to allow the Living History Flight Experience excursions to resume. Flights on the B-24, at $475 per person, and the B-25, at $425, are the main source of revenue to keep the museum going.

Since the crash, insurance premiums have also increased, boosting costs of what was already an expensive endeavor. Proceeds from the flights already go back into the airplanes.

"It really is more of a labor of love than anything," Chaney said.

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Wings of Freedom returns to Venice Thursday - Sarasota Herald-Tribune