3 old planes: For some, riding in a classic plane takes away some of the comfort that comes with being a passive passenger in the sky. This lets you experience the thrill of flying as it was for older generations. A lot of museums and companies around the world have brought some old planes back to life and will let you take a ride on one, but only after you listen to the safety instructions.
Go on a wild ride with the 1929 New Standard D-25
Barnstorming isn’t something many people do these days, but in the 1920s, stunt pilots would often go across the country, sometimes with shows, performing tricks for crowds and selling rides on their crafts. A lot of people liked the New Standard D-25 for this reason. It was designed by Charles Day and had high-lift wings and a wider-than-usual landing gear that let it jump out of small, rough fields. This is probably why the planes were also used to deliver mail, dust crops, and even run rum, which is why a pair of them were taken away during Prohibition.
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No, you probably won’t be doing any of those things at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Dutchess County, New York. But you can put on some old-fashioned masks and feel the wind in your face. The D-25 has 235 horsepower and can go as fast as 110 mph. It can hold up to four people, all of whom can say they went barnstorming.
3 old planes: Feel the thrill of the victory roll in a Spitfire
The innovative Supermarine Spitfire served in almost every theatre of the war and was Britain’s most popular single-seat fighter aircraft. It may be one of the most famous and well-named planes from World War II. There were more than 20 different types made during the war. They were high-performance fighters designed by Reginald Mitchell. The first ones had a 1,000-horsepower Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and could go as fast as 360 miles per hour. As weapons, they had everything from machine guns to automatic cannons to fighter-bomber models that could drop 250- and 500-pound bombs.
You can take rides on some of these models, like the two-seater Supermarine Spitfires that were used for training, at the website flyaspitfire.com, which is based in England. They have both Spitfire T.9s and p-51 Mustangs, and they offer many flights over the British countryside, such as over the White Cliffs of Dover and the Battle of Britain airfields. These flights include the necessary pre-flight checks, the famous Spitfire victory roll, and even the chance to fly the Spitfire for part of the flight with the pilot’s help. Obviously, it costs a lot more than a normal domestic flight, which starts at around £3,000. But then again, victory rolls don’t come cheap.
3 old planes: Take a ride on a North American B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was a famous plane in the Battle of the Pacific during World War II. It was part of the first attack on mainland Japan after Pearl Harbour. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle was in charge of the 16 B-25 Mitchells that took off from the USS Hornet and headed for Tokyo to bomb the city. Some planes couldn’t make it back to the fleet after the high-pressure task because they ran out of fuel. Instead, many of them had to crash-land in China. It was successful to drop the bombs over Tokyo. The damage was not very bad, but it was a big victory for American confidence after Pearl Harbour.
During the war, B-25s often had two Wright engines with 1,700 horsepower, a few thousand pounds of bombs, and up to a dozen forward-facing machine guns. These guns were useful against ships, ground troops, and other targets. You can learn more about this and other things at the Lonestar Flight Museum in Houston. Most likely, they will do this while you are on the B-25 Mitchell. In case you want to spend your lunch break on a World War II plane on the spur of the moment, they even have “walk-up” trips.
