Take a Flight in a WWII Bomber

Wartime was a tense time for the country, but for a 10-year-old boy it was also an exciting time. “The roads were full of trucks; the trains would go by with battle tanks and planes and shells,” recalls Bob Stane of Pasadena. And it was that experience that led to Stane’s interest in World War II aircraft. Now 61, he’s the president of the B-17 Combat Crewmen and Wingmen, and was instrumental in bringing the Celebration Freedom Tour to Van Nuys Airport this weekend.

On Sunday, the only flying, fully restored B-24 bomber along with a B-17 will touch down in Van Nuys and be open for tours for three days. The planes are fully equipped with guns, turrets and Norton bombing sites. World War II veterans will be on hand Sunday to tell their wartime stories, including Bud Kingsbury, who, Stane says, was the sole survivor of a crash and had to swim to safety. He was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Germany.

This is the fifth year of the planned five-year tour of the planes, based in Stow, Mass. The planes will be open for tours 3-6 p.m. Sunday; 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday; and Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. until the planes’ departure at 2 p.m. Admission $7; children 12 and younger, $3. Flights are available for $300. It costs $2,000 an hour to fly each plane, Stane says. Information: (818) 794-2902.