The rare Second World War B-17G Flying Fortress bomber landed at the Peterborough Airport last weekend.
The bomber, along with other vintage military and civil aircraft, was on display as part of ‘Flying Fortress Week’ to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday.
The bomber used to be armed with bombs and 13, 50-calibre machine guns. It could hold up to 8000 lbs of bombs.
“This is a WWII bomber. They were what they used in the thousand plane raids over Germany during WWII. This was built in late 1944,” said B-17 pilot, Reid Maccosham.
WATCH: Vintage bomber plane arrives in Kingston for week-long stay
Ground tours and 25-minute scheduled flights were offered to the public to experience what flying was like over 70 years ago in the Flying Fortress.
“Well I did ask him if I can actually drop something from the place that drops the bombs,” said first-time passenger, Chris Brockington. “He said maybe you can drop a watermelon.”
READ MORE: Vintage B-17 bomber takes flight in Gimli
Passengers said they were blown away.
“Awesome! Just excellent experience. Experience of a lifetime. You never get to fly these things,” said Don Finnegan.
The 25-minute flights cost about $500 to $1000.
The Flying Fortess is visiting Kingston, Ont. then Plattsburgh, N.Y., then Rockland, Maine. To see the full schedule, visit Airbase Arizona.
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