As part of the Doolittle Raiders Reunion, 5 B-25 Bombers flew into town and were on display at Destin Airport.
I think these are impressive planes so over to the airport I went.
And there sat 4 of them.
The Yellow Rose
The Special Delivery
The Panchito
And the Killer Bee
Rides were offered for $425 and there were a lot of people lined up to fly so Georgie’s Gal may have been off on a flight.
The Killer B was having some work done while I was there. I couldn’t get onto the plane, but I was able to stand on a stepladder and get a look inside.
These planes are beautiful and amazing and even though I’m scared of flying, if I had $425 to spend, I think I’d go. A flight like that would be so incredible that I believe my fear of flying would disappear – for the moment.
As the planes flew into town, Colonel Dick Cole, Doolittle’s co-pilot during the Raid, piloted the Special Delivery.
Colonel Cole is 97 and according to Larry Gregory, the regular pilot of the Special Delivery, Colonel Cole is “Awesome…I’ve given up my seat three times for him to take it.”
I’ve always thought my Uncle Nick driving himself to his 100th birthday party was amazing, and I think flying a B-25 Bomber at 97 bumps Colonel Cole up into the amazing department with Uncle Nick.
I watched as the Panchito took off and kicked myself for choosing to pay bills instead of taking a ride.
I won’t make that mistake again.
Thank you to the organizations that have invested time and money in these planes so that we can enjoy them.
