2002 Terminal Dr. Galveston, TX 77554 409-740-7722 or 1-888-FLY-LSFM (359-5736) Open 9 am-5 pm Daily
Experience the thrill of historic aviation in four legendary aircraft from the World War II era. The Lone Star Flight Museum is now offering bomber and trainer flight experiences in its B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25 Mitchell, T-6 Texan and PT-17 Stearman.
The B-17 Flying Fortress was an Army Air Corps heavy-duty bomber from World War II. These four-engine aircraft flew strategic bombing missions over Europe armed with .50 caliber machine guns and five thousand pounds of bombs. 13,000 B-17’s were produced over the course of the war, of which only 13 still are airworthy today. The Flight Museum’s B-17 is painted in the colors of ‘Thunderbird’, an aircraft with the 303rd bomb group which flew 116 missions during World War II.
Click here for B-17 Flight Experience information
The B-25 Mitchell was a very versatile medium-duty bomber which flew in both the Pacific and European Theaters during World War II. The Flight Museum B-25 is the official aircraft of the Doolittle Raiders. It honors the 80 brave men who flew 16 land-based B-25s off the USS Hornet in the first raid against the Japanese on their own soil.
Once a pilot completed the basics in the Stearman, he could move on to fighter pilot training in the T-6 Texan. This aircraft was known as ‘the pilot maker’ because of its popularity as an advanced trainer for the US military and other air forces world-wide. Pilots completed the last 75 hours of their flight training in the T-6 and would then move directly into flying a single engine fighter such as the P-47 Thunderbolt or F6F Hellcat. The Flight Museum’s T-6 is an SNJ-5, the Navy variant of the trainer.
Most pilots, regardless of which branch of the military they flew for during World War II, learned the basics of flight in the front seat of a PT-17 Stearman. Their instructors provided guidance and demonstration from the back seat and could take the controls when necessary. The acrobatic abilities of the Stearman also allowed pilots to learn combat maneuvers for dog fighting, such as controlled dives and rolls.