Aviation Week at Chicago Rockford International Airport July 19 – 27

It showcases the most influential military aircraft of the last century. Many offerings from EAA AirVenture, known as the world’s greatest aviation celebration, will be celebrated here in our region. Experience mission flights, ground and cockpit tours and viewing opportunities from various flying wonders from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.

July 19 – 21: Take off in the beautifully restored B-17G Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast.” One of only 13 Fortress’s still flying, experience exceptional flight and ground tours aboard one of World War II’s most vital and magnificent aircrafts. Mission flights run between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. with prices ranging from $449 to $475. Ground tours will be available from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at a cost of $10 per adult and $20 per family. Active Military, Veterans and children under eight are free.

July 22 – 24: Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, FIFI, the last remaining flying example of the aircraft in the world, flies in on July 22. Accompanied by an equally rare B-24 Liberator, a P-51 Mustang and other historic World War II military airplanes, the aircraft will be on display for cockpit tours and rides. Gates are open from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday and 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Admission cost for the event is $10 per person and $20 for families. Cockpit tours in the B-29 are included and will be available when the airplane is not in motion. Airplane rides range from $65 in the C-45 to $1995 in the P-51 Mustang.

July 26 – 27: Aviation Week culminates with the largest gathering of Bonanza aircraft in the world. From one-on-one opportunities to speak with pilots and view their planes on Friday evening between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to their awe-striking departure at noon on the 27th, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s